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Mozart's Symphony No.40 in G minor
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Mozart's last 3 Symphonies are among the finest in the repertoire and, through their influence on later composers, helped to bring about a revolution in the art form. His Symphony No.40 is one of very few he composed in a minor key, and the stark single-minded mood of its opening movement with its relentless momentum was a particular influence on Beethoven and music scholars over the past 200 years. We present this movement in its original orchestral format including downloadable PDFs of the full score and all instrumental parts, and also as a (fairly difficult) piano transcription:
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Alexander Courage - Going Boldly
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Earlier this year the world lost a major contributor to film and television music, when Alexander Courage passed away at the age of 88. He worked as an orchestrator on major musicals such as "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", "Guys and Dolls", "Porgy and Bess", "My Fair Lady", "Doctor Dolittle", "Hello Dolly", and "Fiddler on the Roof", and movies such as "The Island of Dr. Moreau", "Basic Instinct", "Jurassic Park", "First Knight", and "The Mummy". He composed music for many television series including "Lassie", "Lost in Space", "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" and for many years on "The Waltons". He is most remember for creating the original "Star Trek" theme which has been quoted on most subsequent "Star Trek" series and films. More...
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Torchwood - music by Ben Foster and Murray Gold
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Newly released, this album covers music from the first two seasons of Torchwood the post-watershed spin-off from the nation's favourite "Doctor Who". Most of the incidental music has come from Ben Foster who acted as orchestrator and conductor for "Doctor Who" with the parent series' resident composer Murray Gold providing the "Torchwood" main theme and one or two episodes. The style is similar in some ways, with some of the orchestral sections being recorded by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales in Cardiff, but Torchwood veers off into the kind of dark adult territory that is out of bounds for "Doctor Who". More...
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Javier Navarrete - Pan's Labyrinth
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2006 was a very exiting year for film soundtracks, and gave the award committees a lot of excellent material to choose from. Javier Naverrete's score for Pan's Labyrinth stood out as a deserving entry among many notable scores from well-established hollywood composers. The music of "Pan's Labyrinth" has the focus and simplicity of traditional story-telling, and therefore stands very well on its own, even away from the outstanding film for which it was created. Although all the music is based upon a simple melody, a lullaby in waltz tempo, the complete soundtrack is surprising varied and transports the listener into a child's fantasy world inhabited by strange creatures. More...
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Bernard Herrmann - Taxi Driver
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This week we revisit a favourite film score when we find it in an unusual format. "The Vinyl Classics" series has re-released a number of classic soundtracks in a format which looks exactly like a small but perfectly formed LP. Although black in colour and unlike any other CD, it will play on your CD player, and Taxi Driver is a soundtrack which needs to be revisited from time to time. It was composer Bernard Herrmann's last soundtrack but, among a whole career of superlative scores, this is one of his best and fully matches the performances we see on screen. In central position there is a jazz feel with a wonderful sax solo, which sums up the view of New York as witnessed by the Taxi Driver. More...
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New Film Sheet Music
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Compared with a few years ago, there is now a staggering amount of film sheet music available, both song-based and instrumental soundtrack and typically arranged for piano. The trend is now to release Sheet Music at the same time as movie soundtracks, to tie in with the movie's theatrical and/or DVD release. Not all movies have sufficient playable music to fill a sheet music book, but even these movies are still catered for. The "Essential Film Themes" series is now up to number 6 containing the finest music from today's outstanding films. For those who also have an interest in older film music, there is also the continuing "Collection" Series with music from different film genres, now adding "Adventure", "Animation" and "Costume Drama" to the existing themes. Check out our survey of recent Film Sheet Music.
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Edvard Grieg's "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen"
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The composer Edvard Grieg had a house built for him near Bergen in Norway. Though this is now a museum dedicated to Grieg, he and his family lived there for many years and they called the house "Troldhaugen" which means "Troll's Hill". Among his "Lyric Pieces" for piano there is a popular piece called "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen" whose happy mood seems to suggest the Grieg family enjoyed life to the full in this house. At mfiles we now have 3 Lyric Pieces and one arrangement available as sheet music and audio files:
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Planet Twist from The SG Sound
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The Planet Twist album is well named since its has its roots in the swinging 60s when "The Twist" was the latest dance craze. This is a modern but nostalgic look back at some of the music of those days, and is a fusion of many influences from the period, with classic electric guitar sounds meeting period jazz bands. The SG Sound is the unique creation of composer Stephen Greaves, and if you remember hearing music from those days, these tracks will instantly transport you back to the 60s and those old vinyl discs turning at 45 rpm. This music is lively and evocative, but most of all it is fun, fun, fun. More...
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The Doctor Who Prom Concert by Murray Gold
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Two British institutions come together for the first time this month, with a special Doctor Who Prom Concert in the Royal Albert Hall which features a mix of Classical and Doctor Who Music. The music of composer Murray Gold will feature alongside that of Copland, Holst, Wagner, Prokofiev and Turnage. The show will be presented by Freema Agyeman (who plays Martha Jones in the series) with Daleks and Cybermen, and a specially filmed scene written by departing producer Russell T Davies, starring David Tennant as the Doctor. For more about the music from the series, see our reviews of the two Doctor Who CDs covering music from Series 1 and 2 and from Series 3.
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The Kite Runner by Alberto Iglesias
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In light of his previous score for Pedro Almodovar's "Volver" in 2006, Alberto Iglesias' music for The Kite Runner marks a change from the sensual Spanish vibes of Flamenco dance music to traditional Afghan styles. The story is a very personal one but set amidst a series of tumultuous political changes in Afghanistan, from the fall of the country's monarchy and the Soviet invasion, to the dominance of the Taliban. For capturing the unique perspective of this story in such a beautiful way, the composer's score received nominations for many awards, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and an Oscar. More...
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Brick Lane by Jocelyn Pook
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Jocelyn Pook is an experienced viola player with a varied background as a performer. She has composed extensively for the theatre and concert hall, with her first major film score being "Eyes Wide Shut" for the late Stanley Kubrick in 1999. Her latest film score Brick Lane depicts a Bangladeshi woman who moved to an arranged marriage in London. With the film's emphasis on how people adapt to circumstances in different cultures, and filled with flashbacks to life in Bangladesh, Pook's authentic Eastern music is at the heart of this story and mixes seemlessly with elements of Western style underscore. More...
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Ratatouille by Michael Giacchino
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On paper, Ratatouille is a distinctly strange proposition even for an animated movie: a rat working in a kitchen who turns out to have talents as a gourmet chef! Yet the movie was by the same team who created "The Incredibles", and "Ratatouille" turned out to be equally entertaining and fun for all the family, winning many awards while composer Michael Giacchino rightfully received an oscar nomination for his contribution to the experience. The music is upbeat, wild, dizzy, spectacular and original, one of the best scores of 2007, and should be on the music lover's list. More...
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Leonard Rosenman
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Earlier this year the composer Leonard Rosenman passed away. Early in his long career he created scores for two 1955 films starring James Dean, "East of Eden" and "Rebel Without a Cause". Then in the mid 70s he won two consecutive oscars for score adaptations, Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon" and Hal Ashby's "Bound for Glory". In the music industry Rosenman is widely recognised for introducing 20th Century classical music styles into film scores, particularly the use of 12-tone techniques. Here at mfiles we particularly enjoy the composer's contribution to the Science Fiction and Fantasy genres, including "Fantasic Voyage" in 1966, the animated version of "Lord of the Rings" in 1978, the exciting score for "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" in 1986, and many more. More...
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The Golden Compass by Alexandre Desplat
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Alexandre Desplat has made quite a name for himself in recent years, receiving much critical acclaim and winning a number of awards. He has certainly demonstrated his skills at incorporating ethnic influences in his scores such as "The Painted Veil" and "Syriana", but for the most part his films have been character-driven or even eccentric which seems to suit his style very well indeed. However with The Golden Compass we get to hear the composer take on a big budget mainstream film adaptation of a fantasy children's novel, and Desplat crafts some suitably full orchestral tracks and action accompaniment, while still retaining elements of his more intimate style for the characterisation. More...
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Camille Saint-Saens - The Elephant and Film Music
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Regular visitors to mfiles will know that we cover both Classical and Film Music. The French Composer Camille Saint-Saens is the first well-known composer to compose music in both these camps. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the film "L'Assassinat du Duc de Guise" which is considered to be the first film for which music was specially commissioned. Among the composer's most famous concert pieces is "The Carnival of the Animals" which is a fun suite which depicts (and sometimes caricatures) various members of the animal kingdom. One of its movements is called "The Elephant" where a double-bass plays a ponderous but witty waltz. More...
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The Blob (and other Creepy Sounds) - Ralph Carmichael and others
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Many people have a fondness for early Monster and Sci-Fi movies and soundtracks and "Monstrous Movie Music" caters directly for that market. Often they must resort to re-creating soundtracks when the music is no longer available. However original recordings of The Blob were carefully preserved, and have been remastered for this latest release. Written by Jazz and Film composer Ralph Carmichael, the score is full of suspense with suitably scary moments and a love theme for Steve McQueen and his girlfriend. When the film was released the Main Title was replaced with a light hearted but catchy theme song by Burt Bacharach. Both these tracks are presented on this superb album - it is great to rediscover gems like this. More...
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Frederic Chopin - Etude Op.10 No.4
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It is fair to say that Frederic Chopin revolutionised the art of piano composition and playing in many ways. As the name suggests, the Etudes were "Studies" intended to stretch and develop the piano student, each study having a focus on particular techniques or technical challenges. However more than any other composer, Chopin's studies were also very musical, melodic and structurally sound so that they are also pleasant to listen to. Because of the often dazzling virtuosity required to play them, they can be played as encores at piano recitals, so you can readily assume that they are very difficult pieces to master. However, even if you can't master them completely, their practice can help to develop your piano playing. So for advanced players only here is Chopin's Etude Op.10 No.4 in C-sharp minor:
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Airwolf Themes - Sylvester Levay, Udi Harpaz and Mark J Cairns
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Do you remember "Airwolf" the TV series from the 80s with its super-sophisticated helicopter and exciting theme tune. The theme tune was written by Sylvester Levay who with Udi Harpaz wrote most of the series' incidental music. This music could have fallen into obscurity if it wasn't for fan Mark J Cairns who recreated their music in a double album. This was a limitied edition release and its cult rarity value meant that at one time the album was trading on eBay for many times its original value. The music has now been presented as a special online release and all the tracks can be downloaded in mp3 format. Check out our review of this rather special release, and relive the infectious electonic sounds of the 1980s. More...
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Zirkus by Cary Chow - playing works by Robert Schumann
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The publicity photos of Cary Chow with his dark t-shirt and tatoos may deviate from the traditional image of a concert pianist's bow tie and tails, but there is no mistaking the technical and interpretative skills evident in his latest album called Zirkus. This is the German word for Circus and the album consists of two major works ("Carnaval" and "Kreisleriana") from the significant piano solo output of composer Robert Schumann, who poured intensely personal messages into his creative output. Chow effortlessly flits between the many sides of the composer's nature, from the playfulness of "Carnaval" to the more intense virtuoso facets of "Kreisleriana". If you want to delve into Schumann's fascinating world, this album is an excellent place to start. More...
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Blade Runner 25th Anniversary - by Vangelis
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It is now 25 years since "Blade Runner" first hit our screens, and the movie and its music have had a remarkable impact on subsequent films and soundtracks. To mark the anniversary, director Ridley Scott has released his definitive version of the film called "The Final Cut", and composer Vangelis has released a 3 CD celebration of the music. CD1 of this Trilogy is the original soundtrack release, CD2 contains previously unreleased music from the film including some tracks which weren't used in the movie, and CD3 is all new material by Vangelis inspired by the music and mood of the Blade Runner score. Further details and a short interview with Vangelis can be found on our review page. More...
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Claude Debussy - Clair de Lune
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"Clair de Lune" is on the play list of most piano students reaching a certain standard. It is also very familiar from its use as evovative mood music on advertising or programmes for film, television and radio (e.g. the film Atonement and Chanel No.5 adverts). It comes the "Suite Bergamasque" by French composer Claude Debussy. Here are the sheet music and audio files for this delightful piece:
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Amélie Sheet Music reprinted:
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The piano Sheet Music by Yann Tiersen from the film Amelie was a major hit, but it soon sold out its initial print runs leaving fans disappointed. Well, the book has now been reprinted and a number of stores have it available in their catalogues. Try these links at Di-Arezzo.com and MusicRoom.com. The full title of the book is "Six pièces pour Piano volume 2 - Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain" and it consists of the following pieces: "Comptine d'un autre ete: l'apres-midi", "Le moulin", "La Dispute", "Sur le fil", "La valse d'Amelie" and "Comptine d'ete no.2". If you missed the original publication, now's your chance - highly recommended.
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