Is simply one of the best and most beautiful soundtracks out there
Disadvantages:
Some complain about being too gloomy listening
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
After the utter failure of Hook in 1991, Steven Spielberg took a break from filmmaking and when he returned there was no question that the master had returned. With Jurassic Park he successfully brought dinosaurs back to life and unleashed them to the unfortunate individuals in the movie. With an entertaining thriller like this under his belt Spielberg then turned completely around and made one of the most artistic and harrowing movies of his career, Schindler's List. Shot completely in black and white, it told about the historical figure of Oskar Schindler, who saved 1100 Polish Jews from ending up in Hitler's concentration camps during the Third Reich's implementation of the "final solution". Adapted from the screenplay of Steve Zaillian it may very well be Spielberg's best picture yet. It went on to win seven Academy Awards in 1993 including Best Director and Best Picture, with John Williams winning one for original score.
John Williams' approach to Schindler's List was one of restraint and profundity. Whereas Jurassic Park was filled with orchestral splendour and adventure, Schindler's List does not allow anything of the kind. The overall tone is very somber, with only a few places where sun is allowed to shine at least a little bit. In fact so somber is the tone that many with fainter hearts might get easily depressed at hearing it. The structuring of the music is fairly classical in spirit, with no big and bold brass cues to be found. Instead we have a chamber orchestra with strings and woodwinds that provide the usual underscore with the talent of violinist Itzhak Perlman (a very suitable choice) giving the necessary personal and human touch. With so much that is quiet minor keyed underscore, the soundtrack works quite well outside the film. As a listening experience there is the undoubtable repetitiveness that film scores often feature, but it does sustain itself remarkably well.
The score is based on three themes. The main theme is originally based on a Jewish folk song and its use here is quite appropriate. The tone is plaintive and sensitive, often performed by the solo violin with gentle orchestral backing. The theme is not exactly free flowing and is characterised by rather striking intervals, making the music sound a little restricted what is quite fitting when taken into account the conditions of the Jews at the time (as well as Schindler). The second theme is more purely ethnic, a theme that is more a portrayal of the people than the main theme is. The quirkiness of this theme somewhat lessens the gloomy atmosphere of this score while it doesn't entirely lift the shadows. The third I feel is the best of the bunch. The so-called "Remembrance" theme is more dramatic and melancholy than the main theme, as well as being more lyrical. This bittersweet melody perfectly represents memories of a long lost time that are not likely to return and it is this inevitable quality that makes it more emotionally gripping than the main theme.
Although Perlman is highly credited, he only performes in a handful of tracks. The three main themes all receive the violin treatment in the form of concert-like suites, namely in "Theme from Schindler's List", "Jewish Town (Krakow Ghetto - Winter '41)" and "Remembrances". These three tracks have since become favourites in the concert hall whenever the music from Schindler's List is performed. The very structuring of these three tracks perfectly allows for their transformation into standalone pieces for violinists to easily perform. Apart from the violin solos that almost always are highlights, there are also three instances when a chorus is introduced. Two of these ("OYF'N Pripetshok" and Yeroushalaim Chel Zahav") are not original Williams compositions, but don't stand out as being out of place or inappropriate. The third choral track is "Immolation (With Our Lives, We Give Life)" which is a quite beautiful choral piece although it too is veiled in the gloomy atmosphere of the rest of the music.
Another standout cue is "Nacht Aktion" where a solo clarinet performs the Remembrance and Jewish themes. The plaintive tone of a clarinet is very appropriate and makes for a beautiful distraction. The combination of soft strings and guitar in "Stolen Memories" is also a nice change from the normal orchestrations. There are a couple of cues that are filled with more horror. The cue "Auschwitz-Birkenau" is particularly terrifying with the low, thunderous rumbling of timpani under the strings and solo violin, perfectly capturing the horror of the most famous concentration camp of them all. The cue "Making the List" brings a further sense of agitation that sounds, curiously enough, very much alike the more agitated moments in Nino Rota's Romeo and Juliet.
The nine minute (although mislabelled at 10:36) track "Schindler's Workforce" gives us the Jewish theme as extended variations. This track perfectly captures the monotony of factory work, which saved the Jews from being sent to the camps. Thanks to the varying orchestrations the track doesn't easily tumble into intolerable repetitiveness. And finally we have the last track, "Theme from Schindler's List (Reprise)", which however is not a normal Williams reprise. Instead of a solo violin, the theme is initially played by a solo piano without any accompaniment at all, until the orchestra comes and plays the same. It is a most beautiful arrangement and a fitting conclusion to one of the most beautiful if bleak soundtracks ever written.
With a running time of 64:35, the soundtrack album pretty much includes all the music from the film. Although lasting over an hour, listening to it seems to go by in only about 50 minutes. The beauty of this music has an uncanny ability to just envelope you so time passes really without any notice at all. The score has been endowed with just about every award you can think of (including the Academy Award) and has been selling well since it appeared in 1993. Due to the popularity of the album, it was re-issued in 1995 as a 24K gold-plated version along with Apollo 13 and Dances With Wolves, although the contents are identical. A score to enjoy if gloomy music doesn't put you off, it is still a must have in even the smallest film score collection.
1. Theme from Schindler's List* (4:16) 2. Jewish Town (Krakow Ghetto - Winter '41)* (4:40) 3. Immolation (With Our Lives, We Give Life) (4:44) 4. Remembrances (4:20) 5. Schindler's Workforce (9:08) 6. OYF'N Pripetshok*** and Nacht Aktion** (2:56) 7. I Could Have Done More* (5:52) 8. Auschwitz-Birkenau* (3:41) 9. Stolen Memories (4:20) 10. Making the List* (5:11) 11. Give Me Your Names (4:55) 12. Yeroushalaim Chel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold)+ (2:17) 13. Remembrances (with Itzhak Perlman)* (5:16) 14. Theme from Schindler's List (Reprise) (2:59)
Music Composed and Conducted by John Williams *Violin Solos by Itzhak Perlman Produced by John Williams
Music performed with members of The Boston Symphony Orchestra **Clarinet Solos: Giora Feldman
***OYF'N Pripetshok composed by Mark Warschafsky Performed by The Li-Ron Herzeliya Children's Choir, Tel-Aviv, Israel Conducted by Ronit Shapira
+Yeroushalaim Chel Zahav Composed by Naomi Shemer Performed by The Ramal Gan Chamber Choir, Tel-Aviv Conducted by Hana Tzur
Music Editor: Ken Wannberg Music Scoring Mixer: Shawn Murphy Recorded at Sony Scoring Stage, Culver City, CA and Symphony Hall, Boston, MA
Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park franchises, it's easy to forget that composer John Williams is hardly idiomatically challenged. When Steven Spielberg gr...
theStar Wars, Indiana Jones, andJurassic Parkfranchises, it's easy to forget that composer John Williams is hardly idiomatically challenged. When Steven Spielberg grati...
![Williams: Schindler's List Original Soundtrack [SOUNDTRACK] -](http://picnic.ciao.com/uk/65457137.jpg)
