Saving Private Ryan *****

One of Steven Spielberg’s best historical epics is undoubtedly 1998’s Saving Private Ryan.  The film follows the search for the remaining sibling of a group of brothers who were killed in action.  It is set around the Normandy Invasion.  With its intense battle sequences and emotional narrative, the film would win the director his second Best Director Oscar (the other being for the equally excellent Schindler’s List (1993).  As was the case, until very recently, the film would be scored by John Williams.  The late 1990s were really a sort of second spurt of great scores by this master of film music.  Though in this case the music itself was quite sparingly used for a film that managed to get quite close to the realities of war.  That said, it was a brilliant move to have a single work serve as end credits for the film.  “Hymn to the Fallen” plays out as a fitting memorial to those who lost their lives in WWII.  It gives those who wish to sit in the darkness a chance to contemplate the horrors of war, the great loss, and the moments of relief and joy for those who gave their lives and/or served.  Sitting in the theater upon its release, this reviewer noted several elderly men who stood when the end credits began, silently weeping here and there, until the music came to an end.

On its own, the score is a memorial work all its own.  It is an often reflective and restrained and follows an approach that Williams would revisit slightly in War Horse (2011).  What lent the score a little more heft though was the decision to record it in Boston with the Boston Sympony Orchestra and Tanglewood Chorus.  This had been done with Spielberg’s Schindler’s List as well.  The result was a stunning recording and moving piece of music whose primary material was bookended by “Hymn to the Fallen”.

For La-La Land’s 20^th Anniversary limited edition release, Mike Matessino did some slight adjustments to Shawn Murphy’s original mix.  The album also includes two additional tracks representing film versions of the last two tracks on the album, “High School Teacher” (which is significantly shorter than the album version), and “The Last Battle”.  The booklet notes are also new and do a bit of overview but no track-by-track detail.  The original album is presented as originally tracked.

This is a fine production all around.  The bottom line is though that it is still a tough call to splurge to pick up a few minutes of music, though Williams’ completists will likely see no trouble justifying this.  The original CD is still readily available so it is a tough call even if there is no denying this is one of Williams’ finer scores.  The remastered edition is now available with a pressing of 4000 copies. 

Lights, Camera...Music!
Six Decades of John Williams
Boston Pops/Keith Lockhart
BSO Classics 1704
Total Time:  76:24
Recording:   ****/****
Performance: ****/****

The early days of John Williams’ tenure with the Boston Pops was a little shaky at first, but one only need head to Boston for a Film Night at the Pops to realize that those early bumps have led to an important collaboration and appreciation for Williams’ work as composer and conductor.  However, since Keith Lockhart took over the reins of the Pops, the ensemble has not put out any dedicated Williams’ discs, though some of his pieces have appeared on their first releases.  The present release has certainly made up for that deficiency with a collection of pieces that explore the width and breadth of Williams’ work.  The recordings were mostly made at this year’s April concerts celebrating the composer’s work.  The Force Awakens music, which concludes the album, was recorded last May and is the first appearance of the suite pulled from the film score.

The orchestra is really on superb footing here in this wide range of music that begins with music from Heidi and the “Overture” to Goodbye, My Chips.  The “Main Title” from The Towering Inferno is perhaps a bit breezy though as it zips forward in its opening bars.  The tempo of the gorgeous “Men of Yorktown March” from Midway is also a bit fast in its first half, but the slow down into the finale works quite well and makes for a dramatic and emotionally satisfying finish.  It is hard to believe that this march, one of the composer’s most moving and lyrical, has tended to languish behind the more familiar title march from the film.  “Night Journeys” from Dracula gives us a bit of the mysterious style of the composer and this darker romantic theme before we shift gears to music from E.T..  In 2009, Williams took the harp idea that plays while Elliot introduces E.T. to things in his room and this is the resulting “Stargazers” which received a premiere recording here.  Williams own traversal of the “Devil’s Dance” from The Witches of Eastwick has perhaps slightly more of a wink than the version here, which is just as compelling in this interpretation.  Themes from Sabrina and The Patriot are good traversals of these more popular pieces.  Another wonderful surprise is the “Reunion and Finale” from Sleepers.  This particular excerpt from the score appeared on some of Williams’ concerts at the time which had fans hoping it would make it to a recording of its own, but the wait is now over.  These opening themes and scenes are tapped off with “Viktor’s Tale” from The Terminal.

Williams put together a brief suite of music from The Return of the Jedi for his Out of This World release that featured science-fiction film and television selections.  Having put together a suite of selections from The Force Awakens that appeared on concerts last year, we get to hear one of the first recordings of this suite which begins with the “March of the Resistance” and then moves on to the beautiful “Rey’s Theme.”  A little “Scherzo for X-Wings” then provides some contrast before we move to the powerful “The Jedi Steps” and the “Finale”.  In some respects, it is rather nice to have a Williams’ collection that does not just give us another tired performance of the original Star Wars “Main Title.”

The performances here are captured well in the acoustic of Symphony Hall.  It may very well be one of their best recordings under Lockhart .  The wait has certainly been worth it!  Another nice bonus is that purchase of the CD allows you to also get a download of the album from some vendors.