Scott (or others): What's this classical? (1 Viewer)

[Greg_S_H]

There's a piece of music I heard while watching Ghost Story (1981). It was also in a TV movie with Alan Arkin called Necessary Parties. The review for the latter said it was Corelli. I played the basic idea of the melody on an online piano (I don't know how to play a real one, and hitting notes in time isn't that easy with a mouse and pointer, so the timing goes wrong). Any ideas? Should be pretty famous.

 

[Ockeghem]

There's a piece of music I heard while watching Ghost Story (1981). It was also in a TV movie with Alan Arkin called Necessary Parties. The review for the latter said it was Corelli. I played the basic idea of the melody on an online piano (I don't know how to play a real one, and hitting notes in time isn't that easy with a mouse and pointer, so the timing goes wrong). Any ideas? Should be pretty famous.

Greg,I'll be happy to have a listen to this from work tomorrow (Saturday). I won't have much luck opening up the file from home. I'll let you know what I find out. Thanks for asking.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I'm having second thoughts about you being able to make anything out of my sorry playing, but I'd be glad to see what you can make of it.

 

[Ockeghem]

I'm having second thoughts about you being able to make anything out of my sorry playing, but I'd be glad to see what you can make of it.

Greg,Hmmm. This one will be a bit tricky. Your notes (in D major) are A / F-sharp / E / D / A / F-sharp / E / D / G-sharp / A / B / A / G-sharp / F-sharp / E / D. I can't identify the melody at this point. Was this piece for orchestra, chamber ensemble, or some other combination of instruments? And did it included a piano, or were you just transcribing it for the keyboard?

I think the best bet would be for me to hear the actual work from either of the two films you posted above. I don't own either of them, but I have tried finding them online, without much luck. If you can provide a link to the scene in which you hear the music in either film, I would be glad to have a listen to it and see what I can make of it.

When I first heard your first three notes, I immediately thought of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-Flat minor (1st movement); however, your fourth note (and following) weren't part of that famous melody (or at least not in that specific order). The work begins in the minor mode, but the piano part contains the first three notes you play (in D-flat major as opposed to D major) and the contour is pretty much the same.

Have a listen to this historic performance if you have a chance.

 

[Greg_S_H]

In Ghost Story, I believe it was solo guitar. I haven't seen Necessary Parties since the early '90s, but a review stated that Arkin's character played the recorder. I wish I had a way to save a scene from my DVR, but I don't think it's on there anymore anyway!

I appreciate your looking into this. I'll take a look at your link after I hit send, but I don't want to bother you too much with this. Just a nice little piece that has caught my ear on both of those times I've heard it in those movies.

Oh, and naturally, it wasn't named in the Ghost Story credits, and naturally my phone apps couldn't hear it.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Scott, I found the clip from Ghost Story! It's towards the end of this segment:

http://www.ovguide.com/video/ghost-story-constant-seduction-922ca39ce10036ba0e11cbe4c2a62ac0

Now, I believe you have kids in the house. The subject matter of this clip is probably not for them. Sexual situations. The song in question is in the background of the restaurant scene.

 

[Ockeghem]

Scott, I found the clip from Ghost Story! It's towards the end of this segment:

http://www.ovguide.com/video/ghost-story-constant-seduction-922ca39ce10036ba0e11cbe4c2a62ac0

Now, I believe you have kids in the house. The subject matter of this clip is probably not for them. Sexual situations. The song in question is in the background of the restaurant scene.

Greg,Thanks. I'm attempting to load the video now from home, but it's not going very well. At the very least, I will load it from work tomorrow and have a listen to it there. I'll get back to you.

 

[Ockeghem]

Greg,I have listened to the piece, and I don't believe that I have never heard it before. It's somewhat surprising to me that with my love of horror films, I have never seen this film. On a more promising note, I have sent along your query to a friend of mine (a guitar professor) who just might know the answer as he is more familiar with the classical repertoire for guitar than I am. I will definitely get back to you once I have heard from him.

 

[Ockeghem]

Greg,Unfortunately, my buddy could not open the link up from his end. I had difficulty with it as well, but it finally opened after a few minutes. Sorry about that.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Here's the music from that restaurant scene:



Hope that's a help.

 

[Ockeghem]

Mike,Thank you. I've forwarded along the link to my friend. Much appreciated.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Thanks, Mike! You and Scott are really going the extra mile here! I hpe your friend recognizes it. They could save us a lot of grief by putting the title in the credits.

I don't know if you'd love the movie--it seems like the first half hour is old guys writhing in bed, having nightmares--but it ended up being worth the rewatch. I somehow saw it in the theaters as a kid, even with all the human anatomy on display.

 

[Ockeghem]

Greg,You're welcome. One thing that caught my eye when I was watching your clip was who the actress was -- Alice Krige. I believe that First Contact is the only thing I've ever seen her in before.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Yep. She's extremely creepy in both roles. If they weren't so far apart, I'd think she got the role because of this performance.

 

[Ockeghem]

Greg,Good news! My friend (a guitar teacher) wrote to me this morning and told me that at first he thought it was the Largo (2nd) movement from one of Vivaldi's mandolin concertos, and then he said he believes it is actually Vivaldi's Concerto for Lute in D Major, which he has heard transcribed for guitar (such as in the link below). He said the snippet from the film occurs at around 3:45. Enjoy!

 

[Greg_S_H]

Scott, thank you for sticking with this and really going the extra mile. Please thank your friend for me as well. That's definitely it, and that looks like a version to treasure. Thanks again!

 

[Ockeghem]

Greg,You're welcome, and will do. I figured I could count on him. It was actually quite interesting trying to track this work down. Enjoy!

 

[Mike Frezon]