I like music, sometimes. However, I am selective about what I listen to, and when. I often feel that more music has been imposed on me that I appreciate.
Take the situation on board the ferry, originally the Alakai, now the USNS Puerto Rico, promotionally referred to as The CAT. Soon after the ferry departed Yarmouth, Nova Scotia headed to Bar Harbor, Maine, it was announced that the bow of the vessel, where we were sitting, would be overtaken by some entertainer who would provide live music. We attempted to escape him, moving to seats in the middle of the vessel. Here all of the screens were showing some Disney movie, while loud-speakers ensured that music from the film was all that could be heard.
I consulted a crew member, and was told that the aft section of the ship was probably the quietest on offer. We moved there for the duration of the voyage. There is a difference between situations where people have music imposed on them, and those situations where they choose to being exposed to music. So, the rest of this post is about people who choose to watch a movie or a television program, with an expectation of listening to music. The purpose of film music is to enhance the dramatic narrative and emotional impact of scenes.
Film music is not random. It begins with a film score = music written specifically to accompany a film or a television program. For me, this term should also apply to computer games. These games produce the most income for their producers, exceeding that of people engaged in live theatre, television and radio programs, and film (movie) production. Cues = individual pieces of music timed to begin and end at specific points during the film. Thus, a score is a collection of a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces.
Musical scores are written by one or more composers under the guidance of a film director. Music is performed by an ensemble of musicians, which may include an orchestra = a large group of musicians, band = a small group of musicians, instrumental soloists, a choir = large group of singers, individual vocalists (often referred to collectively as playback singers). At some point this music is recorded by a sound engineer.
I am skeptical to this description. Film scores encompass an enormous variety of styles of music. depending on the nature of the films they accompany. While some scores are orchestral works rooted in Western classical music, many scores are also influenced by ambient, blues, jazz, new-age, pop as well as the modern standard rock music. In addition, there is a wide range of ethnic and world music styles.
Since the 1950s, a growing number of scores have also included electronic elements, and many scores written today feature a hybrid of orchestral and electronic instruments.
Since the invention of digital technology and audio sampling, many modern films have been able to rely on digital samples to imitate the sound of acoustic instruments, and some scores are created and performed wholly by the composers themselves, by using music composition software, synthesizers, samplers, and MIDI controllers.
In the coming weeks I intend to comment on several different film music composers, but I will start with a preview, the oldest composer on my list.
Silvestre Revueltas
One of the first and most important ethnic composers was Silvestre Revueltas Sánchez (1899 – 1940), a Mexican classical music composer, violinist and conductor. He was largely educated in Chicago, but returned to Mexico to work. His film works are: Redes (1935) = The Wave, used in a social realism film about Mexican fishermen, with a non-professional cast, directed by Alfred Zinnemann (1907-1997) and Emilio Gómez Muriel (1910 – 1985).
¡Vámonos con Pancho Villa! (1936) = Let’s Go With Pancho Villa, directed by Fernando de Fuentes Carrau[a] (1894 – 1958). It is the last part of the director’s Revolution Trilogy, which also included El prisionero trece (1933) = Prisoner 13 and El compadre Mendoza (1934) = Godfather Mendoza.
El indio (1939) = The Indian, a Mexican drama film directed by Armando Vargas de la Maza (1895 – 1941) based on the novel of the same name published in 1935, written by Gregorio López y Fuentes (1897 – 1966).
Ferrocarriles de Baja California (1938). It has been difficult for me to find out much about this film. However, The Ferrocarril Sonora–Baja California is a former railway line from Mexicali, in Baja California, to Benjamín Hill, in Sonora. It interchanged with the Southern Pacific Railroad at Calexico, California, and with the Ferrocarril del Pacifico in Benjamin Hill, Sonora. The problem with this explanation is that the film, from 1938, predates the railway by ten years. The railway started running in 1948. Sections of the film score were reworked as Música para charlar = which translates something like, musical gossip.
Other compositional works include music for: Bajo el signo de la muerte (1939), La noche de los mayas (1939) = Night of the Mayas, ¡Que viene mi marido! (1940).
Reading Cartas íntimas y escritos,a recompilation of Silvestre Revueltas’ letters and other writings, by his sister Rosaura Revueltas (1908 [1910, other sources] – 1996), could result in a better understanding of the composer. Rosaura was an actress, most famously appearing in Salt of the Earth (1954), which resulted in her being blacklisted by the Hollywood system. Her recompilation is important because it was in his letters and writings that Silvestre Revueltas most freely describes his thoughts and emotions in detail, including how he composed his music and, in some cases, his reasons for it. The pinnacle of Revueltas’ compositional technique is found in his film music. He once wrote: The spirit of Mexico is deep within me. He did not exploit Mexican folklore, but developed a compositional style that resulted in something nationalistic. His compositional manner was similar to that of Sergei Prokofiev and Dimitri Shostakovich in their relationships with Russia. People who understand Spanish with an interest in film music, should consider reading Cartas intimas y escritos.