Narnia Fans » Harry Gregson-Williams

Narnia Vocalist Lisbeth Scott Releases Innovative Photo Campaign “Hope is a Thing,” to Benefit Children’s Charity “Education Through Music”

Paul Martin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:55:39 +0000

One of my favorite parts of going to movies is the soundtrack that accompanies the film. I’m a huge fan of music that not only compliments a movie, but enhances the film so much that, without it, the film would not be as effective. When it comes to the Narnia films so far, Lisbeth Scott’s vocals have been an ever present part of the experience, as the Pevensies enter Narnia, or on the journey to the Professor’s. She has a new album coming out, with a campaign to support a children’s charity. She also collaborated with composer Harry Gregson-Williams, whose music was present in the first two Narnia films.

Acclaimed singer/songwriter Lisbeth Scott’s new album, “Hope is a Thing,” will be released late November. The new album will be available for sale on iTunes, Amazon.com and in select stores nationwide. The disc features collaborations with well-known composers (Harry Gregson-Williams, Nathan Barr) as well as two stirring new covers (Imagine, Hallelujah). Distributed by BFM Digital, Inc., “Hope is a Thing” features two new music videos for the title track “Hope is a Thing” and “Good to Me” (originally from the 2008 film “Shutter”).

During this challenging economic time, Scott wanted to create a musical and visual collection that would remind people of the importance of hanging on to hopes and dreams and the simple, non-material things that open our hearts and bring us joy. Thus the music and video of “Hope Is a Thing” was born. Lisbeth also feels these concepts are often best demonstrated through innocent eyes, so along-side the album release comes the launch of an innovative web-based world-wide campaign featuring children of all backgrounds and ethnicities who express what it is they hope for in today’s world via the simple image of holding up a hand-created sign. The first phase of the campaign can be seen at www.hopeisathing.com, in the “Gallery” section. Over time, children and schools from all over are encouraged to upload their own photos to help boost the awareness of the campaign. A portion of proceeds will benefit the organization, Education Through Music.

Scott will be promoting her new album at several upcoming appearances: 10/17 at Yogaglo in Santa Monica, 10/19 for a concert in New York City for the premiere of Joe Pantoliano’s film, “No Kidding, Me Too!”, 11/7 and 11/8 for the official CD release parties in LA at the Edgemar Theater in Santa Monica. The 11/8 show is all ages and children are encouraged to bring their own “Hope” signs. 11/20 finds Scott in Northern California with a performance at Berkeley’s Rudramandir – a center for spirituality and healing.

For more information on Lisbeth Scott and to hear samples of her music, visit her official website www.lisbethscott.com. For interview requests and publicity materials, please contact Chandler Poling at chandler@cw3pr.com or 818-605-2237.

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NarniaFans Mailbag #42: Harry Gregson Williams’ Complete Narnia Scores, and Harry Potter 6

Paul Martin — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:29:50 +0000

Welcome to the mailbag, where we answer fanmail that you send in, over the course of the week. For those that don’t know, we’ll take your questions, and if we don’t know the answers, we’ll try to get the answers from people that would know. We might even make something up! I have a very broad sense of humor, on top of a vast knowledge of film, music and comics with a wide range in taste and a great memory that serves to bring great comparisons or answers to your questions.

This afternoon, I saw the latest Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I have to say, having never read any of the books but the seventh, it connected the rest of the movies to the seventh book very well. However, I do have a question, which I posed on my facebook status today, getting a string of hilarious responses. If you’ve not seen the movie, avoid this paragraph:

“When Harry and Gandalf go to the Mines of Moria, why couldn’t Harry use the the Patronus on the Dead Marsh creatures, when Dumbledore was all Odysseus. Instead, he had to cast a Balrog to fight them, when the Balrog is made of light, just like the patronus.”

The point of this paragraph was two-fold. First, it was to point out just how much J.K. Rowling ‘borrowed’ from The Lord of the Rings and repackaged into her own work. However, she also borrowed from some Greek / Roman mythology having them cross over what I instantly thought was a representation of the river Styx, followed by a spell that replicated a scene in The Odyssey. It was set in the Mines of Moria from The Fellowship of the Ring, though, as well as in the Dead Marshes, where Frodo falls in among the dead and Gollum swims in after him in The Two Towers. And then, Dumbledore looks exactly like Gandalf when he’s fighting the Balrog on the Bridge of Khazad Dûm. And with the fire behind him, it looks like he’s summoned a Balrog to fight.

This brings us to the second part of the question: could Harry have used his Patronus on the Dead Marsh things? Arguably it is a light based magic, like fire, and does work on creatures of darkness other than just Dementors. I think that Harry just needs to be in trouble now, so the patronas has been limited.

Anyone have some insight for me other than “read the book?” I don’t plan on reading those books. Too many great books to read.

Let’s get started with this week’s mailbag:

Q: When I bought the Prince Caspian Soundtrack I was looking forward to hearing Reepicheep’s theme. Instead I only got a few seconds of it in The Door in the Air. Are they planning to come out with a more complete soundtrack?

-Collin Layman

Paul: Unfortunately a complete recording of Harry Gregson-Williams’ score for either The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe or Prince Caspian is very unlikely. Perhaps someday there will be a limited print run of a thousand or two copies of the complete recordings. Perhaps this letter will help to generate some more interest in owning all of the score from either film.

Who’s up for complete recordings of the Chronicles of Narnia scores by Harry Gregson-Williams? I sure am!

And this was a light week, with only the one letter. Better one than none, I say.

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NarniaFans Mailbag #35: Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley, Indiana Jones, and Harry Potter vs. Narnia

Paul Martin — Thu, 21 May 2009 22:55:40 +0000

We now present to you, this week’s mailbag. I’m losing track of the days of the week these days. It’s been one crazy week, that’s for sure! Look out for Kansas City’s Union Station launch of The Narnia Exhibition, opening tomorrow! A press release will be available shortly. Just to give you the heads up on other stories that I’m working on: both involve Narnia art. Look for those as well, this evening. Let’s get to the letter answering!

Q: Hi! First, I wanted to tell you that I think the Mailbag is a really cool feature! Now, on to my question. Recently, someone asked what William and Anna were doing lately. What have Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley have been up to? Thanks a lot!

-Tarwe, the Narnian Elf

Paul: Thanks, Tarwe. I think it’s a really cool feature as well! As for Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley… well… they’ve not been sitting around doing nothing. No. They’ve been sitting around doing school. Yes, friends, they are normal human beings just like the rest of us. At the time of the Prince Caspian press week in New York last year, Skandar was studying for a huge test that all British children have to take. It’s a test that determines a lot about your future schooling, kind of like the SAT or ACT here in the United States. Georgie has also been attending school, while both have been waiting for the start of filming on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Part of what is keeping both young actors grounded in reality is not doing too many film projects, and keeping focused on education. Another thing that Skandar has been doing is helping out with a wildlife / environmental conservation effort, called connect2earth.

Now it’s time to answer another old e-mail… maybe a few… we’ll see how this goes.

Q: I’ve noticed that the mailbag hasn’t been up lately…I’ve missed it. Anyway, I’m really excited by how far the Narnia team is coming along in Prince Caspian…do you think there could be a possible trailer release in November or December of this year? And do you think the release of Indiana Jones 4 will hurt PC’s box office earnings any?

-Stephanie

Paul: We missed it too! But here we are again. As you can tell this question is really old! Anyway, yeah… the trailer came out in December of 2007 (the year the e-mail was written)! As for what happened with the box office… Indiana Jones 4 did hurt Prince Caspian’s overall box office take, as did Iron Man. Indiana Jones was released a mere 6 days after Prince Caspian giving it a day less than usual to make some extra cash. It might have only been a few million dollars more, but that’s the kind of thing that could have created a domino effect. If the right audience sees a film, and spreads the word, then a movie can go on to make more. That extra day could have brought in a group of people that may have otherwise missed the film. They may have really enjoyed it, and seen it again. I think that both Prince Caspian and Indiana Jones catered to the same audience, with similar styles of action.

Of course, this is a lot of what-ifs, and things we’ll never know the answer to. But based on word-of-mouth and box office histories, you can piece things together pretty easily sometimes. It may have done better with that extra day… but it’s unlikely it would have been more than a few million better.

Q: Hello! Your site is absolutely amazing. But I have a question for you and other Narnia fans on this site. What is your opinion of the Harry Potter films in comparison to the Narnia films? I’m personally a fan of both movies but I like Harry Potter better. But I just wanted to know you guys’ opinion on this topic. Thanks so much, and I hope you have the time to reply!

-Matt Clipp

Paul: Good question, Matt! Harry Potter vs. Narnia. That’s sure to bring in some debate, but I’m going to venture a guess and say that the debate will be informed mostly by the readers of the books, and book-to-film comparisons, rather than the films taken on their own merits. I’m going to write based on the films, and not the books.

Let’s get this out of the way, right away: I’ve never read a Harry Potter book. The most exposure I’ve had to Rowling’s writing has been when I flipped through Order of the Phoenix to learn who died (didn’t see what the fuss was about) and listening to the audio version of Deathly Hallows because I knew it would probably be spoiled before the movie came out.

Now that you know where I’m coming from, it helps put things into perspective for how I have felt about the movies thus far. There are some Harry Potter fans that feel I have no business in judging the films, having not read the books, but to them I say “you have no business judging the films, having your own bias on what the outcome should be.” Controversial? Yes, but no more controversial than telling one that loves film as I that he has no business judging a film on its’ own merits.

I’m going to go through each film in the series one by one:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (Philosopher’s Stone) – Not a fan… I thought it was rather dry and not very magical a story… and the cinematography was rather lacking. The only thing it really had going for it was the score by John Williams. Chris Columbus does a great job of Christmas themed elements in movies, but that was the only thing that stood out in this film… because it was reminiscent of his Home Alone films. Home Alone 1 and 2 each apart had more magic than this and the next Harry Potter film combined.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – Is it strange that I don’t remember this one? Nor the threat to Harry’s life? I only really remember thinking that Dobby sounded a lot like Jar Jar Binks and I wondered why I was the only person that felt that way. I wondered why nobody felt betrayed by that, as they are geared toward the same audience. Then I remembered that Star Wars is an institution that had no Jar Jar prior to Episode I, but Dobby was an established and well-liked character… apparently. I couldn’t see why, and I dread his return to the films. That’s about all I remember, though.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – This is the first truly great film in the series. It’s the first one that I bought, and it was the first time that the films had managed to capture magic on celluloid. The addition of Gary Oldman to the cast gave the film added weight, and the story was fun and entertaining to follow. Not to mention the fact that Dumbledore, for the first time, was the Dumbledore that I had heard he was from a friend a few years earlier. Until this point, Dumbledore was portrayed so meek that it made me wonder what made him so powerful. He wasn’t like the Yoda of Attack of the Clones, but rather closer to the Yoda of Return of the Jedi. The Dumbledore of this film, however, brought life to the character. Could it be that this, the one adventure so far without Voldemort, is proof that Voldemort was a villain that did not capture my interest? Could it have been the obvious Ringwraith rip-offs, the Death Eaters that made this film so good? I didn’t know, and the next film wouldn’t do much to answer those questions. The new director on this film breathed life into it that Columbus hadn’t.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – This had dragons and adventure… why wouldn’t it be great? Well, it seemed to be a Cliff Notes version of the book without explanation. This is the one time in the series so far that I think had I read the books I might have gotten more out of the motion picture version. There was a lot of stuff happening and a lot of flash and pizazz and not a lot of substance. What’s more, Voldemort appears and does little else than talk too much again. Granted, if a villain ever did anything to the hero of the story toward his goals without meandering on pointless diatribes of what could be done, it would be The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars or Narnia. In each of these films, the villain is bent on his goals and will either send the hero to his death, or, should the hero prove worthy, offer a position to the hero to join the villain (as is the case in Star Wars as well as Narnia).

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Finally, it seems that Voldemort has finished his verbal presentation, and sees fit to break Harry down. This one, thankfully, has a new director and a simplified story that was easier to follow. The dark story was closer to the themes of the third film, and I did end up purchasing this one as well. The direction on this one kept things moving toward a satisfying finish, and made me happy that the same director would work on the following three films.

So for me, so far the series is two for three, with only two good films and three bad films. It’s headed in the right direction, though, based on the trailers for Half-Blood Prince. However, it’s going to be tough to look at Dumbledore this time around and not see him as the Gandalf rip-off that he appears to be.

As for the Narnia films: you could read my reviews of each film to get my thoughts, but in quick summary, I loved both, and cannot even watch the BBC versions of the stories any more. I felt they did a great job of telling the stories, and the both hold their own as films apart from the books. Thus far, you can understand what is going on in each of the films very easily, and they both have magical elements to them, and manage to capture my imagination right from the title screens. In the first film, it was the scene at the train station that drew me into the adventure, and in the second it was Caspian’s ride across the fields. In both, the music soared to great heights, both unique scores for fantasy films, thanks to the efforts of Harry Gregson-Williams.

To this end, I find the Narnia films both much more satisfying than the Harry Potter films that I like, and infinitely more-so than those I do not. Granted, this question was asked about nine months prior to the release of Prince Caspian, so the answer may have been a little different then, but not very.

Harry Gregson-Williams talks about Narnia Concert as Career Highlight

Paul Martin — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 01:37:08 +0000

Variety.com asked Harry Gregson-Williams, who served as composer for both The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. What he said about Narnia really shows the humility of the man. I hope to one day get a proper interview with him.

Here, he recounts a memorable moment in his life as a composer:

“The hush as I picked up my baton before the first note of the concert I did with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra (a suite from ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’). That was totally thrilling and also incredibly alarming. What in heaven’s name am I doing here? I’m a film composer, not a concert composer. It was fantastic.”

And in another article, Andrew Adamson comments on what it was like working with Gregson-Williams:

Describing his friend’s work ethic as “intense,” Adamson often jokes with Gregson-Williams about taking some well-earned time off from movies. “After the first ‘Narnia,’ he said he was going to buy an RV, set it up as a studio and just drive around and write music for a while,” Adamson says. “But he has a hard time saying no — and as a director, I’ve been happy to exploit that.”

Fans of Harry Gregson-Williams can read more of the series of articles here:
Williams selects career highlights
Game scoring liberating for Williams
Williams rises to top of scoring world
Filmmakers talk of Williams’ talent
Williams scores for animated fare
And you can also view his Variety Profile here.

Thanks to Mark Sommer for the inspiration!

Prince Caspian Score, Narnia Songwriters Win Dove Awards

Paul Martin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:36:29 +0000

The Dove Awards are currently happening, and I’m going to be updating this as the awards are given to Narnia related music artists.

The score for The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian wins the award for Instrumental Project of the Year! Congratulations, Harry Gregson-Williams, Lisbeth Scott & Company!

INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM
A Treasury of Hymns; LaDonna; Eric Wyse; Martingale Music
Always There; Harold Rayford; Antoine Chamber; Tyscot Records
Born to Play; Barry D.; Barry D.; Taqa Records
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian; Various; Harry Gregson-Williams; Walt Disney Records
Love Beyond All Measure; Stephen Petrunak; Stephen Petrunak; GIA Publications
The Breath of Life; Angella Christie; Angella Christie, Kevin Griffen; ACSM

However, none of the Disney people were on hand to accept the award.

The award for Long Form Music Video was given to Narnia artist tobyMac for Alive and Transported.

LONG FORM MUSIC VIDEO
Alive and Transported; tobyMac; Eric Welch; Tameron Hedge, Dan Pitts; Broken Poet Productions; Forefront Records
Comatose Comes Alive; Skillet; Carl Diebold; Carl Diebold, Paul Kerby, Zachary Kelm; Atlantic, Lava , Ardent, INO Records
Country Bluegrass Homecoming Volume One; Bill & Gloria Gaither; Doug Stuckey; Bill Gaither; Gaither Television Productions; Gaither Music Group
O Holy Night; David Phelps; David Phelps, Jimmy Abegg; David Phelps, Jim Chaffee, Jimmy Abegg, Ben Pearson; MG&A; Word Records
The Altar and the Door Live; Casting Crowns; Cary Goin; John Erwin, Andy Erwin; Erwin Brothers Motion Pictures; Beach Street

I was going for Skillet on this one, but I haven’t seen all of the videos. I’m just a huge Skillet fan and have the video.

Steven Curtis Chapman wins songwriter of the year! Congrats, Steven! He had some great competition this year, too.

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Steven Curtis Chapman
Natalie Grant
Brandon Heath
Jason Ingram
Tony Wood

Artist of the Year goes to Steven Curtis Chapman! Congrats again Steven! He got a standing ovation after performing his smash hit song Cinderella, a song that is destined to be on the radio forever.

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Casting Crowns
Steven Curtis Chapman
Fireflight
Marvin Sapp
Third Day
tobyMac
Chris Tomlin

Dove Award Nominations include “This is Home,” Soundtrack, Related Artists

Paul Martin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 05:25:08 +0000

Wow! As I was reading through the list of Dove Award Nominations, I couldn’t help but notice the number of artists that have been inspired by C.S. Lewis and/or The Chronicles of Narnia! Starting with Switchfoot’s Prince Caspian Soundtrack entry This is Home being nominated for Pop/Contemporary Song of the Year, as well as the Prince Caspian soundtrack being nominated for Instrumental Album.

I’m going to list all of the categories that a related artist has been nominated in below. Brace yourself!

2009 Dove Award Nominees

SONG OF THE YEAR
Dove Award given to the songwriter and publisher.
song title; writer; publisher
“Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)”; Chris Tomlin, Louie Giglio, Traditional; sixsteps music (ASCAP), worshiptogether.com Songs (ASCAP)
“Cinderella”; Steven Curtis Chapman; Sparrow Songs (BMI)
“Empty Me”; Chris Sligh, Clint Lagerberg, Tony Wood; Foolish Tool Music (ASCAP), Word Music LLC (ASCAP), Kindacrazy Music (BMI), Row J Seat 9 Songs (ASCAP), New Spring Publishing (ASCAP), Bridge Building Music (BMI)
“Give Me Your Eyes”; Brandon Heath, Jason Ingram; Sitka 6 Music (ASCAP), Peertunes Ltd. (SESAC), Grange Hill Music (SESAC), Windsor Way (SESAC)
“I Will Not Be Moved”; Natalie Grant; Nat in the Hat (ASCAP)
“I’m Letting Go”; Francesca Battistelli, Tony Wood, Ian Eskelin; Designer Music (SESAC), Word Music LLC (ASCAP), Honest & Popular Songs (SESAC), Row J Seat 9 Songs (ASCAP), New Spring Publishing Inc. (ASCAP)
“Mighty to Save”; Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan; Hillsong Publishing (ASCAP)
“Never Going Back to OK”; Matt Fuqua, Josh Havens, Brad Wigg, Dan Muckala; Smells Like Music (ASCAP), Screaming Mimes Music (ASCAP)
“Reason Enough”; Ernie Haase, Wayne Haun, Joel Lindsey; Bridge Building Music (BMI), Psalmsinger Music (BMI), Ernie Sig Sound Music (BMI), Hefton Hill Music (BMI)
“You Reign”; Bart Millard, Barry Graul, Steven Curtis Chapman; Simpleville Music (ASCAP), Wet As A Fish Music (ASCAP), Sparrow Songs (BMI)

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Steven Curtis Chapman
Natalie Grant
Brandon Heath
Jason Ingram
Tony Wood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Jeremy Camp
Jon Foreman
Ernie Haase
Brandon Heath
David Phelps
Marvin Sapp
Chris Tomlin

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Francesca Battistelli
Karen Peck Gooch
Natalie Grant
Brooke Fraser Ligertwood
Mandisa
Sandi Patty
Laura Story

GROUP OF THE YEAR
Casting Crowns
David Crowder*Band
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
Mary Mary
MercyMe
Skillet
Third Day

ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Casting Crowns
Steven Curtis Chapman
Fireflight
Marvin Sapp
Third Day
tobyMac
Chris Tomlin

POP/CONTEMPORARY RECORDED SONG
“Cinderella”; This Moment – Cinderella Edition; Steven Curtis Chapman; Sparrow Records
“Give Me Your Eyes”; What If We; Brandon Heath, Jason Ingram; Reunion Records
“I Will Not Be Moved”; Relentless; Natalie Grant; Curb Records
“I’m Letting Go”; My Paper Heart; Francesca Battistelli, Ian Eskelin, Tony Wood; Fervent Records
“This Is Home”; Chronicles Of Narnia:Prince Caspian; Switchfoot; Jonathan Foreman, Andy Dodd, Adam Watts; Walt Disney Records

WORSHIP SONG
Dove Award in the Worship Song category given to the songwriter and publisher.
song; writer; publisher
“A New Hallelujah”; Michael W. Smith, Debbie Smith, Paul Baloche; Word Music LLC, Smittyfly Music, This Is Your Time Music, Integrity’s Hosanna! Music, Leadworship Songs
“Breathe On Me”; Natalie Grant; Nat In The Hat Music
“Jesus Messiah”; Chris Tomlin, Daniel Carson, Jesse Reeves, Ed Cash; worshiptogether.com Songs, Alletrop Music, sixsteps Music
“Mighty To Save”; Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan; Hillsong Publishing
“You’re Not Alone”; Meredith Andrews; Word Music LLC

ROCK ALBUM
Comatose Comes Alive; Skillet; Carl Diebold, Paul Kerby, Zachary Kelm; Ardent Records, INO Records
For The Love Of The Game; Pillar; Travis Wyrick; Essential Records
Satisfied; DecembeRadio; Scotty Wilbanks; Slanted Records
Southern Hospitality; Disciple; Travis Wyrick; INO Records
To Know That You’re Alive; Kutless; Peter Kipley; BEC

ROCK/CONTEMPORARY ALBUM
Daylight Is Coming; Remedy Drive; Ian Eskelin; Word Records
Expect The Impossible; Stellar Kart; Ian Eskelin; Word Records
Hello; After Edmund; Scotty Wilbanks; Slanted Records
Never Going Back To OK; The Afters; Dan Muckala; INO Records
Unbreakable; Fireflight; Rob Hawkins; Flicker Records

POP/CONTEMPORARY ALBUM
Bebo Norman; Bebo Norman, Jason Ingram, Rusty Varenkamp; BEC
Fall And Winter; Jon Foreman; Credential Recordings, lowercase people records
My Paper Heart; Francesca Battistelli; Ian Eskelin; Fervent Records
Relentless; Natalie Grant; Bernie Herms, Shaun Shankel; Curb Records
Revelation; Third Day; Howard Benson; Essential Records

INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM
A Treasury of Hymns; LaDonna; Eric Wyse; Martingale Music
Always There; Harold Rayford; Antoine Chamber; Tyscot Records
Born to Play; Barry D.; Barry D.; Taqa Records
Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian; Various; Harry Gregson-Williams; Walt Disney Records
Love Beyond All Measure; Stephen Petrunak; Stephen Petrunak; GIA Publications
The Breath of Life; Angella Christie; Angella Christie, Kevin Griffen; ACSM

PRAISE & WORSHIP ALBUM
A New Hallelujah; Michael W. Smith; Michael W. Smith; Reunion Records
Great God Who Saves; Laura Story; Ed Cash; INO Records
Hello Love; Chris Tomlin; Ed Cash; Sparrow Records; sixsteps Records
Opposite Way; Leeland; Matt Bronleewe; Essential Records
The Invitation; Meredith Andrews; Jason Ingram, Rusty Varenkamp; Word Records

LONG FORM MUSIC VIDEO
Alive and Transported; tobyMac; Eric Welch; Tameron Hedge, Dan Pitts; Broken Poet Productions; Forefront Records
Comatose Comes Alive; Skillet; Carl Diebold; Carl Diebold, Paul Kerby, Zachary Kelm; Atlantic, Lava , Ardent, INO Records
Country Bluegrass Homecoming Volume One; Bill & Gloria Gaither; Doug Stuckey; Bill Gaither; Gaither Television Productions; Gaither Music Group
O Holy Night; David Phelps; David Phelps, Jimmy Abegg; David Phelps, Jim Chaffee, Jimmy Abegg, Ben Pearson; MG&A; Word Records
The Altar and the Door Live; Casting Crowns; Cary Goin; John Erwin, Andy Erwin; Erwin Brothers Motion Pictures; Beach Street

Harry Gregson-Williams composes X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Paul Martin — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:14:51 +0000

If the music of Narnia has captured your attention, and you enjoy symphonic music, or have become a fan of Harry Gregson-Williams, you’ll want to check out the score for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Harry Gregson-Williams was the composer for both The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. He won’t be working on The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, though, as that is going to be composed by David Arnold.

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE, the first chapter in the X-MEN saga, unites Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) with several other legends of the X-MEN universe, in an epic revolution that pits the mutants against powerful forces determined to eliminate them.

The X-MEN series has already generated more than $600 million at the U.S. box office — and each film has been more successful than the last. X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE is destined to be one of the big blockbusters of the summer movie season.

The X-MEN ORIGINS saga kicks off with an epic symphonic score by Harry Gregson-Williams (The Chronicles of Narnia, Kingdom of Heaven, Man on Fire).

20th Century Fox opens X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE nationwide on May 1.

Order from Amazon

Or enjoy some of his Narnia music in this player:

The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian on DVD and Blu-ray: Dec. 2

Paul Martin — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:26:00 +0000

Return to the magical world of Narnia in the second installment of C.S. Lewis’ timeless epic, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, coming to market on December 2, 2008 from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment. Packed with exclusive featurettes, interviews and deleted scenes, the entertainment title of the year is available on DVD and Blu-ray Hi-Def, as well as a special two-disc Collectors Edition perfect for holiday giving. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian packaging also includes a special DisneyFile, a digital copy of the movie that can be viewed on a variety of portable devices for the whole family to enjoy anytime, anywhere.

From the creators of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian features even more groundbreaking special effects and breathtaking action than its predecessor. William Moseley, Georgie Henley, Anna Popplewell and Skandar Keynes return as Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, the Pevensie siblings, along with Academy Award® nominee Liam Neeson (1993 nominee for Best Actor, Schindler’s List) as Aslan the Lion and Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton (2008 winner for Best Supporting Actress, Michael Clayton) as the White Witch. They are joined by Ben Barnes (Stardust) as Caspian, heir to the Narnian throne, with Sergio Castellitto (Arthur and the Invisibles), Eddie Izzard (FX: The Riches), Warwick Davis (the Harry Potter films) and Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent) appearing as new residents of Narnia. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is fantasy adventure that will delight the entire family.

Lewis’ seven-book Chronicles of Narnia series is regarded as one of literature’s most enduring classics, selling over 100,000,000 copies in more than 35 languages, making it the second biggest book series the world over.

In The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the Pevensie children face a perilous mission and a greater test of their faith and courage. They find a world in which 1,300 years have passed. The White Witch is gone, the realm is ruled by a cruel tyrant and Aslan has been missing for over a thousand years.

The four children embark on a remarkable journey to restore magic and glory to the land. Accompanied by Trumpkin, a valiant dwarf, Reepicheep the talking mouse and a suspicious Black Dwarf named Nikabrik, they raise an army of Narnians to rise up against the evil king Miraz.

BONUS FEATURES:

DVD

• Special audio commentary by director and actors

Collector’s Edition DVD

All of the above, plus:

• Special audio commentary by director and actors, a behind-the-scenes interview with the cast and crew, a tour of the film’s locations and sets, inside view of the technology and production behind the movie, bloopers, deleted scenes and much, much more!

Blu-ray Hi-Def Exclusives

All of the above, plus:

• Enhanced Disney’s BD-Live Network exclusives, interactive Narnia game, downloadable features and much, much more!

• Circle-Vision Interactive: Creating the Castle Raid – Walt Disney’s famous Imagineers introduced the world to Circle-Vision in the 50’s and 60’s, which immersed Disneyland visitors in 360-degree film tours of America, and later, China and Canada. Now, through HDRI camera technology and the rapidly-evolving interactive capabilities of Blu-ray, the Disney team has taken the first step towards advancing this unique and memorable experience. Only on THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN on Blu-ray Disc can fans take a 360-degree look behind the scenes of the castle raid sequence and get unique access to the secrets of how this latest adventure to Narnia was pulled off. It’s all a part of CIRCLE-VISION INTERACTIVE: CREATING THE CASTLE RAID. First, start off in the CIRCLE-VISION preview lobby, and choose to get a private tour of the castle raid from Director Andrew Adamson, Producer Mark Johnson, or a number of other key filmmakers and artists who brought the latest adventure to NARNIA to life. Then, select one of the exclusive CIRCLE-VISION experiences to be virtually transported to the set in the Czech Republic. The moment you enter these panoramic worlds, you will be able to turn in any direction, and fully-explore how this compelling sequence was painstakingly created. Discover a myriad of progression reels, developmental animatics, 13 audio commentaries, pop-up facts, slide shows, and a treasure trove of behind-the-scenes footage with cast and crew that is revealing, interesting, compelling, funny and exclusively accessed through this new-reimagining of a classic idea. It’s all a part of CIRCLE-VISION INTERACTIVE: CREATING THE CASTLE RAID, only on THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN on Blu-ray Disc.

The DVD of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian has a suggested retail price of $29.99 (U.S.) and $35.99 (Canada). The Two Disc Collector’s Edition is $39.99 (U.S.) and $46.99 (Canada). The Blu-ray disc is priced at $35.99 (U.S.) and $45.99 (Canada).

Composer Harry Gregson-Williams on Prince Caspian, Wolverine

Paul Martin — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:26:00 +0000

Just after the release of THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN, composer Harry Gregson-Williams shares about his return to Narnia, his feelings about moving on from the franchise, what he’s doing with up-and-coming-composers like David Buckley and Stephen Barton at his Wavecrest Studios, and his upcoming projects which include X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

CC: Outside of the relocation, what would say your biggest challenge was musically on PRINCE CASPIAN?

HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS: My biggest challenge was to embrace Andrew (Adamson’s) notion that I should bring forward themes from the first movie. Of course, there are a number of new themes that I had to write, but the real conundrum for me was figuring out just how much of the thematic content I was going to bring with me from the last movie. It’s strange not starting from square-one. I actually worried about this quite a bit, so what I ended up doing was to push all of that to one side and write Prince Caspian’s theme and the cue for the first 8-minutes of the film. I knew this piece would have no reference to the previous movie, so this was good for me because it made me feel as though I was on a fresh musical journey.

CC: Would you say that, at least in some ways, it is more difficult in doing a sequel?

HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS: Yes. I would say that. I don’t know what David Arnold would say when one does Bond movie after Bond movie. Perhaps intellectually it’s not so difficult for him because what would a Bond movie be without ((hums James Bond theme)) – because you just need those John Barry moments. But somehow he is able to make the scores feel fresh. So for me, once I could see the arc of the story that I’d be able to follow, it all became much clearer.

CC: David Arnold is the composer taking the reigns, as it were, for the franchise…..How does it feel? Is it easy to cut the chord and say, “I’ve done my part and so whatever he does, great!”

HARRY GREGSON-WILLIAMS: I think if Andrew Adamson was directing the next movie and I hadn’t been asked to do it, then I don’t think I could help myself from feeling extremely disappointed.

Check out the full interview here!

Harry Gregson-Williams: Scoring the Return to Narnia!

Paul Martin — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 19:58:00 +0000

Animated Views’ Jeremie Noyer e-mailed us to tell us that his newest Caspian article is online: an interview with Narnia composer Harry Gregson-Williams. Here’s the summary from the top of the article, followed by a link to the rest!

For any film music buff, Harry Gregson-Williams is no stranger. We owe him such notable scores for all three Shreks, Gone Baby Gone, Chicken Run, Man on Fire, Flushed Away, Domino, Phone Booth, Bridget Jones: The Age of Reason, Enemy of the State, Antz and Kingdom of Heaven, among others. Such impressive credits that prove his being as comfortable in live action as in animation to provide elegant, smooth and at the same time strong scores.

Born December 13 1961, Gregson-Williams began his career as a music teacher at the Amesbury School in Hindhead, Surrey, England, then at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where he had been a pupil, and also for a short period in both Egypt and Africa, thus experimenting music as a universal language, before stepping into film music.

Prince Caspian is his fifth collaboration with director Andrew Adamson after composing the scores for his Academy Award-winning Shrek (co-composed with John Powell), the hit sequels Shrek 2 and Shrek the Third, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, for which he collected Golden Globe and Grammy nominations for his score. From the delicate and otherworldly notes of an electric violin to the stabs of a furious, full orchestra, let him be your guide through the sounds of Narnia…

Harry Gregson-Williams: Scoring the Return to Narnia!

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