SECOND ANALYSIS OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

To celebrate the release this week of The Magnificent Seven discs, we re-present our thematic analysis of the score, with several adjustments, additions and corrections. As before, the cues will be explored in chronological order, this time including unreleased cues. We will also be more specific about plot details, in order to more accurately explore the relationship between music and movie. This means that this article will contain abundant spoilers. If you haven’t seen the film yet, we would strongly encourage you to do so before reading this article. Introduction "Most composers are looking for action-oriented, pulse-oriented…rhythm-oriented scores that propel the movie, and[...]

MAG 7 BLU-RAY OFFERS TOUCHING TRIBUTE

On the upcoming release of "The Magnificent Seven" on Blu-ray December 20th, one of the included bonus features focuses on the creation of the score, titled "Magnificent Music". In the piece you hear from director Antoine Fuqua, who recalls the story of how he and James Horner first discussed the film, Horner's passing, and of course when his team delivered the initial set of themes. Accompanying comments from the film's producers and Horner's team, including Joe Rand, Simon Rhodes, Jim Henrikson and of course Simon Franglen, are many shots of the orchestra recording and examples of both the Elmer Bernstein[...]

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN: CUE-BY-CUE ANALYSIS

Introduction "Most composers are looking for action-oriented, pulse-oriented…rhythm-oriented scores that propel the movie, and the whole thing is about propulsion. And, as an afterthought, there's love, and there's emotion, and there's other things, but the main thing is pure adrenaline. And a lot of movies are made like that now. If you look at all of the Marvel comic movies or the tentpole movies that are made, how many of them are made with the same formula." – James Horner 1 James Horner said that in 2010. He was talking about the lack of originality in many of today’s film scores. The[...]

7 COPIES OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN TO WIN

Sony Classical and James Horner Film Music give you the opportunity to win a CD of The Magnificent Seven composed by James Horner and Simon Franglen. It's very simple to enter: The first 7 people to publish 7 reviews on our site will win a copy. Follow these steps to publish a review: 1 - register on our website (you can use your Google, Facebook or Twitter account). None of your personal information, names and e-mail addresses, will be disclosed or shared with any third party. Please register now by following this link: If you find yourself logged off on your next[...]

SIMON FRANGLEN: "THERE’S NOT A DAY THAT I DON’T THINK OF JAMES."

I still remember very well my first and only encounter with Simon Franglen. It was just before the Titanic Live concert in London. Throughout the afternoon during rehearsals I had seen him working alongside James Horner. The depth of their collaboration was evident. On many occasions, he had climbed the railings of the concert hall to access the back of the orchestra to ensure that everything was done properly with the synthesizers. A small detail that shows the perfectionism and professionalism of a musician. Minutes before the concert, while we each waited for friends in front of the Royal Albert hall, I[...]

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN: MORE INTERVIEWS WITH SIMON FRANGLEN, AND NEW AUDIO SAMPLES

With the release of The Magnificent Seven film coming ever closer, and with the album being released tomorrow, anticipation has been building. New audio samples have been released on the Japanese website Neowing. Listen to the first 45 seconds of each track here: neowing.co.jp Simon Franglen has been very busy promoting the score and film. Since our previous article, he has given interviews with CBC Music, FilmGamesEtc, Yahoo Sports, and Film Music Magazine. We would like to share some of these articles’ highlights. In each of them, Simon Franglen recounts the story of the score’s beginning: meeting with James Horner in London,[...]

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN: NEW INTERVIEWS WITH SIMON FRANGLEN, AND AUDIO EXCERPT

In two new interviews, Simon Franglen shares valuable information about his experience completing The Magnificent Seven score, and working with James Horner. This article provides insight into the beginning of Franglen’s career, his approach to the project, and tells the now-well-known story of the score’s origins. “I’d spoken to [Horner] the day before he died. We’d been working on themes for the film a week before, and he was an incredibly close friend of mine…. We wanted to give Antoine the chance to hear the themes that James had written. We didn’t want them to disappear into the ether.” Of the recording sessions,[...]

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN: EXCLUSIVE FIRST LISTEN

It was difficult to start listening to The Magnificent Seven, as it confronted us with a whirlwind of feelings: the excitement that goes with the discovery of a new James Horner score, the sadness of our realization that this would be one of the very last times, and the fear of disappointment after having mused for over a year about the quality of this score that is already the stuff of legend because of the circumstances in which it came to be. Because of the tragic accident of June 2015, it is the last soundtrack with themes composed by the[...]

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN: COVER, DURATION AND TRACKLIST REVEALED

Amazon has just published the cover, the duration and the tracklist of the soundtrack album for Antoine Fuqua’s western The Magnificent Seven composed by James Horner and Simon Franglen. The soundtrack, which has a run time of 77 minutes, will be released on September 16, 2016 and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. The track list: 1. Rose Creek Oppression 2. Seven Angels of Vengeance 3. Lighting the Fuse 4. Volcano Springs 5. Street Slaughter 6. Devil in the Church 7. Chisolm Enrolled 8. Magic Trick 9. Robicheaux Reunion 10. A Bear in Peoples Clothes 11. Red Harvest 12. Takedown 13. Town Exodus – Knife Training 14. 7 Days, that’s all You Got 15. So Far[...]

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN TO BE RELEASED BY SONY CLASSICAL

According to Film Music Reporter, Sony Classical is set to release the original soundtrack to The Magnificent Seven, which was James Horner's final film project left incomplete due to his sudden passing one year ago. Horner's collaborator Simon Franglen completed the film score on Horner's behalf. The album is scheduled for a September 16 release date. The film opens in North American theaters one week later on September 23. The synopsis is as follows: With the town of Rose Creek under the deadly control of industrialist Bartholomew Bogue (Peter Sarsgaard), the desperate townspeople employ protection from seven outlaws, bounty hunters, gamblers and[...]

ANTOINE FUQUA DISCUSSES THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN SCORE

Nine months after revealing that James Horner composed a score for Antoine Fuqua’s The Magnificent Seven, the director has spoken again about the upcoming film and the composer. He discusses his first visit to Horner’s studio, his reaction to learning about the score, and his reaction to hearing the score for the first time. “They played it for me and it just blew me away.... It was almost like, ‘How do you know you’re going to pass away?’ Of course, I don’t think he knew that, but that’s a weird feeling that someone can write to your script and give it[...]

FIRST TRAILER OF THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN

Finally, these are the first images of The Magnificent Seven, the last film with music by James Horner. Directed by Antoine Fuqua (Southpaw) the film features Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt. James Horner composed the music shortly before his death purely from reading the script (see our article: Antoine Fuqua: "James Horner wrote the music for Magnificent Seven") No trace of the music James Horner wrote can be heard in this video, however we have confirmation of the use of his music by his name in the credits alongside Simon Franglen, his collaborator, who recorded the soundtrack last month in[...]

SIMON FRANGLEN IS SCORING THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN AT FOX SCORING STAGE

According to ScoringSessions.com, Simon Franglen is scoring The Magnificent Seven at Fox Scoring Stage, reportedly based on James Horner's suites and themes. The movie is an upcoming American Western / crime movie directed by Antoine Fuqua, a remake of the 1960 western movie of the same name. The movie is set to be released in September 2016. Simon Franglen was a synthesizer programmer for James Horner and worked on Avatar and Titanic. After their collaboration on the 2009 James Cameron film, he always accompanied the composer. Read our previous article: ANTOINE FUQUA: "JAMES HORNER WROTE THE MUSIC FOR MAGNIFICENT SEVEN" Photo credit: simonfranglen.com [...]

ANTOINE FUQUA: "JAMES HORNER WROTE THE MUSIC FOR MAGNIFICENT SEVEN"

Since his sabbatical in 2013, we knew that James Horner had a new impetus: the projects are linked at a crazy speed, he took an interest in composing once again for the concert hall and enjoyed a newfound adoration. After our previous article where we revealed that James Horner had already embarked on several projects, today new information confirms that his career took a new start. Indeed, Southpaw director Antoine Fuqua, with whom James Horner recorded his final film score scheduled for release on July 24 by Sony Classical, has told the NPR radio: "I just found out a couple days ago[...]

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