John adams movie music

Unfortunately, the producers and directors neglected to demand the same level of verisimilitude from the score for John Adams , ably written by television and miniseries veterans Rob Lane and Joseph Vitarelli. As they have shown in the past, both men understand the demands of television scoring and write beautiful music, but in this case, their music undercuts the drama and intrudes upon the listener when it should recede into the background.

The level of detail that obviously went into production design creates a space for the actors to inhabit that must have aided their uniformly remarkable performances. When the music was added after filming, it would have been logical for historical accuracy to be demanded of the score as well. Instead, conventional scoring techniques were adopted so we have scenes that visually strike us as true to life in the s accompanied by an orchestra in a form first found almost years later playing harmonies common over years later.

This inaccuracy may seem a small point to quibble, but is not as the music consistently makes its odd presence felt and undermines the work done by others involved. It takes a viewer out of the scene by calling attention to itself, something a score should almost never do.

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With that caveat presented, there are a few beautiful moments in the score that do work, and work well. It would be hard to not have goosebumps after seeing and hearing this scene. As the camera pans up to capture the wonder expressed on every assembled face, the string orchestra buoyed by woodwinds and harp floats upward, never resolving and never finding rest.

It is a lovely moment, and an example of when it useful for music to intrude on the drama as this music lifts its hearers bodily along with the visual of the ascending balloon. Unfortunately these moments are few and far between over the course of eight and a half hours of miniseries.

Composed by Rob Lane & Joseph Vitarelli.

Separately, the music serves as fine, lush background music, but when combined with the miniseries, does not consistently fulfill its function. While the music is enjoyable, I cannot give it a strong recommendation. If any information appears to be missing from this page, contact us and let us know!