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Philip Glass Film Music HighlightsThe Minimalist Composer and His Music for CinemaA selection of three of the best examples from Philip Glass's music compositions or film.
Early in his career Philip Glass once said that he wasn’t a film composer. It seems ironic now that of all the works of the great minimalist composer his film scores are the most accessible and most popular. KundunThe score to Kundun (Martin Scorsese 1998) is perhaps Glass’s most beautiful. Using traditional Tibetan instrumentation mixed with Glass’s own classic repetitive techniques, it is indicative of a move towards a more melodic sound that is evident in Glass's most recent pieces. Glass produced some of his most haunting and divine music for Kundun. Unlike much of Glass’s music which is incredibly cerebral in its approach, this sounds like it came from a deeply spiritual place within the composers mind. The overall quality of the sound is far more organic than much of his prosaic earlier works and features a greater dynamic range of tone and volume. Rhythmically Kundun features deep tribal rhythms much like his opera Akhnaten. The HoursGhostly keyboard playing and deep strings in a score written for piano, orchestra and string quartet. Reminiscent of his Glasswork compositions and solo piano compositions this is perhaps Glass at his most easy on the ear. The Oscar nominated score for TheHours (Stephen Daldry 2003) features Harmonious, sparse melodies that act as a unifying bond between the three protagonist's storylines. The score was recorded in London and features Michael Riesman on piano. Its gently overlapping rhythms undulate with an aching sadness. An exceptionally moving score that if listened to in isolation can create incredible cinematic stories of it’s own. KoyaanisqatsiThe first film that Philp Glass composed music for. Glass initially declined to take part in the project but was swayed by director Godfrey Reggio showing him some footage cut to previously existing glass music. More than just a film score Glass’s music for Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio 1982) is an all encompassing sound landscape. Koyaanisqatsi deals with the tension between the natural world and the technological world. Glass’ ultra modern music has a strangely primordial quality that underlines the central themes of the film. Koyaanisqatsi means life out of balance, yet there is nothing out of balance with Glass’s music. It is a perfect marriage of sound and image. Endless reams of arpeggios echoing the mechanisation of the modern world and it’s dizzyingly frantic pace of life. It is at times stupefying in its intensity and at others hypnotic and meditative. Koyaanisqatsi has gained huge cult status in recent years and this has prompted Glass to tour the soundtrack with the Philip Glass Ensemble. For some more minimalist music examples please read Minimalist Operas of the 20th Century.
The copyright of the article Philip Glass Film Music Highlights in Classical Composers is owned by Peter Reeves. Permission to republish Philip Glass Film Music Highlights in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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