Bernard Hermann
Bernard Herrmann is one of the most important film
composers of the 20th century. He was a key figure in creating the genre
of film music and developed a musical language that was ideally suited to
easily fitting to varying lengths of scene. Earlier film composers such as
Korngold and Steiner with European classical music background, often wrote
'big tunes' in the style of classical stage music. Usually
orchestrated with a wash of strings these melodies were often very good -
too good! They move into the foreground of the viewer's mind, sometimes
distracting from the visual story -telling. Also, when these big tunes came
to an end on the tonic, they often gave a finality to a scene that better
suited the set pieces of opera, operetta or ballet than the new style of
filmic communication that was now developing.
Herrmann, on the other hand, made strong use of short
repeated rhythmic phrases and ostinati. These could be readily repeated to
fit the length of a scene and provided a feeling of onward motion
appropriate to much strong filmic story-telling such as suspense and
thriller films. Repeated rhythmic patterns were of course well known to the
improvising pianists and organists of the silent film days - the 'vamp 'till
ready' technique. They had also became an idiosyncratic element of the
highly original classical music of Janacek. We don't know whether Herrmann
was ever familiar with Janacek's music, but his rhythmic techniques presaged
those used by minimalist composers several decades later.
Herrmann's also developed a use of harmony that was
particularly suited to film. It is no accident that he was the composer for
some of Alfred Hitchcock's greatest films. He made strong use of augmented
chords (as in jazz) which provided a certain unease. However, he particular
used overlapping harmonies that left a scene feeling unresolved - ideal for
building tension in the storytelling of a thriller. The tensions produced by
overlapping harmonies and their ability to help build a powerful climax are
nowhere better illustrated than in the works of
Charles Ives. It comes as no surprise
therefore to learn that Herrmann as a teenager was a friend of Ives - then
an old man. With Ives as a friend and the wayward genius
Percy Grainger
as an orchestration teacher at the Julliard School, it was no wonder that
Herrmann chose his own path and had little respect for the mainstream.
Grainger, with his own highly original orchestrations, would
surely have influenced the young Herrmann. Herrmann realised that film music
allowed (even encouraged) orchestrations which were not practical in a
formal concert hall situation. His orchestrations are inventive and chosen
to underline the atmosphere of the film. At times, he deliberately limits
his palette, as in Psycho. At other times,
he calls on highly unusual forces as in (his unused music to)
Marnie. In The Day The Earth Stood Still
he made evocative use of the electronic instrument the
Theremin. The film score did not
need to tie itself to the forces of the 19th century symphony orchestra. It
also did not have to follow the constraints of an acoustic performance. Some
instruments could be 'miked up' and others 'miked down'. This added a new
tool for the orchestrator. However, it was a tool he used sparingly.
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