Saturday, July 31, 2021

Titanic


Titanic (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Music Composed and Conducted by James Horner

Renovatio Records’ next release is legendary composer James Horner’s score to the 1997 epic film Titanic, written and directed James Cameron and starring Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gloria Stuart, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde and Bill Paxton. Based on accounts of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, the plot involves a love story between wealthy 17-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater and poor young artist Jack Dawson, who meet on board the infamous ship and quickly fall in love. As if the conflict between their social classes was not enough to doom their relationship, they are thrown right into the middle of disaster when the ship hits an iceberg and starts to sink.

Little more can be said about the famous film’s success: it became a critical and commercial hit, it received numerous accolades (11 Oscars) and it remained the highest grossing film of all time until Cameron’s Avatar surpassed it in 2010. Much of the attention of the film went to its soundtrack, being regarded to this day as one the 100 greatest scores of all time, and the culmination of James Horner’s 90s peak after already having struck gold with Apollo 13, Legends of the Fall and Braveheart. Titanic would earn Horner his two Oscar wins for both the score and the accompanying song performed by Celine Dion, which at the time ranked as the most popular radio song and helped sell over 25 million copies of the original album, making Horner the highest selling contemporary composer, even surpassing John Williams.

Cameron’s initial idea was to have Irish singer Enya compose the score, even temp-tracking the film with her music. However, after she declined, the director turned to Horner, even though they had been through a rough experience at the time of scoring Aliens in 1986. Horner’s music for Braveheart was the hint that gave Cameron that the composer was the right man for the job, as Titanic called for a deep and sensitive score to touch on the sensibilities and intimacies of the relationship between the two leads and on the emotional impact of the disaster. As expected, Horner succeeded at this task and, while his new age music for Titanic may sound very much in parts like Enya’s style, he composed what would probably become the most recognizable love theme in the history of film music. This love theme consists of two gorgeous adjoined melodies that often exists separately throughout the score and played by different instruments. The opening track “Main Title” introduces the love theme with the haunting vocals of Norwegian vocalist Sissel Kyrkjebø, playing as a mournful lamentation of the souls lost at sea in the tragedy. The second sequence of the theme is hinted at in piano and Sissel’s voice at the beginning of “Suicide Attempt” to highlight the scene in which Jack sees Rose for the first time. Horner himself plays a lovely piano solo version of the full theme in “The Portrait”. However, where it truly shines is in the track “Rose”, which can be regarded as an achievement in filmmaking, with music, cinematography and romance working together in what may be one of the finest sequences of cinematic history: as the Titanic sees sunlight for the last time, Rose and Jack embrace their love and kiss at the ship’s bow, and Horner uplifts the moment with solo woodwinds, Sissel’s beautiful vocals, synth voices, piano and bass. After bringing quivers and tears with its climax, the shot quickly transitions to the image of the sunken ship, and Horner skillfully accompanies this with a solo flute with a delay effect that evokes the sound of a distant ship whistle.

The other main theme that stands out in the score is the one for the ship itself. While hinted at the second part of “Distant Memories” with French horns, this majestic theme makes its full debut in “Southampton”, accompanying the impressive scene in which the Titanic departs. However, it is during the final part of “Take Her to Sea, Mr. Murdoch” when the theme truly shines, played by the full ensemble while the camera pans over the ship as it sails into the Atlantic horizon line. A number of other secondary leitmotifs exist through the score, namely a menacing four-note low brass line for the iceberg in the middle and final portions of “Hard to Starboard”, and a slow descending four-note motif in low strings with an eerie effect for the concept of death, best heard in “Suicide Attempt” and at the end of “End Credits”. Horner’s action music is also worth noting. While not the highlight of the score, the action passages keep the full orchestra quite busy in tracks like “Hard to Starboard”, “A Building Panic”, “The Sinking” and “Death of Titanic”. “Hard to Starboard” is probably the standout of these cues; in it, Horner whimsically intertwines the rhythm of a telegraph effect before moving to frantic action as the crew does everything in their power to avoid that the ship hits the iceberg. At the 2:30 minute mark, the track quickly shifts to the iceberg motif over a martial drum ostinato accentuated by piano low-keys and bells, as all that the crew can do now is wait and hope that the ships makes the turn in time. Once more, this is another one of the most effective confluences of music and image in the movie, as the audience knows that the ship will hit the iceberg but still, we are on the edge of our seats waiting for the ship to miss it and continue its maiden voyage safe and sound.

In 1997, Sony Music Soundtrax released the successful commercial album, and in 1998, the same company released “Back to Titanic”, which included additional music from the film, namely source music. The third release for the score was La-La Land Records’ 2017 4-disc special 20th anniversary edition, containing Horner’s complete score, with alternate versions of several tracks, and all the source music heard in the film. Renovatio Records’ release provides a presentation of the film score that plays in chronological order, going through its most significant highlights, as well as introducing different versions of several tracks, namely “Hard to Starboard”, which is stripped from the distracting synthesizer effects heard in the original album, and “An Ocean of Memories”, which is available for the first time ever in a release as a full reconstruction of the music as heard in the film’s ending, a combination of alternate versions for “Rose” and “Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave”. We invite you go back to the Titanic and enjoy what can very well be considered the crowning achievement of the entire career of late composer James Horner.


Track Listing:
1. Main Title (1:29)
2. Distant Memories (2:22)
3. Southampton (3:00)
4. Take Her to Sea, Mr. Murdoch (4:29)
5. Suicide Attempt (2:43)
6. The Portrait (5:29)
7. Rose (2:52)
8. Hard to Starboard (6:46)
9. Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave (3:52)
10. A Building Panic (8:36)
11. The Sinking (6:31)
12. Death of Titanic (7:48)
13. A Promise Kept (4:27)
14. An Ocean of Memories (4:27)
15. My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme from 'Titanic') (5:06) - Performed by Celine Dion
16. End Credits (2:33)

Total Running Time: 72:30





Cover Artwork:



No comments:

Post a Comment