Tragic news this morning, as we learned that composer James Horner has passed away in a plane crash at age 61. Read an official announcement about it here. Horner composed the iconic "ST II: Wrath of Khan" score, and so many other memorable soundtracks, and his genius will be missed.
My friend and past collaborator Jon Lawhon, who is an even greater soundtrack buff than I am by far (and more eloquent) has written a tribute to Mr. Horner, which I am featuring below as a guest post.
An immense talent of a man has been silenced.
I can recall emotionally stirring moments from Apollo 13, Braveheart, Field Of Dreams, Star Trek 2 and 3, Glory and Titanic, all of which were certainly due to the performances of the actors and the directors' skills; but a significant factor in the creation of that emotion was the music accompanying the scenes.
The man responsible for those wonderful scores has been tragically taken in a plane crash. James Horner has been in my top tier of favorite film composers for many years. In addition to the aforementioned films, he scored Avatar, A Beautiful Mind, An American Tail, Jumanji, Batteries Not Included, and many others.
The news made for a mournful afternoon for me. Much of his music has become a part of my DNA, and I feel a loss inside. But thanks to the practically everlasting recording mediums available to us, his heart will go on. I have posted one of his most amazing and beautiful pieces.
I will miss you, James.
To quote the title of a track from his "Deep Impact" score; "Goodbye And Godspeed."
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
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2 comments:
Back in the 1960s I started idolizing composers like Bernard Hermann, Miklos Rozsa, Elmer Bernstein and Henry Mancini. Quickly, Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams were added during the 70s. Then, in the 80s, James Horner quickly joined the masters. His score to Wrath of Khan sent chills through me from from the main title and the Enterprise moving out of dry dock to the climatic chase through the nebula and finally to Spock’s torpedo/coffin resting in an alien jungle. His later scores for Cocoon, Apollo 13, and Titanic moved me to tears. My wife and I loved the song “Somewhere Out There” (which he wrote with Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil) so much, we included it in the songs sung at our wedding. For three and a half decades, James Horner’s music has been an important part of motion picture history. His talents will be greatly missed, but for us and future generations, his music will live on forever.
My favorite "Trek" music from James Horner is the music from when Kirk and company have the Enterprise self-destruct, and then watch the ship burn up in the atmosphere of the Genesis planet. A very emotional scene (for us fans as well for the characters) and Horner captured it perfectly. James Horner also composed the Universal logo theme for the studio's 75th anniversary; the first movie to use that theme was "Back To The Future Part III".
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