Erich Wolfgang Korngold- The Sea Hawk
Korngold called his film scores “operas without singing.” What he meant might not be obvious, but becomes apparent when you listen to the score for The Sea Hawk. It’s odd, every song has its own arc, as well as the whole score. Now what do I mean by arc? Well, some songs tend towards an end and others don’t. Think of it as a spectrum with ambient music on one side and Episcopal Hymns on the other. The Sea Hawk tends towards the latter end of the spectrum. Each song is it’s own contained story with a beginning, middle and end, as well as part of the beginning, middle and end of the larger story. It’s an amazing display of skill on the part of the composer, to say the least.
I had the idea going into this that I wouldn’t watch the movie that goes along with this score until after I’d written the review. But alas, my willpower has naught the strength of string. And I’m glad I did watch the movie after all. First of all it’s a quality movie. Not great exactly but a solid 4/5. Errol Flynn reaches Hugh Grant levels of charming befuddlement. There’s a monkey. Oh and an epic storyline that follows the hero’s journey and serves as subtle propaganda telling the audience to go fight the rising threat of the Nazis. But mostly there’s a monkey.
As I watched the movie, I noticed these musical themes I already knew. I encountered them like old friends, or strangers I’d seen on the street. You ever do that thing where you make up a stranger’s life? “Oh that guy’s a banker who works long hours.” “She’s a single mother who works at Pet Co.” That sort of thing. Well I had made up a story for each song, but now I was able to see what the real story was. “Oh, he really works at a hardware store.” “Oh, she’s happily married with two dogs and no kids.” I don’t know whether I like my stories better or not though, but I’m not sure I really care.
This is not mood in the typical sense of the word. This music is supposed to make you feel emotions, not moods. It’s the difference between feeling something like love versus feeling unease. This score is all about grand emotions: desire for adventure, romantic love, crushing sadness. Whereas other scores might fit well as dinner party background music, this is theatrical. It demands everyone face forward and take notice.
4.5/5 This is a great album to just sit and listen to all the way through. You don’t need to watch the movie, but I’d still encourage you to do so, if for no other reason than Errol Flynn’s performance. The most fun thing to do is to visualize the story the music is telling you. It’s an easy story to follow if you let it lead you.