In this chronicle I will talk about John Williams. The supposed genius in film music.
Movie soundtracks stand out to me as a genre unto itself. Sometimes the music is just there. Most times the music tells me something. Movie soundtracks in this right, are a fairly functional form of music. Its purpose is to inform, and it really needs to be with the film… or does it? I will touch on this later. With or without accompanying footage, I still think that soundtracks can be sublime. One such master of this art is John Williams.
John Williams probably most famous for the soundtrack to Star Wars.
The track for the Main Title instantly captivates and starts the film off in a grandiose fanfare. I could begin to write in detail about the way he uses the music to compliment the film, but that just merely serves as evidence for a preconceived notion of genius. I never analyzed the soundtrack only to become convinced of his genius afterward. Only to then become disillusioned to his genius.
Nettle says that “composers are the main units of musical thought and recognition.” The fact that this chronicle revolves around John Williams supports Nettle’s claim. Furthermore, I feel that the values I put onto Williams’ music is heavily influenced by how I perceive him. Nettle also claims that “hierarchy and duality [are the main] structural principles of western society.” What would hierarchy as a structural principle look like? I suppose that it reveals itself with ice breaker questions such as “who is your favorite artist” or “who is your favorite composer” for those that operate closer to the classical tradition. Though seemingly as mundane as “what is your favorite color,” “who is your favorite artist” carries along with something deeper. It tells people to which legend one ascribes.
Duality is a vague word that somehow can be used to describe anything. If duality was a structural principle, I could think that way. Distinctions between two things are everywhere “Good or bad,” “this or that,” “talent or hard work?” On a side note, could this be limiting the way we seeing things such as genius?
Does the music come from divine inspiration, or are they simply excellent technicians?
Bruno Nettle
Nettle gives us a taste of this duality, and now I turn to what we have discussed in class to connect Legend to duality. We talked about the Longinian genius and the Platonic genius. In Kivy’s word’s it’s “the genius of the possessed, and the genius of the possessor.” As it stands, duality implies that one must exist with the other.
Beethoven and Mozart represent either end in the scale, but it gets much more interesting as one moves away from the extremes. Paganini, for example, is seen as an insanely skilled violinist. So much so that people have explained that he consorted with the devil. The supernatural must be used to explain technical power. According to Paganini’s legend, he is the possessed and the possessor.
To wrap things up I present a quote from Franz Lizt.
If a person strives to cultivate his or herself to higher grandeur, the Ideal must always hover above talent.
Franz Lizt
What could “Ideal” mean? I suppose that it could be what that the possessed or the possessor is trying to achieve with their power. What could have made me reevaluate John Williams was seeing him more like a great technician that helps tell stories and lesser as one who is responsible for the greatness of Star Wars.
