Music does the talking at NCCC event

WINSTED — If you’ve ever seen a movie that was especially gripping, even if the story wasn’t so good, it’s possible that you weren’t paying close enough attention to a key component — the score.

That’s the thinking behind the second annual “Lights! Cameras! Action!†event April 30 at Northwestern Connecticut Community College (NCCC). The host, professor Jeffrey Engel, will continue an ongoing discussion of the history of music in movies.

“It’s basically a lecture, but I will show a lot of film clips and give background information about the music,†Engel said in a recent interview at The Winsted Journal. “We’ll have wine and homemade cookies, and we’ll raffle DVDs. I’m going to give out prizes during the lecture.â€

Last year, Engel presented his first lecture on music and film to an enthusiastic audience. The lecture covered the period from the 1890s to around 1930.

This year’s lecture picks up where the first one left off, exploring the works of Bernard Herrmann and Aaron Copland, who expanded the boundaries of film scores in the 1930s. The composers were reacting to the typical Romantic orchestrations of the day by such composers as Erich Wolfgang Korngold, whose music  was explored in last year’s lecture.

“Instead of using a full orchestra, they would use just strings, or no brass, or no percussion,†Engel said. “One film had just five organs. Another had 12 harps. It was not a question of spinning out beautiful, romantically lush music, but music that would fit what’s going on in the film.â€

Whether you find one style more dramatic or entertaining than another is a question of individual taste, but Engel will point out the changes that evolved during this period and into the late 1950s.

And lest you think film scores represent something less than serious music, Engel begs to differ.

“Keep in mind that there is this very strong connection between serious classical music and film music,†he noted. “I can only think of two 20th-century composers who did not write film music, and they are [Igor] Stravinksy and [Arnold] Schoenberg. Everybody wrote film music. It paid extremely well and it was a way for millions of people to hear your music.â€

Engel has his own opinions about modern film scores, of which he says many are quite good.

“I think we have some terrific composers today who can write music that can pretty much stand on its own,†he said. “I’ve been connected to classical music for so long, I am looking for other sources of music that communicate to an audience.â€

Engel describes one of today’s most popular composers, James Horner (“Avatar,†“The Perfect Storm,†“Star Trek IIâ€), as “the prince of plagiarism,†borrowing from numerous predecessors. “He is one of my favorite composers. He will take a theme from ‘Peter and the Wolf’ and introduce it with his own accompaniment, quite different from the original.â€

Engel said he also enjoys the work of Hans Zimmer (“Pirates of the Caribbean,†“Sherlock Holmes,†“The Dark Knightâ€). “He has these huge forces with echo chambers. God knows what he’s doing, but if you watch ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ that’s great stuff in the background.â€

If Engel’s lecture gets visitors to learn to pay more attention to the music they hear in films, he will have accomplished his mission.

“Many people don’t pay attention to the music because they are so focused on the image,†he said.

A good turnout will also be helpful to students at NCCC, as donations for admission will be given to the college’s foundation and its Regional Advisory Council.

“Last year we had an incredible turnout,†Engel said. “Nobody anticipated we would have 120 people in the auditorium. This year, we’re charging admission, but that includes wine and homemade cookies.â€

“Lights! Cameras! Action!†will be Friday, April 30, at 7 p.m. in Founders Hall Auditorium, at the corner of Route 44 and Park Place East. Admission is $9 for adults and $5 for students. For more information, visit nwcc.commnet.edu.

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