It is a lengthy and beautifully constructed suite in which Howard presents his key themes. I could easily spend an entire review dedicated to this cue alone. The album opens with the magnificent “Maleficent Suite”. This is a true leitmotivic score, the appreciation of which will surely enhance upon seeing the film which, for clarity, I must admit I have not (yet). And all the while the score is laden with beautiful themes and motifs.
#James newton howard 12 years later full#
Full orchestra is augmented with powerful percussion and enchanting vocals. It is god-almighty huge and stomach-churningly aggressive at times, yet ever so gentle and magical at others. James Newton Howard’s “Maleficent” easily matches (if not surpasses) the scale and scope of “Godzilla”, yet is richer in melody and much better balanced. Only a week or two ago, Alexandre Desplat’s “ Godzilla” was the biggest thing to come out of Hollywood in some time. Howard has previously worked on three Disney films: “Dinosaur” (2000), “Atlantis” (2001) and “Treasure Planet” (2002) and more recently worked on “The Hunger Games”, on which Stromberg worked as a concept artist. The director turned to James Newton Howard to score the film. The film marks Robert Stromberg’s directorial debut, though he has a long history working in special effects departments. However, Maleficent begins to realise that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom, as well as to her own happiness. She continues to battle with the king of the humans and places a curse on the infant Aurora (Elle Fanning). She defends the forest kingdom from a human invasion but is left betrayed, turning her heart to stone.
The untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the 1959 classic “Sleeping Beauty.” Angelina Jolie stars as Maleficent, once a powerful fairy. WINNER“Best Adventure/Fantasy Score”, 2014 Synchrotones’ Soundtrack Awards. Strings were recorded separately from the brass and woodwinds in the legendary studio’s largest room, Studio One.It’s been 12 years since Disney invited James Newton Howard to score one of their films. With no American studios available in late June, Howard recorded his orchestral score at London’s Abbey Road, with veteran Gavin Greenaway conducting. They met weekly via Zoom and sent musical demos back and forth across the internet. It was a pandemic score in that much of the work was accomplished remotely: Greengrass was in Oxfordshire, editor William Goldenberg in London, Howard at his studio in Santa Monica. “There are not a lot of places to flex your epic Western music muscles.” But one such moment emerges as Kidd and Johanna are on the road to Dallas - a toe-tapping wide-open-spaces theme for guitar, banjo and orchestra that returns in the film’s end titles. “It’s mostly a quiet score,” Howard says. “What is she thinking about? Which life is she missing? Does she long to be back with her people again?” This led Howard to use authentic chants of the Kiowa people as a subtle backdrop in one scene.
“She’s quite a mysterious character for much of the movie,” he says. Johanna is scored less melodically and more texturally. This gospel-like theme evolved,” he adds, “and that was the heart and soul of the music,” often voiced by piano. “This is about a man who has deep feelings of guilt and is kind of lost, struggling to get through his life. Howard’s theme for Kidd has an almost hymn-like feel. Fiddles, guitars and banjos are heard, along with mandolin, bass harmonica and the ancient viola da gamba, all giving the music “a jagged, tattered, rough-hewn edge,” says the composer. Yet, Howard admits, “It took a while to find the voice of the movie.” Greengrass sought a “broken sound,” he says, reflecting the feeling of post-Civil War America, and asked for authentic 19th-century instruments to convey the period and South Texas locale. It was one of my few visits to a set that I really enjoyed.” “The vistas are limitless and magnificent, and the silence was fantastic. “The New Mexico desert is always inspiring,” Howard says. Previous horse dramas for the eight-time Oscar nominee have included “Wyatt Earp” and “Hidalgo.” His collaboration with director Paul Greengrass was his first, and he visited the New Mexico location during shooting more than a year ago. “When I get a call saying, ‘Do you want to do a Western?,’ my answer is always yes,” says “ News of the World” composer James Newton Howard.
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