The “sound” of film music actually began in the early 1890’s with the “silent” film, when an accompanist in the theatre provided piano music as background to the image onscreen. [1] At the turn of the century, movie music became increasingly “diegetic”, meaning it played an onscreen role in the story. [2] Production companies began to print “cue sheets” for their films as guidelines on which style of music went with a particular scene. [3] Music anthologies for movie house accompanists began to appear, with content organized by mood type. [4] By 1911, original piano music was being written for specific films, and over the next decade, the theatre organ made its debut while accompaniment in larger venues grew to include instrumental ensembles and choruses.[5]
In the early 1920’s, music began to be recorded for films, thus rendering the theatre organ silent, and by the end of the decade, synchronized sound for both music and dialogue made its debut.[6] The advent of the “talkie”, or film with onscreen sound created such a stir that music, historically a task for the movie house accompanist, was ignored for a time.[7] According to musicologist Steven Watts, “Producers and directors were obsessed by words. They forgot one of the greatest emotional factors in the silent cinema was the musical accompaniment.”[8] The 1920’s also saw the establishment of the top Hollywood studios, and what is historically known as the “Golden Age” of film began.[9] Hollywood was infused with talent from both the United States and Europe, including classically trained composers.[10] This gave rise to lush orchestration in the style of nineteenth century Romanticism,[11] and some of the most memorable film scores. As the genre developed, the idea of integrating music more cohesively as narrative enhancement came to the forefront. This concept had its roots most notably in the operas of Richard Wagner, who viewed his work as a total work of art encompassing music, poetry, drama and visual elements into one genre.[12] Further, Wagner’s idea of “unendliche melodie” or “endless melody” served as a guideline for providing a continuous backdrop to the onscreen drama.[13] This compositional style remained at the forefront of film music for almost twenty years.
The popularity of film noir in the 1940’s and sci-fi and fantasy films in the 1950’s demanded new, starker film music styles. Composers began to experiment with jazz, dissonance, atonality and electronic treatments to give the new genres their mysterious, ambiguous feel.[14] In 1956 Louis and Bebe Barron, both classically trained musicians, wrote the first entirely electronic score for the film Forbidden Planet, using transistors and circuitry to make “electronic tonalities”.[15] The symphonic score was relegated only to big-budget movies, and some were only too glad to see its downfall. Aaron Copland thought the symphonic score was restrictive and predictable.[16] Igor Stravinsky, who consistently turned down offers to score films[17] questioned the existence of film music in general, saying its only purpose was to “feed the composers.”[18]
In the aftermath of World War II the powerful Hollywood studio system began to break down. Movie ticket sales dropped as televisions entered more and more homes.[19] Studios began looking for additional sources of income, and it appeared in the form of the movie "theme song". Film music, once a string of musical cues, became more song-like, which could then have lyrics added, the result being a stand-alone theme to boost record and sheet music sales.[20] The new format was hard on old-school film composers. In fact, the concept severed the working relationship between Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Hitchcock when Herrmann refused to deliver a theme song for Torn Curtain.[21] Still, the theme song became lucrative to the composer, as led by Henry Mancini, they won the right to share in the profits of film song and soundtrack sales. Additionally, popular music, especially the new genre of Rock & Roll surfaced in film scores, creating further tension between advocates of old and new styles.[22]
In the last forty years, film music has become a potpourri of styles combining original compositions with existing music, be it classical, jazz or popular. With profits always a top priority, production companies have used compilation scores of songs both past and present, which are then sold as records, cds and downloads.[23] In another money-making venture, the theme song has been taken one step farther by hiring a well-known artist to record it.[24] Classical era works have been infused into scores, some becoming more associated as “movie themes” than as the stand-alone works of their origination. The computer has opened up a new world of previously unavailable electronic compositional methods. And in a return to its roots, the classic symphonic score made its comeback in the 1970’s, especially for “blockbuster” films and film series.[25] In the hands of John Williams, James Horner, Danny Elfman, Howard Shore and Hans Zimmer, the style once considered “old school” has become a viable and successful practice once again.
[1] Mervyn Cooke, A History of Film Music, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 7.
[2] Ibid, 9.
[3] Ibid, 15.
[4] Ibid, 17.
[5] Ibid, 21.
[6] Ibid, 19.
[7] Steven Watts, “Alfred Hitchcock on Music and Films,” in Celluloid Symphonies: Texts and Contexts in Film Music History, Julie Hubbert, ed. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011), 165.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Cooke, A History, 67.
[10] Ibid, 68.
[11] Ibid, 78.
[12] Barry Millington, et al., “Wagner”, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online (Oxford University Press, accessed November 17, 2012) http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/O905605pg1.
[13] James Buhler and David Neumeyer, review of Strains of Utopia: Gender, Nostalgia, and Hollywood Film Music by Caryl Flinn; Settling the Score: Music and the Classic Hollywood Film by Kathryn Kalinak. Journal of American Musicological Society 47, no. 2 (Summer 1994), 376.
[14] Julie Hubbert, Celluloid Symphonies, 195.
[15] Ibid, 195-197.
[16] Ibid, 185.
[17] Cooke, A History, 109.
[18] Ibid, quoted on p. 191.
[19] Cooke, A History, 183.
[20] Hubbert, Celluloid Symphonies, 193.
[21] Ibid, 300.
[22] Cooke,A History,183, 396.
[23] Ibid, 408.
[24] Ibid, 405.
[25] Ibid, 456.
In the early 1920’s, music began to be recorded for films, thus rendering the theatre organ silent, and by the end of the decade, synchronized sound for both music and dialogue made its debut.[6] The advent of the “talkie”, or film with onscreen sound created such a stir that music, historically a task for the movie house accompanist, was ignored for a time.[7] According to musicologist Steven Watts, “Producers and directors were obsessed by words. They forgot one of the greatest emotional factors in the silent cinema was the musical accompaniment.”[8] The 1920’s also saw the establishment of the top Hollywood studios, and what is historically known as the “Golden Age” of film began.[9] Hollywood was infused with talent from both the United States and Europe, including classically trained composers.[10] This gave rise to lush orchestration in the style of nineteenth century Romanticism,[11] and some of the most memorable film scores. As the genre developed, the idea of integrating music more cohesively as narrative enhancement came to the forefront. This concept had its roots most notably in the operas of Richard Wagner, who viewed his work as a total work of art encompassing music, poetry, drama and visual elements into one genre.[12] Further, Wagner’s idea of “unendliche melodie” or “endless melody” served as a guideline for providing a continuous backdrop to the onscreen drama.[13] This compositional style remained at the forefront of film music for almost twenty years.
The popularity of film noir in the 1940’s and sci-fi and fantasy films in the 1950’s demanded new, starker film music styles. Composers began to experiment with jazz, dissonance, atonality and electronic treatments to give the new genres their mysterious, ambiguous feel.[14] In 1956 Louis and Bebe Barron, both classically trained musicians, wrote the first entirely electronic score for the film Forbidden Planet, using transistors and circuitry to make “electronic tonalities”.[15] The symphonic score was relegated only to big-budget movies, and some were only too glad to see its downfall. Aaron Copland thought the symphonic score was restrictive and predictable.[16] Igor Stravinsky, who consistently turned down offers to score films[17] questioned the existence of film music in general, saying its only purpose was to “feed the composers.”[18]
In the aftermath of World War II the powerful Hollywood studio system began to break down. Movie ticket sales dropped as televisions entered more and more homes.[19] Studios began looking for additional sources of income, and it appeared in the form of the movie "theme song". Film music, once a string of musical cues, became more song-like, which could then have lyrics added, the result being a stand-alone theme to boost record and sheet music sales.[20] The new format was hard on old-school film composers. In fact, the concept severed the working relationship between Bernard Herrmann and Alfred Hitchcock when Herrmann refused to deliver a theme song for Torn Curtain.[21] Still, the theme song became lucrative to the composer, as led by Henry Mancini, they won the right to share in the profits of film song and soundtrack sales. Additionally, popular music, especially the new genre of Rock & Roll surfaced in film scores, creating further tension between advocates of old and new styles.[22]
In the last forty years, film music has become a potpourri of styles combining original compositions with existing music, be it classical, jazz or popular. With profits always a top priority, production companies have used compilation scores of songs both past and present, which are then sold as records, cds and downloads.[23] In another money-making venture, the theme song has been taken one step farther by hiring a well-known artist to record it.[24] Classical era works have been infused into scores, some becoming more associated as “movie themes” than as the stand-alone works of their origination. The computer has opened up a new world of previously unavailable electronic compositional methods. And in a return to its roots, the classic symphonic score made its comeback in the 1970’s, especially for “blockbuster” films and film series.[25] In the hands of John Williams, James Horner, Danny Elfman, Howard Shore and Hans Zimmer, the style once considered “old school” has become a viable and successful practice once again.
[1] Mervyn Cooke, A History of Film Music, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 7.
[2] Ibid, 9.
[3] Ibid, 15.
[4] Ibid, 17.
[5] Ibid, 21.
[6] Ibid, 19.
[7] Steven Watts, “Alfred Hitchcock on Music and Films,” in Celluloid Symphonies: Texts and Contexts in Film Music History, Julie Hubbert, ed. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011), 165.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Cooke, A History, 67.
[10] Ibid, 68.
[11] Ibid, 78.
[12] Barry Millington, et al., “Wagner”, The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online (Oxford University Press, accessed November 17, 2012) http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.huaryu.kl.oakland.edu/subscriber/article/grove/music/O905605pg1.
[13] James Buhler and David Neumeyer, review of Strains of Utopia: Gender, Nostalgia, and Hollywood Film Music by Caryl Flinn; Settling the Score: Music and the Classic Hollywood Film by Kathryn Kalinak. Journal of American Musicological Society 47, no. 2 (Summer 1994), 376.
[14] Julie Hubbert, Celluloid Symphonies, 195.
[15] Ibid, 195-197.
[16] Ibid, 185.
[17] Cooke, A History, 109.
[18] Ibid, quoted on p. 191.
[19] Cooke, A History, 183.
[20] Hubbert, Celluloid Symphonies, 193.
[21] Ibid, 300.
[22] Cooke,A History,183, 396.
[23] Ibid, 408.
[24] Ibid, 405.
[25] Ibid, 456.
