Welcome back! New episode of "What Lies Beneath," we left our heroes last episode right there on the helicopter and now we must explain what happens now. They head towards a wonderful discovery, meanwhile we will also see the helicopter wobble but we absolutely don't care because the "dream" that John Williams puts in front of us with his wonderful music removes any space for worry and so we start to see. Let's see! It's the theme that starts with the rest, beautiful! Here is all the grandeur, all the adventure.

Here we have exposed the theme, in this case he also entrusts it among others to the trumpets (and to French Horns). I don't think the violins are doing it, I believe the violins at this moment are doing the rhythm. The fanfare, the use of the timbre obviously of the brass, in Williams is another... He's another who of his staples, is really part of his writing style. But here he leads us straight to triumph. Okay, it's obviously a triumphal theme, it's a theme we can recognize right away for the triumph of the fifth jumps.

Just classic from triumphant music, right? Classic, it leads us towards the surprise that he made us taste before with the waiting, with the suspension of the dialogue from the tonal center, now we enter directly, straight into the key, indeed, with I V I V Exactly, eh, this is really something from the first year, from the first course, but... However, it has psychological characteristics that we will also analyze further ahead, because it is interesting to note also how from the harmonic structure that underlies, which is underneath a melodic line, an important and carrying theme as in this case, there are psychological characteristics that are exposed, and are thus received subconsciously by the listener (in this case listener and viewer), given also precisely by the succession of harmonic and, also in this case, simply by the intervals, because in our Western culture, but there are also natural bases in this very perception psycho-acoustic: our brain is used to immediately seeking a hierarchical center. This is why he plays to take away, like the carpet under your feet, this hierarchical center. When he gives us the chance to leave it, in this case, the hierarchical center that we consider as the tonic, if we imagine a scale, is the first note of this scale; around this sun, this star that attracts everything which is the tonic, there are degrees that rotate in a much stronger, much more attractive way relative to this center, which are IV and V. So working around these two degrees confers a perception, assigns a kind of authority, of authority to the character of the theme, in this case thus translating into triumph, which is the first sense that John Williams wants to give us in the arrival on this island.

The surprise is coming and is coming, the mad billionaire made it. He tells us he made it - eccentric, eccentric. Sorry not mad: he's eccentric, he made it and we go to see what. That is, we already know, see? Even if we haven't... There is something he has achieved.

We know there is something there. It is the theme of a fulfilled man who finally is a complete man. Finished yet not finished, but... And we're back in the helicopter. Second theme, just classic second theme, entrusted to the strings, so the trumpets go away, also because anyway... here you see, there is this scene that could be in some way of danger because there are air pockets, but thanks to the legato even goes into minor, see?

B-flat minor, but it does not give any sense of sadness, of danger, of melancholy zero, just zero. We are always in triumph, always in the atmosphere of realization and it's curious to note, this is something that we wanted to highlight, it's not so much a harmonic analysis, because we are not interested at this moment in doing a harmonic analysis, also because where there is no defined tonal center, as in this case, when we enter inside the helicopter, it is also difficult, let's say, to categorize the chords. But what is interesting to see, is how he, we were in B-flat, enters the helicopter and takes us with the relative minor, which is G minor. And with the bass, as he goes to work, deceiving our brain, because passing with C in the bass, it leads us to give a specific weight to the note of F of the chord which is composed of the woods, from many things that now we are not specifying, but it deceives us, allowing our brain to shift, to move this famous tonal center naturally, without jolts, without traumas, going to suspend See this D without the third, with the fourth and the second These things here he does with full hands that tell you: "In what key are we?" Yet, it throws back in the G, which allows us with a seventh from A, to reintegrate a bit of what we had temporarily left, let's say like this, leaving the G minor, to go then not more on B flat but on B flat minor. Then it returns a third above with a minor tonality, with an extremely elegant transition that also here allows a movement that relatively to the jolts of the helicopter brings us to an idea of dynamism, of a dynamic. And at the same time no perception of something serious; nothing can disturb the journey heroic, of the eccentric billionaire who made it, And our characters finally land on the island!

And so we had the anticipation for the gift from the billionaire to the guests; the perception of triumph, thus of the billionaire who achieved. We've created the conditions for... Because this is very important, Fabrizio, within a film score. Something I often talk about on my channel, the problem is that many times, maybe the director asks you, "Score this scene, let's see if you score it well" but a scene in itself makes little sense, if you don't see it from the entirety of the whole soundtrack. So here we have created (Me and Johnny - LOL) we have created the conditions for what you were saying. So the expectation, the realization and now by hand it takes us to the point where the protagonists will remain naturally open-mouthed.

Let's see how he does it, because here I publicly repent, because I would have thrown it a bit into disarray. Instead, Johnny resolves it with striking elegance. Yes, because in any case, if we consider the entire path of this scene, it's a bit of a synopsis of film music composition. Because within it are all the elements that, as you mentioned, range from generating expectations, to the same characterization of themes which although is triumphant has a nuance that is not yet revealing. It is revealing of the group's psychology. And so it's as if we could see the group's psychology that evolves and proceeds from anticipation, imagination, to the prefiguration of what they will see and to what they are seeing now.

This scene is well-known to us all, when they see the dinosaur for the first time. I told you perhaps here I would have thrown it a bit into chaos with something more. Instead, strings, very elegant. Here you see the 6/4 he uses to extend the measure because he wants to arrive at the theme, when the dinosaur is better framed, An internal transition within the measure. Thus, here we have the sacralization. Certainly, it's the right term.

Look also at the solemnity! It's solemn. To give importance to what was prepared earlier, thus the expectations generated with the themes of the journey towards the island, the approach to the island. Thus the internal psychological dynamism of the great anticipation with the total slowdown of the theme, is sacralized. Thus we started with the gallop. Now we are at...

we have slowed down the tempo; slowing down the tempo, it goes towards sacralization and solemnity. And look at how eccentric he is, legitimately, pleased with himself. And the music, well, gives us all this satisfaction. And he laughs, smiles, happy, because he still doesn’t know... That everything will go awry soon. But at this stage, it’s right for him to be happy.

Exactly, let’s continue to finish the theme. He made it. And here, look, when we talk about someone great like Williams, maybe there’s nothing left to chance, obviously. But how well that measure comes across with disbelief, of those who were anyway skeptical, he was, so to speak, the outside cold-eye was supposed to be, right? How perfect it comes on the measure of disbelief is... immense.

Exactly, because it is as if, ideally, the music is mirroring, in this case, what the characters are experiencing in our minds. And thus it's as if Williams had taken us into a cathedral and we had said: "Wow, this architect has built an incredible cathedral. Because the music that gives us the construction ideal of that cathedral has such extreme solemnity that even the measure, that darned good-for-nothing, made it. And so it goes to sacralize. And so we have, in the movement of three scenes, of three fragments of a scene, of a single scene we have an entire journey carried forward with a huge orchestra, a dynamic, an exposition that touches all possible colors, a tonality that is moved continuously, with a basic coherence, a background, that leaves one amazed. Another thing I thought, and maybe this is a reason why it leaves us astonished, because as you rightly said, until now even in the most thematic part, where we're on the helicopter, etc., etc., it's all deliberately shifted, exactly we don't have a center, as mentioned many times by now.

Arriving there, boom! here this thing stops you, it makes a harmonic progression also very, very simple, in the end but it gives you truly that sense of arrival, that is, you have created the conditions, to let you see this scene here, you see it... just like that.. because before the music, obviously in addition to dialogue, besides the director how he shot, the editing, everything we want, but the music has created this sense of not finding a center, here we find the center beautifully, strong, clear and gives us the... Exactly, so again this very strong anchoring, because we composers or anyone who approaches even the study of a score by John Williams or even just listening to a John Williams soundtrack, is amazed by the orchestral and harmonic architecture... At the same time of tremendous complexity, but at the same time of tremendous simplicity, Doesn't it seem like listening to Anton Webern, right?

No, it's a coherent listening and even before being a great orchestrator, a great weaver of harmonies, John Williams is a great builder of themes. So, speaking of orchestrators, I can already imagine someone will ask us so I’ll anticipate the question below in the comments. Who does John Williams' orchestrations? As our good friend Privitera from Soundtracks tells us, whom we greet. Hi Massimo. Hi Max.

Soundtracks, the magazine of film music, Soundtracks.net So, Williams relies on the orchestrators Courage and Neufeld, because his cohort Spencer had recently passed away. Recently. And some sessions were directed by pianist Artie Kane, who was also a composer, and was the husband of Joanne Kane, who was the historic copyist, also the keeper, not just of the Williams scores. Imagine if she hadn’t made copies, what she has at home? Incredible. I’d go to her house not to steal money, not to take away the scores.

And indeed, when we do concerts of soundtracks we'll have to call dear Joanne and say, “Can you give us Williams’ scores?” I anticipate a question that, I already know they will make us young buds of composition for images in the comments. The fact that a composer, even classically trained like Williams, does not orchestrate what he writes, what does it mean musically? So, Williams can orchestrate this and more, and has orchestrated this and more. Many times however, due to strictly time issues, having perhaps to write 80, 90, in some cases 100 minutes of music, we rely on external orchestrators. Keep in mind that Williams always writes very detailed sketches. That is, he does not just make a piano reduction.

He says, "This is done by the trombones." In fact, let’s show a page of the manuscript. So that it’s clear, because orchestration also gives the sound. If the orchestration weren't by him, the sound woudln't be the same. Connecting to what you said at the beginning, you will see something special Come on, bring it out! There’s a point where our beloved John, despite what the purists say, has written by his own hand, at least we believe that he was not coerced under torture, he wrote Synth Brass. Oh!

Maybe because you know what, maybe he didn’t have the budget! He wanted 24 horns. And they gave him 22. So what do we do? Reinforce the horns. That’s not something...

If we look, there are the sixth notes, so he reinforced the horns. Exactly as needed, he probably needed more of a point on the sound and that timbral character that has such a maybe decisive attack, that only with the Synth you manage to push in the final mix. Yes, because you know, because my friends, orchestra conductors will already tell you "No, that's not true! With brass of that quality, as obviously they have, if you conduct it well, you bring it out." Eh, no, mmm so and so so and so. Because then you go to hear the mix. That is, theoretically it's true.

Then in practice, if Williams writes to add the Synth there must be a reason. Eh, yes. And that reason isn't the budget. Also because, however we remember that it will also be the theme not of the next, but of one of the subsequent episodes, always starting from the score of Jurassic Park, the sound that we hear in the film, in the theater, the sound that we hear from the mix of the film, in the cinema and also in the recording we go to listen to the album soundtrack, is a sound that has a work on mixing, before even on recording, before even on writing, obviously: writing, recording and mixing, create a sound ensemble that is different from that of a live concert. Absolutely, absolutely. So even what we go to hear, is not simply the result of a live performance that is captured, but certain sections and moments are highlighted, enhanced, so much so that when he does concerts live with the orchestra, the scores are those, but they are never identical in the orchestration, I mean, to what was done on the film.

The live sound, as you rightly said, has another conception, another outlet, another expressive need, and so corrective measures are made on the orchestration. I would say we leave these little pebbles thrown into the pond for next time. Absolutely. We also leave the link to view and download the pages we inserted above the images, so if someone wants to take a look at the reduction, or anyway at the transcription of the manuscript or at the piano reduction, they can do it, and can even see, practically, also try to play what we have talked about so far. So what can I say, we will see you next episode, next week, don't miss it. Shall we tell them or not tell them what we will talk about?

I wouldn’t tell them. Otherwise it's too easy. Don't miss it, meanwhile subscribe to the channel, this is mandatory, and activate the bell so you can be informed as soon as the new video is ready, but in a few days, have faith, It will come. I believe. Until next time. Bye!