Sonorous Storytelling

Notion - John Williams
Song - John Williams conducts Jurassic Park

I can only steal good quotes or a few famous lines about music and its greatness for all there is to be said, asked, argued or praised about it is already in print. And where words have failed to express a view about music, music itself has expressed it expressly.

Music, in all its forms, has a hold on me like it does on very many souls and I consider myself truly blessed to be moved by it. But I have a peculiar interest that has seldom and scarcely been shared by other music lovers I know.

Background scores.

I was the only 10 year old I knew who owned a Titanic cassette in 1997. Of course, my mother assumed it had other songs besides 'My heart will go on' but little did she know that I had the album version of the song on a separate cassette. I wanted the Titanic cassette for the background score tracks. To this day, 'Never an Absolution' is my favorite James Horner composition. But I understand that my cousins could not get why my music request was playing 'Hard to Starboard' on the music system.

The same inexplicable sheer sheer exhilaration rushed through me when, sharp at 8pm, the Grant Park Orchestra struck the notes of the triumphant and jubilant Superman track in Millennium Park last evening.

Standalone musical performances of course have their own magnificence and charm. But background scores shoulder the onerous task of being sonorous. They truly breathe life into a story. Be it a movie, or a play or any other audio visual performance; the music that flows in the background carries the story. The sound of the first few notes of a famous track livens the whole movie experience in a flash. You can see every scene with closed eyes when the music is playing. Dialogues and actions create scenes but the music etches these scenes in our memories. 

It is because of this immense love for background scores that I find it excruciatingly painful to pick a favorite. I found friends who shared my love for Hans Zimmer's mastery(and I like them even more because of this sacred love!). My love for the movie Titanic is all due to my love for James Horner's music. Howard Shore, Thomas Newman, Rachel Portman are the reason why I have watched some movies. But John Williams. John Williams!

John Williams.

I cannot for the love of my life find the right words or phrases to express the emotions this man's music stirs in me.

If you check out the work of this brilliant composer, you will stumble across sagas like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Harry Potter and almost all of Spielberg's movie. Now although all of Spielberg's movies is an accurate categorization of the movies, but they include movies like Jaws, E.T, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, Terminal, Catch Me If You Can, Lincoln. 

Yes, he composed the music for all these Spielberg masterpieces. 

All of the above are stories that are timeless. And hence, to ably be a sonorous storyteller for ALL such epics is an overwhelming feat and yet John Williams has left an everlasting impression on each of them. Rather, he uncovered the true identity of these stories. And continues to do so even today.

John Williams, for me, is a storyteller. Thanks to him, every character has a musical identity. Every plot unfolds with its own rhythm. Each word resounds with its own tone. And he creates all these identities, rhythms and tones. Or possibly, he simply discovers them and merely puts them forth.

To quote Spielberg -

"Without John Williams, bikes don't really fly. Nor do brooms in Quidditch matches. Nor do men in red capes. 

There is no Force. 

Dinosaurs do not walk the Earth. 

We do not wonder. We do not weep. We do not believe."

Unfortunately, I am no such storyteller even when trying to do so just with words. And hence this abrupt end.

But let me share one last mental note about these musical notes. To keep up the practice of linking one song/tune to each article I share, I had to choose a track from John Williams' works. It was worse than Sophie's choice I kid you not. But a moment at the concert made it simple for me to find that answer. I knew they were about to play the theme of Jurassic Park so I got all set with my phone in the recording mode. But halfway through the performance, when the music lulls a bit, I realized I had not pressed the record button. I was mesmerized to an extent I can never put in words. So with extreme anxiety and apprehension, I choose the Jurassic Park theme.

May you see dinosaurs when you listen to it.