Embedded Files
Quintet edition, Feb - Mar 2024
Justin Hurwitz
Arranged by Evans Chou
A revised edition of this piece is available, featuring reprise versions of selected pieces, and new instrumentation including the addition of a clarinet and a piano part. Find out more here.
The music for the acclaimed movie "La La Land" was composed and orchestrated by Justin Hurwitz. The film won the 89th Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for "City of Stars."
Key(s): F# minor, B minor, F Major, D minor and A minor
Time(s): 3/4, alla breve 2/2 and 4/4 moderate swing
Type: Contemporary Jazz
Instrumentation: Flute, Oboe, 2 Violins and Cello
Premired on 19 March 2024
Download on MuseScore ↗︎ (Not available due to copyright claim)
The story
"La La Land" was the second piece I worked on with my colleagues at high school. It was my first attempt at arranging a contemporary jazz piece.
It was initially for a spring event in mid-March 2024 at my high school, where I formed a chamber music ensemble with four of my colleagues, of whom play the Flute, Oboe, Violin and Cello. I started writing this arrangement by mid-February 2024.
I was inspired by another arrangement from Robert Longfield, whose arrangement was for a string quartet or a string orchestra. I performed his arrangement with the East Dunbartonshire Council Schools String Orchestra in March 2023.
"La La Land - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack"
Analysis
Mia and Sebastian's Theme, bars 1-34
Key: F# minor, B minor; Time: 3/4
I chose to start the piece with tremolos on the violins, on top of a cello solo. This is because I believe the violins and the woodwinds are naturally higher in pitch and hence would be more noticeable when they have the solos, and therefore I planned to save the flute/oboe/violin solos for later. The cello solo would also be effective in establishing the tone of the piece from the very start, with the iconic "Mia and Sebastian's Theme" being played on a bass instrument.
I also decided to write this opening section in its original key in F# minor, as I think the theme is most iconic in its original key, instead of transposing it to a different key.
The tremolos on the violins consist of a C# and an F# on the Violin 1 and 2 parts respectively. This is deliberate to convey a clear F# minor chord (and the F# minor key), instead of having, say, an A and an F# where people would speculate if it's a D Major chord or an F# minor chord.
The Violin 1 part ends with an A tremolo on bar 6, passing on the note A to the oboe with its entry at bar 7. I wanted to create a sense of texture and layers with the music before assigning the solo tune to a different instrument, and hence I delayed the Flute's entry by a beat, with layers created between the Flute and Oboe parts.
By bar 10, the cello passes on the melody to the violin with the leading C#, while the Flute plays a counter-melody with quavers on bar 10. This counter-melody anticipates the change in the solo instrument, enticing the audience to anticipate the melody being played on a different instrument.
The violin plays the melody for 7 bars up till bar 17 when the Flute takes over the melody with the Oboe playing a counter-melody a third below. A ritardando then concludes the first sequence of the theme.
The following eight bars are a waltz-like sequence of the theme in B minor, bridging the gap between the theme and "Another Day of Sun". The four quavers on the violin part (B, C#, D, E) bridge nicely into the "Another Day of Sun" sequence.
Another Day of Sun, bars 35-107
Key: F major; Time: Cut time 2/2
I chose to modulate the piece to F major for "Another Day of Sun", as it is the original key in the song "Epilogue" from the original soundtrack.
The flute plays the opening sequence for "Another Day of Sun" while the Violin II and Cello parts play accented crochets to mimick the original rhythm of the piece.
The violin then plays a counter-melody, reminiscent of the "Another Day of Sun" sequence from the song "Epilogue".
The violin then takes over the melody at bar 51 with the cello playing a walking bass with pizzicato.
The oboe and second violin then mirror the rhythm of the melody on the Violin I part, while the flute plays a counter-melody above.
The violin then shares its melody with the cello part, with the flute and oboe playing accented crochets as harmonies with the Violin II part.
Google Sites
Report abuse