Film score

A film score (also sometimes called background score, background music, film music or incidental music) is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score forms part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects, and comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to enhance the dramatic narrative and the emotional impact of the scene in question. Scores are written by one or more composers, under the guidance of, or in collaboration with, the film's director or producer and are then usually performed by an ensemble of musicians – most often comprising an orchestra or band, instrumental soloists, and choir or vocalists – and recorded by a sound engineer.

Film scores encompass an enormous variety of styles of music, depending on the nature of the films they accompany. The majority of scores are orchestral works rooted in Western classical music, but many scores are also influenced by jazz, rock, pop, blues, new-age and ambient music, and a wide range of ethnic and world music styles. Since the 1950s, a growing number of scores have also included electronic elements as part of the score, and many scores written today feature a hybrid of orchestral and electronic instruments.

Film Music (album)

Film Music (1985) is an album originally released on vinyl by the American trumpeter and synthesizer player, Mark Isham.

It consists of extended tracks from the soundtracks of three films. The first track is from the soundtrack of the film Mrs. Soffel (1984). The second track is from the documentary The Times of Harvey Milk. This film won the 1984 Academy Award for best documentary. The material of the third track is from the Carroll Ballard film, Never Cry Wolf (1983).

Like Isham’s previous album, Vapor Drawings (1983), the material on this is deeply atmospheric and emphasizes the use of synthesizers often blended with acoustic instruments. Of the three films represented, Isham is only credited with performing trumpet on track two, "The Times of Harvey Milk".

Track listing

Personnel