January 17, 2012

  • Review: Giacchino Disney/Pixar Music for Piano (download)

     

     

    Music from the Walt Disney/Pixar Films for Solo Piano ****

     

    MICHAEL GIACCHINO

    BuySoundtrax Records

    30 tracks – 56:14

    Available as a digital download.

     

    BuySoundtrax Records features opportunities for a number of individual downloads of memorable film music on their website.  Their increasing stable of artists features pianists, guitarists, and electronic music experts coupled with a host of composers given a chance to explore their music in more intimate settings.  This new release focuses on perhaps some of the most memorable music from Disney/Pixar that brought Michael Giacchino into the top tier of new Hollywood composers.  The music here comes from the composer’s scores for Up, Ratatouille, and The Incredibles focusing on select miniatures from each score.  Pianist Mark Northam performs music from the most recent two scores and Joohyun Park tackles music from the breakthrough The Incredibles.  Each score has appeared in piano reductions and it is not clear if these are the sources for some of the performances here or are the performer’s realizations.

     

    Up was Giacchino’s first well-deserved Oscar and the score is perhaps one of the finest examples of matching music to picture to get at the heart of the film.  The four-minute sequence, “Married Life,” is one of the most moving animated moments on film and Giacchino’s music manages to capture the beauty of life between two people without seeming overly cloying or sentimental.  The sentimental part comes perhaps in the way that primary theme recalls Carl’s remembrances throughout the film.  The eleven selections here include plenty of presentation of that main theme and that sequence quite well.  The music comes across almost like a silent film piano score with more brilliant and fuller extended jazz harmonies that at times recall here a hybrid of Satie and Ravel piano music.  In the original score, the way Giacchino’s orchestration evolves helps give the theme more interest which can seem rather repetitive when the dressing is removed given the 1-minute plus length of some of these tracks.  But Northam’s performance is still quite delightful.  There may just be an over abundance of selections here but Northam is fairly faithful to the score cues. 

     

    The music of Ratatouille perhaps sits more in a France between the wars musically.  Its memorable song, “Le Festin,” certainly feels like Edith Piaf must have sung and recorded it at some time.  Northam’s performance plays with the tempo of this song just a bit to really give it a romantic sensibility that works well in this setting.  The other selections work somewhat well as lighter jazzy piano solos with perhaps a slight overabundance of material.  Interestingly more tracks feel a bit like concert piano music here (especially “Losing Control”).

     

    Of the three scores, the big brassy jazz music Giacchino used for The Incredibles seems like it would not translate as well to a smaller medium.  For the selections here, Park shifts to electronic piano for some of the selections which some may find works better.  The piano selections again feel more like concert works and there appears to be some overdubbing giving things a piano 4-hands produced feel at times.  The music seems a bit more abstract as a result though no less effective for the most part.  She does a fine job presenting these tracks which work less well over all in this medium.

     

    In each case, the original scores are still preferable, but the performances on this release are all fairly faithful and loving recreations that are quite valid on their own.  By staying faithful to the scores without remixing them as suites, listeners can further appreciate the design of this music and how orchestration impacts the way a given track sounds when dressed up.  Fans of the music will definitely want to check this out.