John Barry
British composer John Barry was born 1933 and wrote a number of film Sheet music that includes all the instrument and voice parts. for some of the iconic films from the 1960s to 90s, including Dances with Wolves, The Ipcress File and music for 11 of the James Bond films. He has won 5 Oscars and was awarded a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) fellowship for his contribution to writing music for film.
The types of film music
There are two types of film music:
- non-diegetic is music included only for the audience’s benefit to build tension or heighten emotion of a scene, eg a battle or a love scene
- Music that is included as an element in a story for film, TV or theatre. music is heard by the characters in the film and by the audience, eg if there is a scene at a party with loud music
Film producers can choose to use music already composed, eg a symphony, or commission a composer to write a film score. Out of Africa uses an extract from Mozart’s Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra in A major. However, John Barry composed original music for most of the film.
When music is synchronised closely with the action, it is referred to as Precisely matching the events in a film to the music which accompanies it.. This technique was developed in music for cartoons such as Tom and Jerry. It is also heard in films such as Pirates of the Caribbean - swords touching is synchronised with the music.
Other film composers are:
- , who wrote music for Gladiator, The Dark Night and Boss Baby
- , who wrote the music for Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harry Potter
Out of Africa - main theme
The main A short musical phrase which is used and repeated - and sometimes developed - within a composition. It is sometimes referred to as the subject. from Out of Africa begins with a French horn melody that makes use of an Distance between two notes. of a Two pitches which are five degrees of the scale apart, eg C -G. followed by a major sixth. The use of intervals gives the impression of open country and is a common technique employed by composers. The opening musical theme is accompanied by Rapid repetition of the same note. high The frequency of a sound. Sounds with a high pitch have a high frequency. strings and a lilting counter-melody in the cellos. Following a timpani roll, the violins adopt the main melody before the flute plays an extract of the melody to finish the opening section.
The melody heard is a A recurring musical theme representing a person, place, mood or emotion. that reoccurs throughout the film score to indicate love between the leading actors. John Barry changes the accompaniment or how the melody is heard to indicate to the audience a change in mood or in how the character feels.
The main theme in this piece is played by the cor anglais, which is lower in pitch than the oboe. This instrument is often used to portray love by composers of film music.
At one point in the film, the main female character, Karen Blixen, gets into a plane with her love interest to fly over the Serengeti plain. Initially, she feels uncertain conveyed through Barry’s use of strings, wordless voices and low brass. A more subdued version of the leitmotif is played by just strings.