CLASSIC ALBUM REVIEW: Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra - Fantasia

Do you ever wonder what a film would be like without music? Me neither. Since the beginning of time, music has always been an integral part of films. I would even say it is the main ingredient when it comes to any film whatsoever. The first movies were silent but the actions, emotions, and stories were told simply through the power of music. Cue to the year 1940 and after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Pinocchio saw Walt Disney's third full length feature, Fantasia. The movie was a daring and risky film, combining classical music and animation to tell stories and convey the emotions in each and every one of us. The film is certainly in my Top 3 favorite Disney films and the score is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and powerful pieces of art my ears had the pleasure listening to.

The score utilizes classical pieces ranging from Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony to Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. However, some of them are abridged, the most notable examples being Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite and Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring. Nevertheless, the music remains to be a seminal masterpiece when it comes to film scores. Each of the eight pieces have a purpose in Fantasia.

Firstly, Bach's Toccata and Fugue paints like the music suggests: it exists for its own sake. The music is vague, it has no set story, and it relies heavily on your imagination. The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky is one of the most famous pieces in classical music, even though the composer completely disowned it during his lifetime. Arguably the softest composition in the soundtrack, the music is very gentle, light, and has a soothing tone to it. The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Dukas is the most famous piece of music in the score because of the critically acclaimed Mickey Mouse short that accompanied it. It's a wonderful piece due to how the music builds up gradually, becoming louder and louder during the climax and softening again by the very end. 

Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring is my favorite composition in the score and coincidentally, this reflects my favorite segment in the film (it was the beginning of life on Earth with the existence and demise of the dinosaurs). The Rite is Spring is easily one of the darkest pieces in the score and musically, it is the most complex. The beats and rhythms have no set pattern and just change constantly, becoming progressive-like. I've listened to this composition multiple times and even I can't decipher its pattern but that's what's so fantastic about it. Next is Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, a musical piece that starts off light, giving a naive feel to it but it suddenly takes a dark turn during the storm act. However, it cools off and it ends on a wistful note. Dance of the Hours, from Ponchielli's opera La Gioconda, is exactly what the title says. Numerous dances take places during the morning, afternoon, late afternoon, and night. Each of these dances represent a different feel to the music and all of them suddenly combine together to form one huge musical finale. 

The last two compositions, Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain and Schubert's Ave Maria, are extremely different in tone and mood but they play off each other so perfectly it's unbelievable. The former is the darkest piece in the score but unlike The Rite of Spring, this piece gives off a very claustrophobic and dramatic feeling. It's so dark that it's like being in hell. However, the bell chimes, signaling the beginning of the latter piece. Ave Maria is the only piece that has vocals and they are just stunning. The composition has a very mournful and sentimental quality to the music and right when the final vocal chords make their appearance, they just strike you in the heart. You get a feeling of redemption and you know that a perfect closure has been made.

I really can't say any more of the soundtrack for Fantasia. It's just breathtaking and incredible beyond words. An absolute must-listen.

http://www.mediafire.com/?42c63jrs8s1w3h0