Music and Narrative: An Introduction

• Published in: Music, sound and the moving image sound and the moving image, 2012-04, Vol.6 (1), p.3-7
• Main Author: Winters, Ben
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Conferences, meetings and seminars; Film & stage music; Film studies; Motion picture music; Motion pictures; Motion pictures and music; Music; Musicology; Narrative art (Visual arts); Narratology; Theory
• ISSN: 1753-0768; 1753-0776
• DOI: 10.3828/msmi.2012.2

The five of us involved (Nicholas Reyland, Annette Davison, Guido Heldt, Miguel Mera, and myself) agreed to meet again to develop these 'new perspectives' further, and at a subsequent 'Film Music and Narrative' study day hosted by Annette Davison at the University of Edinburgh in June 2011, we were joined by colleagues from other departments in presenting updated or new papers: from film studies, Daniel Yacavone and Ian Garwood; and from literature, Nick Davis. Guido Heldt's essay examines the use of pop songs in those romantic comedies produced by Working Title that involve the creative talents of Richard Curtis, and argues that a self-reflexive musical strategy is in evidence; that films such as Love Actually (Richard Curtis, 2003), Notting Hill (Roger Michell, 1999), and Bridget Jones's Diary (Sharon Maguire, 2001) explore and exploit their ambiguous stance towards commercially driven pop as a defining feature of their generic status. Concluding the journey this issue makes from articles that are concerned primarily with theorising to contributions that are focused principally on the application of theory, Miguel Mera's essay investigates the concept of agency from an intentionalist and practical perspective, utilising the unique position he occupies as score composer for the film Little Ashes (Paul Morrison, 2009) to explore the decision-making processes aligned with narrative intent and their impact upon sexual representation. Mera also reveals the processes of score composition, detailing the use of a 'temp track' - which he discusses in terms of its ability to help clarify aspects of narrative intention - and the associations with the gender ambiguity of the counter-tenor voice that informed his discussions with the film's director.