Overhearing Film Music

Conversations with Screen Composers

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by John Caps

Type

Interviews

Subject

Technique > Music

Keywords

interviews, music composer

Publishing date

2025 (January 01, 2025)

Publisher

State University of New York Press

Collection

SUNY series, Horizons of Cinema

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Hardcover • 406 pages
6 x 9 inches (15 x 23 cm)

ISBN

979-8-8558-0062-3

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Book Presentation:
Three generations of famous movie soundtrack composers reveal the secrets of their art and success.

Beginning with a quick history of film scoring and then taking the reader backstage to interview a dozen major screen composers, Overhearing Film Music represents three generations of movie soundtrack music. Ranging from groundbreaking composers who scored classic 1940s melodramas such as Laura and the Thief of Bagdad, to the jazz-influenced modernists who worked on Rebel Without a Cause and The Pink Panther, and into the symphonic renaissance represented by films like Star Wars and Harry Potter, Caps asks the seminal questions: How did this kind of active movie scoring evolve from silent films—and where is it headed? These interviews provide a master class in how and why to score a film. Interspersed among the interviews, Caps's single-subject essays provide concise histories of the use of choral music in films, African American and female film composers, and digital composing software for a new era.

About the Author:
John Caps is the author of Crisis Music: Six 20th Century Composers and Henry Mancini: Reinventing Film Music.

Press Reviews:
"Brings a fresh reassessment and reappraisal of the practices and aesthetics of film music . . . addressing questions of how to define and recognize artistic significance in film music as the medium and its audience changes." — William McGinney, School of Music, Texas Christian University

"Does a fantastic job of revealing the mindsets and stylistic approaches to film scoring. . . . For upcoming students, this book provides an incredible field guide straight from the source of the early foundation and progression of scoring." — Christopher Lippincott, Department of Recording Industry, Middle Tennessee State University

"This book offers an accessible survey of firsthand experiences from composers. It manages to engage in a journalistic and scholarly manner, with an appeal to a wide readership. It will be helpful to introductory students in filmmaking, film studies, and film music, but also offers much for advanced students, scholars, and practicing composers seeking specific lines of inquiry. These in-depth interviews regularly contain surprising information and go beyond the formulaic approach seen in so many collections. I am impressed by the extent to which the author has been inclusive by including interviews with Jermaine Stegall and Rachel Portman, along with a strong survey on Black composers. I would be excited to use this book in the undergraduate Film Sound course I teach. In this course for seniors, the book would open many avenues for approaches to composing and research." — Matthew Sorrento, Department of Film Studies, Temple University

"The greatest strength of the manuscript is the inclusion of composers of recent films, specifically Jermaine Stegall and Rachel Portman, and the interludes, especially on Black composers for film and choral music for film. . . . I would assign this in an undergraduate or graduate film music course." — Reba Wissner, Schwob School of Music, Columbus State University

"Wow. What a wonderful chapter in what is clearly going to be a terrific and distinguished book . . . Your preambles to my answers are so knowing, well-informed, and articulate . . . that it was a pure pleasure to read. For anyone who wants an introduction to my film work, I can’t think of a better source to recommend than your superb chapter about it." — David Shire, composer, All the President's Men, Norma Rae

"I want to thank you for your wonderful interview and for your interest in my work. You are one of the people who make me stop feeling that I am writing in a vacuum . . . I can only quote Ira Gershwin: Who could ask for anything more!" — Jerome Moross, composer, The Big Country, Wagon Train

"Your encyclopedic knowledge of my oeuvre is almost embarrassing to me for two reasons. First, because some of the films you comment on I have almost completely forgotten and yet your awareness of their musical details is astounding. And second, your overall flattering evaluation of my music and my approach to film scoring is gratifying (and) based on true intelligence and musical/aesthetic sensitivity . . . far exceeding that of many commentators who profess to pass judgment on film music . . . I can’t tell you how much it means to me and has for years." — Laurence Rosenthal, composer, Becket, The Miracle Worker, Return of a Man Called Horse

"It is always very gratifying to be interviewed by someone of such obvious knowledge and background who has troubled himself to notice my work and I thank you for it very much!" — John Williams, composer, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Jaws

"I’ve been reading Caps's work for many years and I appreciate his understanding of the film music field and his ability to write about it in an accessible way . . . a freshness we don’t often get . . . So, scholars will approve of these rare and insightful interviews while 'general interest' readers (which in this case would refer to (anyone) who likes to read about film and/or music) should be satisfied . . . Caps finds interesting ways to describe music—always the biggest challenge of a book like this." — Jon Burlingame, Professor USC Thornton School of Music; national film music columnist for Variety; author of Music for Prime Time and Dreamsville: Henry Mancini, Peter Gunn, and Music for TV Noir

See the publisher website: State University of New York Press