Last updated on 10/12/2024
🕒 4 minI have composed this orchestral work in C minor, adhering to the principles of film music, to accompany two crucial slides that visually represent the central theme of the piece.
Opening: Establishing Slight Melancholic Tension
The opening of the piece is characterised by a rhythmic ostinato in the strings, played staccato, creating a pulsating and incisive sonic fabric, yet not overpowering. I’ve maintained the dynamic range of the ensemble between mp and mf, allowing this rhythmic pattern to serve as a structural foundation for the entire initial phase, establishing an underlying tension essential to the sonic atmosphere, typical of Italian film music at the time of that sad event.
Melodic Introduction and Timbral Contrast
The entry of the main melodic line, entrusted to the pianist’s right hand, marks a significant timbral and melodic shift in the instrumental context previously dominated by the strings’ ostinato. Simultaneously with the piano’s entry, I’ve introduced two idiophones and a small tuned percussion instrument to enrich the timbral spectrum, achieving a more ‘crystalline‘ and defined sonority than would have resulted from the piano’s right hand alone. This juxtaposition of timbres creates an interesting contrast between the piano’s ‘linearity’ and the rhythmic punctuation of the percussion.
Thematic Development and Orchestration
In the thematic development, I’ve orchestrated in such a way that the strings assume a prominent role, supported by a reduced brass section. I’ve maintained the use of staccato and doubling, despite the different instrumentation compared to the introduction. The drums, at this stage, are kept in a contained dynamic register, providing essential rhythmic support without overpowering the orchestral texture. This technique, often employed in film music, maintains the clarity of the sonic narrative.
Lyrical Transition
I then introduced a brief lyrical transition, assigning a thematic variation to the cello and solo viola in the foreground (achieved during the mixing and audio post-production phase). This passage serves as a sonic bridge to the next section, elegantly anticipating the ‘break‘ in pop-classical style.
Climax: Synchronisation with Visual Narrative
The climax of the composition is intrinsically linked to the practice of writing film music. The ‘sync point‘ coinciding with the image of the protagonist extending his arms beyond the window bars inspired me to create a musical moment characterised by a drastic stylistic change. I introduced the electric bass and gave greater prominence to the drums, creating a sudden sonic opening that visually and emotionally reflects the protagonist’s gesture. This transition not only marks a change in the musical structure but also generates a strong empathic impact, amplifying the visual message of hope and freedom, fundamental elements in cinematic narrative and its music.
Harmonic Texture and Orchestral Emphasis
In this section, the strings adopt a more sustained writing style, with long notes, creating a harmonic structure over which the brass and woodwind doublings stand out. This orchestration technique emphasises the main theme, giving it greater prominence within the overall sonic texture.
Final Development and Circular Structure
In the final half of the composition, I reintroduced the string ostinato with a new rhythmic configuration. The main melody is entrusted to two soloists from the brass section, creating a new timbral colour that intertwines with the counterpoint of the strings.
The piece concludes with a cyclical return to the initial thematic material: the piano resumes the main melodic line, accompanied by the strings with long notes. I opted for this circular structure to give the composition formal cohesion and a sense of completeness, thus reflecting the cyclical nature of human experience represented in the images. This approach, typical of more sophisticated film music, allows for the creation of a sonic experience that completes and enriches the visual narrative.
My Music Has Analogue Post-production
For this composition, as with nearly all my productions, I’ve sought an extremely analogue timbral result, in line with the golden age of Italian and European film music.
I record orchestral and solo takes at 48 kHz and 24-bit, but the final rendering passes through valve analogue outboard gear to ‘colour‘ the sound. From this point, I work at 16-bit and 44.1 kHz.
I prefer this approach to the crystalline digital sound, which I find too perfect and unreal. I grew up with the slight imperfections and subtle compressions of analogue circuits.
This ‘analogue glue‘ unites the mix elements cohesively and organically, a stylistic choice I maintain through to the final steps of post-production.
Recording at 48 kHz/24-bit provides a solid foundation with ample headroom and frequency response for high-quality orchestral recordings. However, the result I seek emerges in the analogue processing chain.
The use of valve outboard gear for ‘colouration‘ is common practice in the film music I prefer. These analogue circuits, with their subtle harmonic distortions and non-linearities, generate my ‘ideal sound‘.
I don’t use Pultec EQP-1A equalisers or Fairchild 660 compressors, nor do I emulate them with plugins. I prefer more modest, second-hand outboard gear, used judiciously.
