The Musical Score

[CANSTANDIT]

Is there any music over those words? There is music over the whispers at the end of SNIT but all of those examples aren't in the subtit;es anyway.

maybe not sweetie..but yes, there is some over Darlin, I believe...

[BayCityJohn]

Any particular parts, Suelyblu? I never had any trouble with the dialogue so maybe it's just the fault of the sound system. No, on second thoughts, the last time I watched it at a film society evening the dialogue was harder to pick up and the ambient sound - water, wind, etc. - was a little too loud. It could just be the speaker balance.

When we watched it at the Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills last summer the sound was the best I had ever experienced.

I heard stuff I never heard before.

A state of the art sound system can do wonders.

[Ministering angel]

So what new stuff did you pick up, John?

[suelyblu]

Yes,  some of the dialogue in the second night in the tent scene was drowned out by the musical score. It was only a small scene but an important one with Jack coaxing Ennis out of him self. If there is dialogue there , let it be heard . I pay to hear dialogue in a film and watch the actors act, the score comes as an extra no matter how good it is. It should be there to enhance the scenes. I have the BBM CD if I want to listen to the music.As I stated in my last post I do love the music to the film and it would not have been the same with out it.

[andy]

I'm inclined to believe that any dialogue during the SNIT was as much an informed spontaneity on the part of the actors, as anything scripted, allowing the music to play its crucial part in this thrilling scene. I'd be interested to know whether there was any other dialogue scripted here originally apart from the two It's all rights, which Jake delivers so realistically like a breath on the wind, his actions and look backing them up.

[Ministering angel]

And what about the "I'm sorry's"?   

I'm inclined to agree that whatever's said in this scene it's not really meant to be heard so much as felt.

[andy]

Well, as soon as the haunting sound of the dead sheep and subsequent denial scenes plays out and drops into the guitar notes that herald the snit, I'm lost to the 'feeling' that it conveys and not the dialogue, as you say Marian. The guitar aria that accompanies this scene is as evocative as any I feel. Beautiful... one of my favourites.

[CANSTANDIT]

That's very true, Marian and Andy. The feelings evoked in  SNIT can never quite be outdone by any detective work.....It's one of the great achievements of that film for me: I can easily go back to just experiencing it, even though I've picked it apart endlessly. It never loses it's impact, ever. I do think the music plays a great part in this...I think of the moment in the DE when the strings kind of take us to that emotional plateau that than settles with the Brokeback theme as Ennis holds Jack. It's such a powerful moment, so unlike any other in the film, even the glorious  SNIT. Those strings evoke the sense of 'truth' to me.

[andy]

And to think 'those string' are synthesized are they not? I can't remember the word for it but saw it written somewhere.

I have an electric piano but just can't quite match that gorgeous sound. Does a pretty mean church organ though!

[CANSTANDIT]

And to think 'those string' are synthesized are they not? I can't remember the word for it but saw it written somewhere.

I have an electric piano but just can't quite match that gorgeous sound. Does a pretty mean church organ though!

It would not surprise me, yet it's easier to picture a full orchestra in the background, looking at the DE and being inspired to greatness.

Your electric piano sounds groovy, Andy. 

[BayCityJohn]

Does anyone have a source for the synthesized strings idea?

I've never read that anywhere. They sound very real to me.

I always thought the strings were recorded at St. Thomas Chapel at Bastyr University by Seattlemusic, and that the musicians were members of the Seattle Symphony.

[CANSTANDIT]

Does anyone have a source for the synthesized strings idea?

I've never read that anywhere. They sound very real to me.

I always thought the strings were recorded at St. Thomas Chapel at Bastyr University by Seattlemusic, and that the musicians were members of the Seattle Symphony.

oh, how nice that would be, the idea it was recorded in a chapel...it's giving me chills thinking about it.

[BayCityJohn]

source:

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON: With a deep knowledge of recording and an almost prescient knack for anticipating the needs of his clients, David Sabee has taken Seattle Music, a film scoring stage and one-stop-shop for musicians, technical talent, and gear, from the rank of ambitious upstart to undisputed film scoring industry powerhouse in only 15 years. Now considered one of the top five scoring stages in the world, Seattle Music uses a legendary acoustical gem, St. Thomas Chapel at Bastyr University - a former monastery, along with many of the world-class musicians from the Seattle Symphony and the very best collection of recording equipment north of Los Angeles to deliver scores for movies such as "Brokeback Mountain," "Mr. Holland's Opus," and "Daredevil."


http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/newspage.asp?transid=3192

[andy]

Although the sound track cd cover talks of string arrangements, it also mentions pump organ and i wonder what that is exactly and what part it plays in the sounds we hear.

[CANSTANDIT]

thanks, John.