I sat in a amovie theatre in Charlotte N.C. in 1962 with my parents and brother and watched this movie when it first came out. I was 11 yrs old. I never knew the world could be so good or so evil. I"ll never forget it.
it was the perfect meeting of all the creative efforts. First the book, too perfect to be messed with, and then the movie, one of the best adaptations of any book ever and then the music which went exactly to where your heart already was and gave it a voice.
All you have to do is listen to two subtle things to understand - but more importantly to FEEL - how great this score is 1.) The French Horn 'counterpoint' in the opening theme [at about 1:28], simple, but heartbreakingly expressive and 2.) the chromatic density of the final chord of the entire score (spread across multiple instruments) - gorgeous...
That haunting theme that begins at around 14:00 appears nowhere else in the score and is the backgound music for the meeting between Scout and Boo Radley after she sees him hiding behind the door of Jem's room. It completely captures the sweet innocence of these two souls, and the bond of affection that they shared, even though they would never see each other again.
Hello Mark, I love it too - this theme at 14:00 is a variation of "Boo's Theme" which does appear earlier in a couple of places in a more mysterious, minor-sounding setting......(when the kids are looking at the scary porch, etc.....)
This is reminiscent of Barber's "Knoxville, summer of 1915" -- the opening of James Agee's great quasi-memoir "A Death in the Family." The music is not the same, but it is the same evocation of a child's memory of a deeply moving time, when big things happened that changed everything and grew one's soul. You can also hear the influence of Copland here. Bernstein is not really underrated, unless all the people who composed mainly film scores are (which actually may be).
manthasagittarius1 Good comment. The people who write that some composer is "underrated" really don't know much. Film composers get their publicity and most are very well known.
I've met a few people who have claimed that movie music isn't real music. Yes, they were saying that back when Elmer Bernstein was composing wonderful film scores like this one, and when numerous other composers were dazzling us with their film scores. I suspect the bad rap movie music was getting from people who dismissed music as "not real music" led to other people claiming that composers such as Elmer Bernstein were underrated. But I've known of Elmer Bernstein and other film composers for most of my life (one of the first original soundtrack recordings I bought was Elmer Bernstein's score for SOME CAME RUNNING--a wonderful symphonic AND jazz score.
I may be mistaken but I believe that Bernstein did, for a time, study under Aaron Copland, which would account for his near uncanny facility to generate theme after theme of 'Americana' (to use so broad and artless a descriptor)...consider the number of themes he was contracted, (almost ghettoized) to compose for Westerns - films both classic and mediocre - and he still managed to, forgive the pun, rustle up something engaging nearly every time (though many of these themes are almost 'variations' on the seminal, "Magnificent Seven', many hold their own [True Girl, the swinging' 'Scalphunters', Hallelujah Trail, 'The Sons of Katie Elder', etc.]). I always find it odd (and a little bittersweet) that his only composing Oscar was for 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' (for which I don't believe the orchestral score was ever released), but ah, well, so it goes... Hearing the 'Mockingbird' theme for almost sixty years now, we are left to ponder, 'Did this lovely, humble man [and it seems most film composers are lovely and humble - self-effacing, really] have any sense that he was composing what in general opinion might be the greatest thematic line ever to meander its soul across the silver screen?'
I sat in a amovie theatre in Charlotte N.C. in 1962 with my parents and brother and watched this movie when it first came out. I was 11 yrs old. I never knew the world could be so good or so evil. I"ll never forget it.
Without a doubt, this is one of the most beautiful and poignant movie themes ever written. Thank you for posting.
RIP Harper Lee.
Thank you for giving us a true American masterpiece.
it was the perfect meeting of all the creative efforts. First the book, too perfect to be messed with, and then the movie, one of the best adaptations of any book ever and then the music which went exactly to where your heart already was and gave it a voice.
All you have to do is listen to two subtle things to understand - but more importantly to FEEL - how great this score is 1.) The French Horn 'counterpoint' in the opening theme [at about 1:28], simple, but heartbreakingly expressive and 2.) the chromatic density of the final chord of the entire score (spread across multiple instruments) - gorgeous...
That haunting theme that begins at around 14:00 appears nowhere else in the score and is the backgound music for the meeting between Scout and Boo Radley after she sees him hiding behind the door of Jem's room. It completely captures the sweet innocence of these two souls, and the bond of affection that they shared, even though they would never see each other again.
Hello Mark, I love it too - this theme at 14:00 is a variation of "Boo's Theme" which does appear earlier in a couple of places in a more mysterious, minor-sounding setting......(when the kids are looking at the scary porch, etc.....)
th-cam.com/video/6rb2ruvNmVw/w-d-xo.html
Tout simplement magnifique. Du très bon Elmer Bernstein.
großartige Musik, großartige Schauspieler, großartiger Roman. Dabei sollte es bleiben, für Amerika und für Harper Lee
A true masterpiece
Lovley!
Gotta love Gregory Peck 🤟
Outstanding ...
This is reminiscent of Barber's "Knoxville, summer of 1915" -- the opening of James Agee's great quasi-memoir "A Death in the Family." The music is not the same, but it is the same evocation of a child's memory of a deeply moving time, when big things happened that changed everything and grew one's soul.
You can also hear the influence of Copland here. Bernstein is not really underrated, unless all the people who composed mainly film scores are (which actually may be).
manthasagittarius1 Good comment. The people who write that some composer is "underrated" really don't know much. Film composers get their publicity and most are very well known.
I've met a few people who have claimed that movie music isn't real music. Yes, they were saying that back when Elmer Bernstein was composing wonderful film scores like this one, and when numerous other composers were dazzling us with their film scores. I suspect the bad rap movie music was getting from people who dismissed music as "not real music" led to other people claiming that composers such as Elmer Bernstein were underrated. But I've known of Elmer Bernstein and other film composers for most of my life (one of the first original soundtrack recordings I bought was Elmer Bernstein's score for SOME CAME RUNNING--a wonderful symphonic AND jazz score.
Include Bartok too.
I may be mistaken but I believe that Bernstein did, for a time, study under Aaron Copland, which would account for his near uncanny facility to generate theme after theme of 'Americana' (to use so broad and artless a descriptor)...consider the number of themes he was contracted, (almost ghettoized) to compose for Westerns - films both classic and mediocre - and he still managed to, forgive the pun, rustle up something engaging nearly every time (though many of these themes are almost 'variations' on the seminal, "Magnificent Seven', many hold their own [True Girl, the swinging' 'Scalphunters', Hallelujah Trail, 'The Sons of Katie Elder', etc.]). I always find it odd (and a little bittersweet) that his only composing Oscar was for 'Thoroughly Modern Millie' (for which I don't believe the orchestral score was ever released), but ah, well, so it goes... Hearing the 'Mockingbird' theme for almost sixty years now, we are left to ponder, 'Did this lovely, humble man [and it seems most film composers are lovely and humble - self-effacing, really] have any sense that he was composing what in general opinion might be the greatest thematic line ever to meander its soul across the silver screen?'
The entire soundtrack is very Copland-esque
Hey boo!!
15:13 onward…
This variation is missing some of the french horn and replacing it with viola. French horn sounded better!