Composing Greatness: #7.The Freshman Class of the 2010's - "Mr. Turner" (2014)

Scene from Mr. Turner

Welcome to Composing Greatness: a column dedicated to exploring the work of film composers. This will specifically focus on the films that earned them Oscar nominations while exploring what makes it so special. This will be broken down into a look at the overall style, interesting moments within the composition, and what made the score worth nominating in the first place. This will also include various subcategories where I will rank the themes of each film along with any time that the composer actually wins. This is a column meant to explore a side of film that doesn't get enough credit while hopefully introducing audiences to an enriched view of more prolific composers' work. This will only cover scores/songs that are compiled in an easily accessible format (so no extended scores will be considered). Join me every Sunday as I cover these talents that if you don't know by name, you recognize by sound.

Series Composer: Gary Yershon

Entry: Mr. Turner (2014)

Collaborators (If Available): N/A

Nomination: Best Original Score

Did They Win: No

Other Nominees:
Best Original Score
-The Grand Budapest Hotel (Alexandre Desplat)*winner
-The Imitation Game (Alexandre Desplat)
-Interstellar (Hans Zimmer)
-The Theory of Everything (Johann Johannsson)

Additional Information

This is to help provide perspective of where each composer is in their Oscar-nominated life as it related to the current entry.

Oscar Nomination: 1

Oscar Wins: 0

Track List

1. "Mr. Turner"
2. "Colour Shop and Market"
3. "Preparations"
4. "To Petworth"
5. "Margate Sands"
6. "Long Time Ago"
7. "Ailing"
8. "Mourning"
9. "Quiet House"
10. "Walks"
11. "Vanishing Day"
12. "Action Painting"
13. "Lashed to the Mast"
14. "Margate Again"
15. "The Fighting Temeraire"
16. "Steam Railway"
17. "Critics"
18. "Low"
19. "On the Jetty"
20. "Old and New"
21. "End Credits"
22. "A Running Jump Part 1: A Running Jump Fit 'N' Fancy"
23. "A Running Jump Part 2: Billy"
24. "A Running Jump Part 3: On the Run in the Swim"
25. "A Running Jump Part 4: On the Spot"
26. "A Running Jump Part 5: Hard Sell Drive Swim Sell"
27. "A Running Jump Part 6: Cash Sold"
28. "A Running Jump Part 7: Goals"
29. "A Running Jump Part 8: Fitter'n'Fancier Taking Flight The Final"

Note: Listen to here.

Exploring the Music

The area of the column where I will explore the music in as much detail as I see fit for each entry.

Theme Exploration:

"Mr. Turner"

After a run of recent scores that feel like they exist to challenge the idea of the medium, it feels good to return to something a bit more classical. Here it is mostly a violin drawing the listener in, asking them to imagine the world that Mr. Turner exists in. More than other scores that have been covered, this one grows from the beginning and slowly develops more of a distinguished personality along the way, as if each note is on a canvas waiting to be painted on. Here, it's minimal and wrenching, managing to convey the idea that comes to life at the beginning of a work. It's beautiful in its simplicity, capturing something immediately classical and worthy of being built upon. 

Interesting Standout:
"Action Painting"

It is hard to ignore a track with the word 'Action' in it, especially for a score that is as classical as this. Luckily, Gary Yershon's music lives up to that promise by making the entire track feel like a sprint through the entire melody. It's the type of motivational rhythm that carries the otherwise mellow music through to something richer. What is so special about this action painting that makes it stand out from the other tracks? It's just so much more energetic and exciting, capturing a rush that not every track feels capable of having. Most of all, it's really fun. 

Best Moment:
"End Credits"

As mentioned before, this is a score that builds throughout the entire soundtrack. By the end, it has come to it final form, and it's a beautiful little thing. While the central violin is still in play, it has incorporated more drums and hearts into the work, as if a painting has finally been completed. The results are beautiful, sweet, revealing the true intentions of what this is going for. It may not sound exceptional by the end, but that's only because of how much needs to be added to it to make it into what it is. 

Did This Deserve an Oscar Nomination?:
Yes

While this may go down as one of the more obscure scores from this decade, it does make sense why it was nominated. Like the other ones, this is one that plays with the idea of what goes into a film score by starting small and working up into something bigger and more exciting. Yes, it's more traditional than the previous six entries, but what it does have is a sense of wit to how it uses instrumentation and makes something small into something bigger by the end that works like a painter filling a canvas. It may not be the most exceptional score, but it works as a concept album trying to figure itself out. 

Up Next: Best Original Score - Johan Johansson, The Theory of Everything (2013)

Best Theme

A ranking of all themes composed by The Freshman Class of the 2010's.

1. Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross: "Hand Covers Bruise" - The Social Network (2010)
2. John Powell: "This is Berk" - How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
3. Mychael Danna: "Piscine Molitar Patel" - Life of Pi (2012)
4. Will Butler & Owen Pallett: "Sleepwalker" - Her (2013)
5. Gary Yershon: "Mr. Turner" - Mr. Turner (2014)
6. Ludovic Bource: "The Artist Overture" - The Artist (2011)
7. Steven Price: "Above Earth" - Gravity (2013)