Magnolia [Original Motion Picture Score]

by Jon Brion

Overview

Aimee Mann got a lot of attention for her song score to Magnolia, which was so closely integrated into the film that, on occasion, the characters sang along with her. But there was plenty of other music in the three-hour film, and Jon Brion's orchestral score also had time to make an impression. In fact, despite the hoopla surrounding Mann's work, it may be that Brion's music more closely mirrors the film's themes. Magnolia is a slowly paced, episodic film with a varying tone, and Brion captures all that in long instrumental pieces that employ repetition and alternation of instruments to achieve differing effects. One is sometimes reminded of Philip Glass in Brion's elliptical structures, but his music is far more playful, far less anxious than Glass' scores. Sometimes the strong orchestral themes are in contrast to the gritty nature of the film, so that the music comments ironically, lifting the mood; at other times the music reflects what's happening on screen exactly. But since the film is so deliberate, Brion is allowed much more time to sustain and develop his themes than is typical in film music, and the result is a score that works much more coherently away from the film than most. ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	03/14/2000
Label:	Reprise / Warner Bros.
UPC:	0093624769620

Tracks

1. Magnolia, film score~Little Library Music/Going to a Show
2. Magnolia, film score~Showtime
3. Magnolia, film score~Jimmy¿¿¿S Breakdown
4. Magnolia, film score~WDKK Theme
5. Magnolia, film score~I've Got a Surprise for You Today
6. Magnolia, film score~Stanley/Frank/Linda¿¿¿S Breakdown
7. Magnolia, film score~Chance of Rain
8. Magnolia, film score~So Now Then
9. Magnolia, film score~Magnolia

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jon Brion   Primary Artist
Aimee Mann   Primary Artist
Thomas Pasatieri   Conductor

Technical Credits

Paul Rabjohns   Music Editor
Tom Hardisty   Assistant Engineer
Julian Bratolyubov   Copyist
Ramon Breton   Mastering
Thomas Anderson   Liner Notes
Jon Brion   Composer