Home | Words | Perform | Listen | Compose | Sales | Links

'Take her t Sea Mr. Murdock' by James Horner 

Composer

Film

Work

Page

(b) Georges Auric

Passport to Pimlico

The Siege of Burgundy

369

 

This is the oldest of the film music extracts to be studied (1948) It is witty energetic and busy, with frequent quick changes in texture and scoring.  Typical features include:

·         careful scalic writing, sometimes in parallel intervals

·         a tendency to hop from one key to another without warning

The music helps to move the time line in the story forward quickly whilst at the same time providing the viewer/listener with background information and the atmosphere during this passage of time for the scenes following in the film.  The short descriptions of the shots and images shown during the music shows clearly the detail and precision used by the composer to illustrate the visual images shown.

The process of adding music to fit exactly with the action of the film is commonly called ‘Mickey mousing’. It is found in this work just as it is found in Tom and Jerry cartoon films.

  QUESTION:   FInd at least two important elements illustrating the descriptions at the bar references named.

 

Bar reference and description

Important elements

Bars 1-2: Newspaper headline; Burgundy Bombarded by Buns

Bars 3-4: Food parcels are thrown into the jaws of a Bulldozer

Bars 5-6: People throw food parcels from passing buses

Bars 7-8 Food parcels are thrown over barbed wire

Bars 9 -10:Parcels are thrown from a train

 

Bars 17-18:People run towards the barbed wire

 

Bar 19: Headline:’ Burgundy issue splits Britain’

 

Bar 15 - 16: Political meeting in Hyde Park

 

Bars17-18: Trafalgar square

 

Bar 20 -21 Headline: ‘Angle Bergundian talks open: Government yields to public pressure.’

 

Bars 21- 26: This music is edited out of the film soundtrack.

 

Bars 27-28 Headline: ‘Talks still hinge on treasury’

 

Bars 30 -31 Headline: ‘Bergundians use veto’

 

Bars 31-32 Headline: ’Nation’s gift’s flood Burgundy’

 

Bars 33 -34 The edited film cuts immediately to bar 39.

 

Bars 39 - 45 Presents (donated and labelled from areas of London)

 

Bars 46 -48 The presents are unwrapped

 

Bars 49-50 Display boards show presents received

 

Bar 52 Headline: talks ‘deadlock complete’

 

Bar 53 Council meeting

 

Bars 54 Headline ‘Airlift for Burgundy

 

Bars 55 - 59 A helicopter flies in

 

Bars 59 - Milk arrives

 

Bars 60 - 64  ...through pipes

 

Bars 64 -65 Headline: ’Door is still open - No Quarrel with Britain’

 

 

Copyright © 2002 David Hayes

Return to film index

Return to Listening

 

 

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1