"Music is by no means like the other arts, namely a copy of the Ideas, but a copy of the will itself, the objectivity of which are the Ideas. For this reason the effect of music is so very much more powerful and penetrating than is that of the other arts, for these others speak only of the shadow, but music of the essence."
Arthur Schopenhauer wrote those words around 1818. I read them many years ago and have always held them to be true. Even though motion pictures did not exist in his time, it matters little. Music remains the highest possible form of human artistic expression. It is for this reason that Titanic first resonated in my mind as a work of greatness. After my first viewing, it was James Horner's magnificent score that kept coming back to me. I found myself humming Sissel's hunting vocal melody over and over again in the days that followed. My wife kept asking me "What is that you're humming?" She had yet to see the film. "It's that silly tune from Titanic," I said. "I can't get it out of my mind."
More than anything else, it was the music that called me back for a second viewing, this time with my wife at my side. As we drove home afterward we were subdued, conversing little. Then she abruptly turned to me and said "I think it's the best movie I've ever seen." My head was filled with the images, the effects, the lines, the costumes, the sets, the metaphors, the meanings, and on and on. The music called me back, but the film itself overwhelmed me.
That irrepressible sensation permeates Horner's score. The movie and the music are an inseparable marriage, metaphor and song touching to the heart, singing to the head. When James Cameron sat down to hear Horner's initial piano impressions for what would become the film's score, Paula Parisi tells us that Horner "invited Cameron out to his studio and with no preamble launched into the Titanic theme on his piano. Cameron's eyes were tearing up by the time Horner finished. The music was everything he had hoped and prayed it would be, gliding from intimacy to grandeur to heart-wringing sadness. Effortlessly, the music seemed to bridge the eighty-five years between then and now." It accomplished this, I might add, BEFORE the film did it.
That's why the first recording was such a sensation. Even though the film was a masterpiece, the music stood on its own. The only problem was so much of it was left out of that initial soundtrack release. Now, that has been corrected. With "Back to Titanic" the music reaches fruition and is presented in all its grand diversity.
Three pillars serve as the foundation for the CD. They feature the London Symphony Orchestra and (in two of them) the Choristers of King's College Cambridge. The first pillar, "Titanic Suite", is simply a classical rendering of much of the original Titanic CD that was synthesized and placed in sequence to stand alone as complete exploration of Titanic themes in a traditional classical suite form. It is powerful, tied together with harmonies, counterpoints and undercurrents that are not present in the film and raising to a mighty crescendo that brings forth all the magnificence that was the "Idea" as Schopenhauer might say of the Titanic.
"A Shore Never Reached" features the now famous Celtic uillean pipe as solo instrument against the orchestral background. The individual against the collective, the intimate and the ultimate, a theme I have expounded upon elsewhere that runs throughout the film. Its almost endless concluding note represents a final breath of life going on and on as long as possible but ultimately ending in silence. The "Epilogue - The Deep and Timeless Sea" completes the foundation of the CD highlighted by exceptional performances by the lovely voice of Sassel and by the King's College Choristers proving what a wonderful natural instrument a wordless human voice can be. The orchestra returns in the end with deep string tones symbolizing the vast sea, triumphant and enduring.
The classical portions of the CD remind one at times of listening to a composition by Aaron Copland or Ralph Vaughan Williams. James Horner has clearly established himself as a master with these pieces. They far exceed anything that John Williams has ever produced and rank Horner among the greatest film composers in all history.
But there's much more to this work than these three classical renderings. The music of the period is well represented with numerous works. I Salonisti's splendid performances of "Alexander's Ragtime Band" and "Nearer My God to Thee" capture the two extremes of the voyage. The light-hearted popular rag accompanied by piano is contrasted with the band's alleged final number upon the dying ship where there is no piano. At first a solo violin takes up the tune, gradually joined in by the other strings in the band, each supporting the other in a subtle but powerful (almost defiant) playing of the final hymn in the face of certain death. Later, Eileen Ivers returns to this piece with solo violin, setting up the CD's final orchestral piece as the intimate in the face of the vastness that engulfs it. Her playing is intentionally rough but strong and pure making it human in every sense.
The low point on "Return to Titanic", for me, is the return to Celin Dion's well-performed "My Heart Will Go." Commercially, it was a necessity to include this piece again this time with several lines of dialog that add nothing to the effect of the effort and, in my opinion, detract from the original with blatant and overly-sentimental sappiness. Jack tells Rose she's the "most amazing" woman he ever met. Rose promises to "never let go." It is touching in its way, but not as touching as the original piece and, of all the music on the CD, this is the most obviously exploitative of the film and, thus, the most unnecessary.
Like the few low points in the film itself (attributable to a few bad lines of dialog) the exploitative nature of the Dion piece is easily forgotten by the greatness surrounding it. The CD comes on strong with various performances of traditional Irish songs in traditional arrangements. "Lament" and "Jack Dawson's Luck" are both thoroughly entertaining glimpses into a rich musical tradition that gives the Irish culture such an expressive litany of passion, strength, sadness and beauty. The magnificent vocals of Maire Brennan performing "Come Josephine, In My Flying Machine" complete the release's coverage of popular music from the Titanic era. Unfortunately, Brennan's bright and airy voice is caged in a subdued rendition in line with the helpless Rose as she floats among frozen death of the ocean. It would have been better to feature this song in the context of her "flying" experience when Jack sings it in her ear. That would be more in line with the upbeat spirit of the song during the period. Instead, it is given on the CD as a grotesque mockery of its celebratory intent.
Then, of course, there's Gaelic Storm. The biggest let down of the first sound track was that this band's unmatched energy and flawless rhythmic precision was missing. That great wrong has been made right with two numbers performed under the title "An Irish Party in Third Class." It's enough to make you want to gulp down a couple of stout beers and play havoc with the living room furniture. This stuff is infectious and provides an earthy bent that balances some of the more "lofty" works presented. If you can't tap you foot to the Storm's fury then you've disconnected yourself from a facet of life's pure joy that comes naturally to my three year old daughter and every other child on the planet. Gealic Storm is a celebration in every sense of the term.
Horner accentuates the CD with his own brilliant performances. "A Building Panic" is some added music from the film that didn't make the first CD. You can feel the ship rip apart just by listening to the unmatched intensity and dissonance of this forceful piece. Contrast that with "The Portrait", Horner's solo piano rendering of basic Titanic theme. Though easily the simplest performance on the CD, this one takes the cake. I can just close my eyes and experience what James Cameron himself must have felt when he first heard this theme performed this same way in Horner's studio a few weeks before the shooting schedule for the film ended. The timelessness is all there along with the heart and soul of what "Making It Count" is all about.
I was afraid that a second CD of music from Titanic would be more exploitative than of artistic merit. This release by Sony Classical is a pleasant surprise. Other than the Dion track, the CD is wonderful in its own right. It captures the essence of Cameron's vision, takes us through the full range of emotions the director explored in the film, and maintains the metaphorical significance of the overall work with depth, dignity and unparalleled expertise.
Copyright © W. Keith Beason, 1998
Version 1.0
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