Two composers with a Chopin connection. John Field composed a number of Nocturnes and inspired Chopin to write his own. Carl Filtsch was a young student of Chopin who sadly died at the age of 14. Here is music by both composers (sheet music, parts, midi & mp3):
Vivaldi's "L'estro armonico" is a set of 12 concertos. We present the perfectly formed 2nd (slow) movement from the Concerto No.11 in Dm (RV 565), for solo violin and string orchestra, in its original form plus 3 arrangements all with videos, audio files, plus sheet music score and parts:
Alexandre Desplat's score for Little Women is wholesome and speaks from the heart with a simple innocence. The tone and orchestral palette are consistent throughout, but Desplat rarely repeats himself and instead provides a constant source of invention. More...
Released as part of Film Fest Gent, Music for Film showcases the music of Marco Beltrami with suites from his scores. These demonstrate his superb orchestration and use of sound - the album's cover may be black and white, but the musical contents are full of colour. More...
Featuring two orchestral works by John Adams, Naive and Sentimental Music & Absolute Jest, this is an excellent recording by the RSNO conducted by Peter Oundjian with the Doric String Quartet. The recording's clarity beings out every jesture of Adams' suberb music. More...
Choral Quarrels - where composers and directors may have different views... In his latest article, John Caps investigates the dangers of choral music in films with many historic examples of the successes, near misses and potential failures. More...
With Doctor Who Series 12 due to screen on New Year's Day, we look back at Segun Akinola's music for Series 11. This showcases his first series as composer for the Doctor Who Music, with a distinct new approach to the show's long-standing Theme and incidental music. More...
The Dolly Suite by French composer Gabriel Fauré is one of his best known works. It was originally composed for piano duet, but is frequently played in other arrangements. On mfiles we present the 1st movement of the Dolly Suite, named Berceuse (or Lullaby), in 3 different versions with sheet music scores and parts, plus videos, midi and mp3 files:
The article Two Striking Films includes reviews of two recent film scores - "Under the Silver Lake" by Disasterpeace (Rich Vreeland) and "King Charles III" by Jocelyn Pook. The article's author John Caps asks Is This Post-Millennial Scoring? More...
The TV Series of Good Omens has a lot to live up to in terms of fan expectation. However David Arnold's music turns out to be an essential part of the result, delivering superb musical humour and characterisation. More...
Everything about the God of War game score is gorgeous, enthralling choral elements with a wonderful soloist, well-chosen instrumentation, and an exquisite set of melodies. Somehow Bear McCreary's music turns a mythical world into something totally believable. More...
Based in part on correspondence with the composer, John Caps takes an in-depth look at the early career of John Williams: his musical education, early experiences as a jazz pianist, and the various influences which set him on course to become the superlative film score composer we all admire. More...
We head back to 2003 for Thomas Newman's first animated feature. With its quirky gestures and uniquely stylistic orchestrations, Finding Nemo established the composer firmly in this genre, and he went on score a further two films for Pixar. More...
This Dracula score is largely orchestral and paints a charged gothic atmosphere of the strange and mysterious, with occasional scares and bursts of action. It is another fine and highly enjoyable score from the established composer partnership of David Arnold and Michael Price. More...
In addition to symphonies and ballets, Tchaikovsky composed many pieces for solo piano. Mostly this was at the request of his publisher seeking sales. Here are 3 of his piano pieces, in their original form and also in woodwind arrangements - all with sheet music parts, videos, midi & mp3 files:
Congratulations to Hildur Guðnadóttir on the Oscar for her score to "Joker", adding to her Golden Globe and BAFTA wins. The composer recently scored the TV series "Chernobyl" and the film "Sicario: Day Of The Soldado", sequel to "Sicario" on which she performed the cello solos for the late Jóhann Jóhannsson. More...
Christopher Willis has concocted a sumptuous score for Iannucci's The Personal History of David Copperfield. Its splendidly neoclassical music pays homage to the styles of a range of British composers, while also celebrating the richness of Dickens' novel. More...
Brahms composed 2 versions of his "Variations on the St. Anthony Chorale" (previously thought to be by Haydn), for Two Pianos and for Orchestra. For the Theme only, we include these and 2 further versions - for Piano Solo and for Trio (with parts allowing various instruments to participate in the Trio):
The Ribbon is an animated short which has done incredibly well on the festival circuit. The score by composer Jonathan Galland has also garnered a string of awards and deservedly so, taking the film through an emotional roller-coaster in the space of a few minutes. More...
Edvard Grieg composed his Holberg Suite to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Ludvig Holberg, a Norwegian writer, and chose the style of his Suite to reflect period music "From Holberg's Time". Although Grieg later arranged the Holberg Suite for string orchestra we present the 3rd movement "Gavotte" from the original version for piano solo. On mfiles the Gavotte is available to download as piano sheet music (with illustrating video), a midi file or an mp3 file:
