The Life and Legacy of James Horner

The role of an artist is to ask questions, not to answer them. These words, once spoken by Anton Chekhov, ring out throughout the history of storytelling. Our fascination lies within the subtext. The magic is connecting the dots and finding out a way of bringing our own humanity into the way we interpret a story. The role of an artist isn't to tell you how to feel, but to open up the door so you have the possibility of feeling that emotion. One of these artists was James Horner, who spent his whole life asking questions about the very things that make us who we are. Questions associated with joy, love, mystery, fear, sorrow, victory, defeat. Topics that humanity have experienced for thousands of years. Throughout his career, Horner explored and immersed himself in a world of over 150 films, creating experiences that, for us, are as technically stunning as they are transformative and emotionally impactful. And he did it through asking questions and engaging with our curiosity, wonder, and emotions. James Horner was born in 1953 in Los Angeles, California. Oldest to three younger brothers and son to Harry Horner, a successful Hollywood art director and filmmaker. From an extremely early age, he grew up surrounded by classical music and eventually found himself in front of a piano at the age of five. It wasn't until age ten when he'd make the decision that he wanted to become a composer. James decided to go to the Royal College of Music in London, but left after his second year, saying, I was studying Bach. I was completely in my own head, in a different place. I was writing Requiem Masses and thinking of arias in different worlds. He went on to study contemporary composition at the Hamburg University of Music. His primary instructor was no other than Giorgio Ligetti, one of the great contemporary composers of the 20th century. He then got his master's at the University of Southern California and worked on a doctorate at the University of California. He loved contemporary music, but saw it in decline, and one of his more notable concert pieces, Spectral Shimmers, only got one performance in 1979. This would be the point where he'd choose to enter film music. Horner scored four of Roger Corman's films, one being Battle Beyond the Stars, where a young aspiring filmmaker who would go on to direct and write the two highest grossing films of all time, James Cameron, was working on the special effects team. He would go on to remember his name for Aliens. Throughout the next 35 years, Horner would go on to score over 150 films, ranging in all genres and exploring a vast number of styles, yet throughout always encompassing the brilliant stylistic flair that made James Horner who he was. The crashing low piano hits, the soaring string octave melodies, the use of vocal soloists. He was a truly stunning musical auteur. Horner's music always makes you think, and it elicits a genuinely raw and visceral response. He was an artist with constant control, and knew when to be subtle, but he also knew when to bring out all of his firepower and hit the audience with a grand melody. One of the greatest examples of Horner's craft, not only technically but narratively, is the film Titanic, the iconic epic directed by James Cameron. Putting aside the musical craft element, the story of Titanic dives into just about every emotion one can experience. The subject and structure of the film called for a massive musical endeavor. Spending months looking at dozens and dozens of hours of dailies, and constant conversations with Jim surrounding the history of the story, Horner immersed himself in absolutely every single element of the film. He begins the picture with a haunting solo female voice, setting the stage for the story to follow. He then takes the audience through three major narrative and musical sections. The first part mainly built from wonder and grandeur. The second part focused in on Jack and Rose's relationship. And the final bulk of the movie changing completely to accompany the massive sinking sequence, proceeding to end with an emotional reprise of the main theme. Horner's score would go on to win an Academy Award for Best Original Score, as well as become the highest grossing primarily orchestral soundtrack. Most importantly though, it would go on to become a brilliant prime example of how to tell stories with music. On June 22nd, 2015, we lost James Horner to an airplane crash. He was 61 years old. In the following days, people from all around the world paid their respects, including the singer Celine Dion, who said, we will always remember his kindness. Throughout his life, James Horner poured his humanity and passion into the art that he produced. He lives on through his music, and his impact and legacy will be remembered for generations to come.