Expert: Pat G - 6/12/2009

Question
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU

Dear Pat,
thank you for volunteering to help the uninitiated.
I enclose here above a link to a movie which was released a
week or so ago and is freely available at youtube.There is a
piece of music starting on about 1:17 and lasts for about
four minutes. It is partly masked by speech and I apologize
for the inconvenience.
I thought it is similar in structure to Salve Regina so I
tried Vivaldi, Pergolesi, - and no. the Scarlatti Salve
Regina is somewhat close but still not it.
would you be so kind as to try it?
thanks!


Answer
Eli, Shalom aleichem!

Thank you so much for the very kind rating and comments! To fill you in just a bit on your questions...

I am a gentile Christian. I studied Hebrew literacy at Congregation Anshei Israel, and I can read Hebrew very haltingly (at one time, I could read fast enough to participate in a service). I have a very, very small vocabulary. I support Israel. Needless to say, I'm not happy with the current political situation here (US).

Thank you also for the information about the composition. I didn't have the necessary resolution on my monitor to read the print. I also appreciate the Latin! I will be going to listen on YouTube at the first opportunity.

And yes, I will do my best to answer any question in the future. But be aware next time I might have 200 tabs open. ;)

Pat


Shalom aleichem,

Dear Eli,

You're welcome.

I listened. Apparently the music you are talking about is an hour and seventeen minutes into the film (rather than a minute and seventeen seconds). (Too bad there is so much junk science and myth in the film; it is gorgeously done). I don't recognize the music. Unfortunately, the words are indistinct (perhaps by design). I can't even hear enough consonants to pin it down to Latin. The situation was made worse by the fact I only have 3 gig of RAM, and it was swapping to disk constantly. I'll have to go back later when I have less loaded (currently I have 100 or so tabs open in Firefox, for instance). But I don't think that will help. The first thought that came to mind is a requiem of some kind, which would be entirely appropriate. But I know the words of the requiem mass, and that isn't what she was singing, even with the consonants not enunciated clearly. If it is an existing composition, I know someone who would almost certainly know what it is. I may see if he is willing to take a listen. But given the other music, and the high budget nature of the film, chances are these are original compositions. There are plenty of people who can mimic the styles of various composers. Anyway, if I find out more, I'll let you know. I did enjoy investigating this. You might also go to their web site and ASK them if they will give you the music credits. I checked the end of the film for them as well, but the print is indistinct. Also, going to amazon.com and listening to soundtracks by these composers might be helpful. I have done that at times as well. And perhaps they will have a CD of the soundtrack available. If you find out anything, please let ME know. Thanks!

And by the way, you in Israel know how to reclaim badlands. That by itself should demonstrate that we can do a lot if we'll dump the junk science and simply do what needs to be done. Global warming has the potential to increase the vegetation, and that would go a long ways toward solving all sorts of ecological problems. Unfortunately, that's not what we're experiencing, so now what? Hmmm.