Synopses & Reviews
The Soul of Cinema is the first film music appreciation textbook ever written. This text explains the various functions of music in film and clearly describes the roles of producers, directors, and practically everyone else in cinema, and shows how they each relate to the composer and the musical score for a given film.
The Soul of Cinema traces the evolution of film music from 1895 to the present, covering many of the representative film scores, film composers, and styles and trends along the journey. Some features include:
- each major composer is highlighted with a biography, a photo, a listing of the individual's recognizable compositional style, and other pertinent information
- interviews with film composers, music editors, orchestrators, film music agents, studio musicians, music copyists, music contractors, and others within the business
- an extensive section on women film composers and contractors
- rare Bernard Herrmann facsimiles of some of his greatest works
Synopsis
Filling a void in the literature on film music appreciation, this volume provides a consolidation of relevant film music with information about film composers and their scores. The volume also features well-illustrated information about each film with a text that clearly illustrates a well-rounded and in-depth look at film music. The reference addresses the functions of film scoring, the operational aspects of the industry, music for silent films, early sound film, the rise of the symphonic film score, the golden age of film music, the age of versatility, new faces enter the ranks and the 21st century. For film and music enthusiasts and others interested in the evolution of music in film.
About the Author
Larry Timm is a veteran Hollywood studio musician, producer, and university professor who has been in the business for over 30 years. He is an active recording artist whose oboe and English horn solos can be heard on over 300 television and motion picture scores. He has performed as soloist in places such as Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City; the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.; the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria; and the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. As an educator, he teaches classes of over 700 students each semester at California State University in Fullerton, introducing them to the world of film music. He holds three advanced degrees from Yale University, including a doctorate, and is currently on the Editorial Board of the Film Music Journal. Dr. Timm is listed in the International Who's Who in Music, Who's Who in Entertainment, the Marquis Who's Who in America, and Who s Who in California.
Table of Contents
1. Functions of Film Scoring.
2. The Operational Aspects of the Industry.
3. In the Beginning: Music for Silent Films.
4. Music in the Early Sound Film (Late 1920s to 1933).
5. The Rise of the Symphonic Film Score (the 1930s).
6. The Golden Age of Film Music (the 1940s and 1950s).
7. The Golden Age of Film Music Continues.
8. The Age of Versatility (the 1960s through the 1990s).
9. The Age of Versatility Continues (the 1970s, from Patton to Star Wars).
10. New Faces Enter the Ranks (the 1980s, from Altered States to Batman).
11. Sailing into the Twenty-first Century (the 1990s, from Jurassic Park to Titanic and Beyond).