I have been walking since my heart attack in 2018. I average around 2 1/2 – 3 hrs of walking a week. During the walk I would listen to a variety of genres of music (mostly soundtracks) and find myself learning by analyzing the orchestration, arrangement and emotion of the music while I’m walking.
Today’s listening session is Howard Shore’s score “Hugo”
Synopsis
A story about an orphan boy named Hugo who is living in the walls of a train station in 1930’s Paris; he learned to fix clocks and gadgets from his father and uncle which he puts to use to keep the station clocks running. The only thing the connects him to his father who is now deceased is an automaton (mechanical man) that doesn’t work without a special key. Hugo needs to find the key to unlock the secret it contains. On one of his adventures he meets George Melies, a shop keeper who works at the train station and his adventurous seeking god-daughter; Hugo learns that they have a surprising connection between his late father and the automaton and he discovers it unlocks some memories that the old man man has buried regarding his past.
Score
Prior to scoring the music to Lord of the Rings movies, Howard Shore had numerous scores under his belt and this particular one to me is an enchanting, endearing and nostalgic score. Watching this movie, took me on a journey back to 1930’s Paris in a pipe dream sort of way. The music really orchestrated a genuine chord in the film. The piano seems to set the emotional tone throughout the film. The instrumentation of the score reflected a time that gave it its authenticity in a contemporary sort of way. This storyline, actors are playing roles portraying people that has its own internal complexities; and it seems that the music needed to be developed with that same kind of complexness, but the music needed to be heard (outputted) and created in the highest form of simplicity to compliment the story, which is a challenge to do; there is a quote that comes to mind “The more complex the mind, the greater the need for the simplicity of play “. I see this in myself and other fellow composers who are challenged with understanding the storyline and laboring to create and developing melodic themes; but when it feels right with what you are seeing then your on the right track to composing good emotional music to the film. Howard Shore’s Hugo score kept me there at that train station; he created an ambience that kept you in the journey and moment throughout the film. This film is about George Melies (played by Ben Kingsley) who was at the time, trying to forget his past as a innovative filmmaker. Howard’s score portrays the character reflecting his past and deep dismay and trying to deal with his present. This score seems to have no main theme but follows all the characters emotions genuinely.
