Looking for similar music - classical/orchestral buffs needed!

September 23, 2013 8:43 AM

Can anybody help me find similar music to this John Williams song from Indiana Jones "Marion's Theme". I need songs that are similarly bittersweet and romantic. I'm looking for pieces with a strong dose of heartache, rather than just lovely romantic music. It's about love, but something is awry and there is pain. More of a longing sound than a fulfilled love. Can anyone tell me anything that they think is similar? Who might have influenced Williams with this piece? Or any composers from any era that had pieces like this. Also if anyone could tell me what's going on here musically that gives it the atmosphere it has that would be amazing.
posted by niruniru to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

There are a handful of collections of classical music that are all adagios -- typically an adagio will be one slow, often sad movement in a symphony or larger opus, but sometimes it will be its own composition. I think you'll find the mood you're looking for in there.

Give some of these a listen.

(Note that there's a certain amount of overlap in those collections.)
posted by gauche at 8:53 AM on September 23, 2013 [1 favorite]

Try the Sibelius Violin Concerto or the Barber Adagio for Strings. If I think of others I'll add them.
posted by KathrynT at 9:01 AM on September 23, 2013 [2 favorites]

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun by Debussy?
posted by TWinbrook8 at 9:01 AM on September 23, 2013

I always loved Jerry Goldsmith's Ilia's Theme, which this reminds me of.
posted by steinsaltz at 9:07 AM on September 23, 2013

Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Fantasia on Greensleeves
Heck, just about anything by Vaughan Williams.
posted by lharmon at 9:09 AM on September 23, 2013 [1 favorite]

Maurice Ravel: Pavane for a Dead Princess

Samuel Barber: slow movement of the Violin Concerto
posted by mefireader at 11:53 AM on September 23, 2013

Musically, sounds like they are using what are called "accidentals" Let me see if I can explain.....if, for example, a song is in the key of C, it could be either C major or C minor. Let me simplify further-a C chord is major when the notes are C, E and G. It's minor when the chords are C, E flat and G.

In the song you played, the melody line starts out in the major key and then one of the notes goes into the minor. (Hence, accidental, since that note would not be normally in the key.)

There is probably a technical term for this but I don't remember it. I do, however enjoy using this particular technique in a lot of my songwriting so I recognised it pretty quickly.
posted by St. Alia of the Bunnies at 3:33 PM on September 23, 2013 [1 favorite]

For 'with a strong dose of heartache' I think Gustav Mahler. Try the slow movement of his 6th Symphony. (Beginning at 0:23:52 of that video.)

Williams was absolutely influenced by Mahler in the piece you reference.

I think the term St. Alla is looking for is chomaticism.
posted by bertran at 5:28 PM on September 23, 2013 [1 favorite]