The following is my personal list of the 15 greatest compositions of all time. Granted, not all of them are scores, but ah well, besides film music, I do listen to a variety of music across different genres. Needless to say, this is a personal list, but I hope I will awaken or sparkle some of your musical interest in these remarkable songs, albums and composers.
Without further ado, here comes my list, bottom up:
15. Part of Your World from "Little Mermaid" by Alan Menken
Yes, it’s a kid flic, but Alan Menken’s musical-like composition to Disney’s “Little Mermaid” gives a wonderful opportunity for the singer to express Ariel’s wishes. If you ever want to fall in love with a female voice, listen to Ute Lemper’s German version. Her crystal-clear, strong, but very feminine voice is what really got me into this piece.
14. Colors of the Wind from "Pocahontas" by Alan Menken
Yes, another kid flic, but Alan Menken topped himself again with the very rich and extraordinary composition to Disney’s Pocahontas that left me in awe the very first time I heard it.
13. Bai Ca Dai Viet by Phan Van Hung
I still don’t know the original composer to this piece, but Phan Van Hung re-arranged this piece for the Viet Tan opening ceremony in Berlin, and boy, I immediately fell in love with this music the first time I heard it. The lyrics of this song tell Vietnam’s long history (I wish I understood it better, though), but besides the lyrics, I am speechless at how well Phan Van Hung combines the male and female voices and let the chorus accompany them in distinct, refreshing and uplifting segments that always reenergizes my passion for Vietnam.
12. The Chairman's Waltz from "Memoirs of a Geisha" by John Williams
Nostalgia and sadness fills my soul when I listen to this short piece from one of Williams’ most recent albums. It’s a very emotional and touching musical outcry of melancholy. Representing Sayuri’s deepest wish to be with the Chairman, this recurring theme reflects a person’s wish and longing for the ‘one love.’
11. Summer from "Kikujirô No Natsu" by Joe Hisaishi
A simple, uplifting, warm, life-is-good, yet slightly nostalgic piece of music that somehow embodies to me the past and innocence of childhood. I really loved the harp section at 0:55, and wished that Joe Hisaishi has used the harps at the end of this piece as a nice ending climax. It feels a bit out of touch and unexpected where it’s currently at.
10. Throne Room and End Title from "Star Wars - A New Hope" by John Williams
I can’t possibly compile this list without leaving out probably the most famous and most successful score of all time that appears on every best-soundtrack list: John Williams’ “Star Wars” that catapulted him into stardom in the film music genre in 1977. Throne Room masters in repeating the Binary Sunset theme accompanied by strong strokes of string instruments and ends with the strong and majestic Star Wars main theme. Can’t ask for more here!
9. It's Only Gold and End Credits from "CutThroat Island" by John Debney
CutThroat Island is an extremely rich composition that simultaneously uses a huge variety of instruments. When Debney recorded this score, he probably had to hire every single person that belonged to the London Symphony Orchestra, and boy, you can tell and feel the vibration of the room as he ends this piece with the biggest finale you’ll ever hear in the history of film music. I often listen to this piece on headphones with full volume with my eyes closed imaging standing in front of a full orchestra and conducting this piece.
8. O from "Cirque Du Soleil - O" by Benoit Jutras
Benoit Jutras, very much like Joe Hisaishi, is another master of nostalgic themes, and O is probably the epitome of nostalgia, especially when it was written for and used in Cirque Du Soleil’s amazing dream-like musical O. It’s another one of those gradually-increasing pieces that makes you think and ponder about the past, your youth and become sad while doing so.
7. Picard Flute Solo from "Star Trek - Generations" by Jerry Goldsmith
Ah, the piece of music that I will request in my will to be played at my funeral. This semi-solo piece of a flute accompanied with string instruments starts out with a melody that brings closure to a period of sadness and then slowly the violins pick up the melody where the flute leaves off. The reason why I want this to be played at my funeral is that it embodies the passing of one melody from one sad form into another and then, as the violin starts its waltz-like dance, the flute returns and they both dance in unison representing hope and inspiration to do other good things in life despite death.
6. I'm Forrest… Forrest Gump from "Forrest Gump" by Alan Silvestri
Alan Silvestri’s most famous piece that clearly stands out in the film music genre as an innocent and sheer peaceful piece that starts with the piano and then carries on with violins.
5. Too Late from "Gaudi - Das Musical" by Eric Woolfson
First off, please note that I am not referring to the 1987 “Alan Parsons Project“ version of Eric Woolfson's Too Late, but rather his version for the 1996 musical that apparently is only playing in Germany. Too Late is a rather interesting and unorthodox musical piece, yet it still astonishingly harmonic. The piece immediately grabs your attention in the first second with the violin’s repeating pattern of strokes creating a suspense that through the different segments in this piece takes up different tones and volume. The duet of the lead male and female voices as they argue in complete harmony gives this song the strong variety—I especially love the female voice as it dances along with the music as if her voice is describing the curves of the female body (especially the part “It has always me who ended up the loser”/”Well, I’ve been waiting for so long without good reason”). Then, Woolfson adds the tenor of “Standing on Higher Ground” (another melody of the same musical) as background music and, to my astonishment, despite its complete different melody they all fit together so perfectly. After a very suspenseful segment of purely string instruments, Woolfson lets all these voices express their strongest feelings together in the climax and you’ll be amazed by how well all these complex melodies flow together. Then, when you think it can’t get any better, Woolfson adds the simple, low, long horns in the background that like an umbrella covers all voices under its reach. The icing on the cake – WOW! How does one person can come up with such an amazing composition?
4. Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel
One of the most overused pieces for romantic scenes in movies and at weddings, but for a very good reason. What starts out as a peaceful, harmonic melody of love grows gradually stronger and ends with a canon of a string quartet that sound so harmonious in unison. As I play this piece on a piano, I am still amazed and wonder to this day how Pachelbel could had ever come up with the many variations of these sheer-random notes that blend together so well. Never before has complexity sounded so harmonious.
3. Theme from Schindler's List from "Schindler's List" by John Williams
Schindler’s List is the epitome of sad violin music. It’s sad, sad, sad, sad, and sad. The sound of the low violin performed by Itzhak Perlman is going to tear your heart apart. The vibration by which Perlman draws the violin bow against the string is what gives this piece the almost literal notation of “tearing someone’s heart apart” and as he moves along the entire scale and goes from one octave to another within seconds…. whew, that's heart-wrenching! If you ever listen to this music alone in the dark, don’t be surprised if you start having suicidal thoughts, even if you have no reason to be.
2. The Rain from "Kikujirô No Natsu" by Joe Hisaishi
As noted before, this is probably the most romantic piece of music your ears will ever hear, yet this piece is so unknown. Joe Hisaishi actually delivers a very simple melody, and I guess I have to agree that in the simplicity lies the beauty. His choice of instruments and arrangement makes this nostalgic and romantic composition a masterpiece. Words cannot describe how romantic this piece is, so you have to trust me and listen for yourself. I literally fell in love with it the first time I heard it. The simple melody is simple repeated on different octaves (or is it the cello in segment B?) and the piece ends with a string version of “Summer” from the same album.
1. Journey to the Island from "Jurassic Park" by John Williams
When John Williams was hired by Steven Spielberg to compose the music for the dinosaur movie “Jurassic Park”, Williams could have easily chose strong brass instruments and hard drums to deliver a dark score representing the dinosaurs, yet to everyone’s big surprise, he delivers two very unexpected themes: an extremely powerful and bold theme of horns and an extremely warm and moving main theme. Journey to the Island is the combination of both themes. What makes this piece so perfect is that there is not a single second of this 9-minute composition that is wasted. The listeners' attention is grabbed in the first second with a short, strong string ascension. Then, over the next minute you are being prepared for the bold trumpet/horn theme that comes in so beautifully when you see the helicopter arrive at the island for the first time. As the helicopter lands on the island in the movie, the music transforms into an adventure-like expedition and then, after some short suspense, the main theme of Jurassic Park is introduced for the first time in the movie. The music is just breathtaking at that moment. It’s so warm, kindhearted, and majestic—something you really don’t expect at the sight of dinosaurs. As the party returns to the headquarters, the music gradually slows down (with less majestic repetitions of the main theme), yet introduces another small melody: a small dance of low string instruments foreshadowing the potential danger that is ahead and the music ends with an undertone of suspension as the violin dies on a very low and slow stroke. Ah… what an amazing composition. It’s a perfect piece from the first to last second with memorable themes and remarkable orchestral performances.
That's my current list. Some of these albums are very hard to find, so you have to look on eBay or something. Enjoy!