Rock me Amadeus: Classical tunes for the big screen
Editor’s note: Classical music of any kind often feels boring and inaccessible. That’s why we asked Harini Calamur to do her series on Hindustani music. Many of you asked for a similar pop culture guide to Western classical music—which has shaped movie soundtracks and top 40 hits alike. From your lips to our ears—here’s the fifth instalment penned by veteran music writer Narendra Kusnur. As always, we’ve put all the music referenced in the article in a YouTube playlist for you to enjoy.
Written by: Narendra Kusnur has been a music journalist for over 40 years—including a decade-long stint covering the beat at the Mid-Day newspaper. He currently writes for The Hindu, Free Press Journal, Hindustan Times, and Rolling Stone India—besides the in-house magazines of prestigious institutions—such as NCPA and Shanmukhananda Hall.
The magic of Fur Elise
Even those unfamiliar with Western classical music may have heard the tunes ‘Fur Elise’ and ‘Moonlight Sonata’, composed by German legend Ludwig Van Beethoven. They are played in elevators, hotel lobbies, airports, and even television scores, besides being taught in beginner music classes. Both have been used in films and popular songs often.
The Western classical world has many such ‘greatest hits’. This column shall look at some such tunes, created by the earlier composers, up to the 1820s. Before we proceed, let’s look at how these two Beethoven tunes have been used in modern times. Though ‘Fur Elise’ was composed in 1810, nine years after ‘Moonlight Sonata’, we’ll begin with that. After all, it’s catchier, and was even used in ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’.
‘Fur Elise’ is a bagatelle—a term given to a short, light piece. In technical language, it was called ‘Bagatelle No 25 in A minor’. The piece was discovered 40 years after Beethoven died in 1827. There are different theories about who Elise is, with three women shortlisted as suspects. Sherlock Holmes would be unable to crack that. But to get a taste of the music, here’s the classical version played by Chinese virtuoso Lang Lang.
And, here’s a short clip from ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’, where a young Hermione tries to teach Ron how to play the tune.
‘Fur Elise’ was also used in Roman Polanski’s 1968 psychological horror film ‘Rosemary’s Baby’, starring Mia Farrow, and in Gus Van Sant’s 2003 psych-drama ‘Elephant’. When it comes to popular music, American rapper Nas used it in the 2003 song ‘I Can’. Interestingly, it was the only song from his album ‘God’s Son’ that did not have the Parental Advisory label, as it had a strong anti-drug message for the younger generation. Here’s the video of ‘I Can’.
For such a popular tune, can Bollywood be far behind? Here’s Anu Malik in the song ‘Jaane Mujhe Kya Hua’, from the 1995 film ‘Baazi’ starring Aamir Khan and Mamta Kulkarni. Enjoy!
Don’t forget Fur Julie
Beethoven’s composition was called ‘Piano Sonata No 14 In C-Sharp Minor’, and though it was popular during his lifetime, the name ‘Moonlight Sonata’ was used much later. The composer dedicated it to his pupil, Countess Julie ‘Giulietta’ Guicciardi, who he was said to be infatuated with.
Here’s an interesting story about the Beatles. Yoko Ono was once playing the piece. On hearing it, John Lennon asked her to play the chords again, but backward. That was the inspiration behind their song ‘Because’ used in the ‘Abbey Road’ album. Listen to it below:
A couple of years ago, AR Rahman created a fresh version, retaining the famous piano intro but adding an improvised string section. Here’s that version.
The Baroque gems
The three biggest composers of the Baroque period, which ended in the 1750s, created tunes that remain popular. Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) is best known for ‘The Four Seasons’, whose first movement ‘Spring’ is the biggest favourite. This was featured in the earlier column on Concertos.
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) created ‘Messiah’, an English language oratorio that became one of the best-known choral works in Western music, with the ‘Hallelujah’ chorus having various renditions. Originally from Germany, Handel had settled in England, where he introduced a new style in church music. ‘Messiah’ was arguably his most famous work.
Extracts were often used in cinematic situations, in the Jim Carrey-Jeff Daniels comedy ‘Dumb And Dumber’, the Julie Andrews film ‘Thoroughly Modern Millie’, and in a Nicholas Cage scene in ‘Face/ Off’. Interestingly, it was a serious piece of music, as depicted in the 2014 film ‘Boychoir’, where Dustin Hoffman plays the choirmaster.
Later, it was effectively used in comic sequences, including the following Julie Andrews clip.
Also from the Baroque era, Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was one of the most prolific composers ever. His ‘Toccata And Fugue in D Minor’ was originally written for organ, but became popular in the 1990s MTV generation with Singapore-born British artiste Vanessa-Mae’s violin interpretation, backed by a fabulous outdoor video. It was also used in the German crime drama TV series ‘The Old Fox’ as the theme for one episode.
Let’s hear the organ version, played by Liene Andreta Kainciema of Latvia:
