Selma (soundtrack)

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Selma: Music from the Motion Picture
Selma Soundtrack.jpg
Soundtrack album by
Various artists
ReleasedDecember 23, 2014 (digital)
January 13, 2015 (physical)
Recorded2014
Genre
Length44:07
Label Paramount Music
Singles from Selma: Music from the Motion Picture
  1. "Glory"
    Released: December 11, 2014

Selma: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album accompanying the 2014 historical drama film of the same name directed by Ava DuVernay. The film is scored by jazz pianist Jason Moran, in his feature film scoring debut. [1] [2] Moran had agreed to be a part of the project, as jazz and activism being integral to each other, which brought the origins of black music in America. [3] He composed an orchestral music which had a subtle and minimalistic approach throughout the film, except for few sequences, which needed a grandeur music. [4]

Contents

The score was not released in full. Only three tracks of Moran's score was featured throughout the album, which consisted of incorporated music performed by artists from the 1960s. An original song, titled "Glory", performed by Common and John Legend, is a protest anthem, that refers to the 2014 Ferguson protests. [5] The song was released by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records on December 11, 2014 as a single, and peaked at number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100 commercially, upon release. [6] It was accompanied by a music video, released the following month, and is directed by Paramount Pictures. [7] The 13-track album was distributed by Paramount Pictures and released through Paramount Music label digitally on December 23, 2014, and physically on January 13, 2015.

The score received positive critical response, praising Moran's composition and minimalistic approach, while the soundtrack received positive commercial response. The film's music received numerous nominations at award ceremonies. The song "Glory" won multiple awards, including Best Original Song at the 87th Academy Awards and the 72nd Golden Globe Awards, [8] [5] as well as the award for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. [9]

Development and composition

Moran was brought in for scoring the film, due to his close association with Bradford Young, the film's cinematographer. When filming was nearing completion, DuVermay asked on who would score for the film, when Young recommended Moran, despite not associating with film music. [10] According to him, "jazz and activism are so integral to each other, whether we think about the music of Max Roach, Charles Mingus, Duke Ellington, the music of the vaudeville performer Burt Williams in the early 1900′s, or the music of Paul Robeson. That link, that defiance, that comes out of the origins of jazz and blues are what we know of black music in American. It has that kind of tension and history built in to it, a process of exploring sounds from James Brown to today’s artists like John Legend and Common." [11] [10]

Despite his jazz origins, DuVermay wanted an orchestral score for her film, which was a challenging process for Moran, but during the orchestral development, the orchestrator Matthias Gohl helped Moran to work on it. Through Selma, Moran tried to bring a subtle score, where he "had to resist the temptation, because the score needs to be "felt" more than "heard". He developed extremely simplistic music, in some sequences, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott's marriage to address "that state of complexity", as he thought "the way their actors David Oyelowo and Carmen Ejogo portrayed the relationship in a way that was so full of emotion that their scenes didn’t need much music. It also encompassed their breaths, and the tone of the room they were in. It was almost like playing the room they were in, rather than what they were saying. Ava and I worked hard to figure out the interplay between music and dialogue, so we could get the sound just right". [11]

The first thing, Moran discusses about the score, is where "rural music comes into conflict with the urban tunes", [10] which results in the inclusion of the tambourine, as "there are so many cultures around the world, and the tambourine is something that anybody can beat their hand to, and have this rattle attached to it". Moran opined that blues and spiritual music are part of the southern culture, and both use same percussion, adding that "he wanted to kind of have that relation between blues and Gospel music to get the idea across of the “sacred” versus the “secular,” which also represents Martin Luther King Jr." He collaborated with guitarist Martin Sewell, a regular collaborator of Moran, and played guitar for few themes. [11]

The orchestra expands at sequences where King's marchers confront the cops at the bridge. Since it was a longer sequence, the music was broken into three parts, as Moran said: "There was the initial piece on the bridge, the conversation that happens on the bridge between the marchers, and then the confrontation with the police. Up to that moment where the police charge the marchers, it was how to look at that tension and how to represent the feeling of the police. Then there’s the tension within the marchers, who are aiming to march confidently across the bridge for what could be a long journey. But first they’ve got to see what’s on the other side. And it turns out to be pure terror. So it took us a long time to figure out what was the right mood for the sequence. We would get one part right, and then the other two would be wrong. It just took a while to figure out how to make it all work. I’m thrilled when people experience that theme there, and how the music tells you the whole story. The percussion of the marchers’ feet is also a wonderful thing to imagine, even though you don’t necessarily hear them entering the bridge." It further expands during King's final speech, which was the first cue he wrote for the film, where Moran had felt "emotional on watching it" as he felt "the speech just seemed to be the most current part of the film for him". [11] [4]

Reception

Critical response

Emily St. James of Vox Media had felt that Moran's score "opts for sweeping orchestral heft as rarely as possible, choosing, instead, to focus on simple pieces featuring only a handful of instruments". [12] According to Scott Foundas of Variety , "DuVernay’s intelligent, understated approach extends to the film’s musical choices: a sparingly used original score by Jason Moran and a few choice spirituals, including Sister Gertrude Morgan’s “I Got the New World in My View” and Martha Bass’ “Walk with Me,” in lieu of the era’s more familiar (and overused) pop protest songs." [13]

Commercial performance

Chart (2014–2015)Position
UK Compilation Albums (OCC) [14] 74
UK Soundtrack Albums (OCC) [15] 15
US Billboard 200 [16] 56
US Soundtrack Albums (Billboard) [17] 5

Accolades

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipientsResultRef.
Academy Awards February 22, 2015 Best Original Song John Legend and Common for "Glory"Won [18]
African-American Film Critics Association December 8, 2014 Best Music John Legend and Common for "Glory"Won [19]
BET Awards June 28, 2015 Best Collaboration John Legend and Common for "Glory"Won [20]
Black Reel Awards February 19, 2015 Outstanding Score – Feature Jason Moran Won [21]
[22]
Outstanding Original Song – Feature John Legend and Common for "Glory"Won
Critics' Choice Movie Awards January 15, 2015 Best Song John Legend , and Common for "Glory"Won [23]
[24]
Golden Globe Awards January 11, 2015 Best Original Song John Legend and Common for "Glory"Won [25]
[26]
Grammy Awards February 18, 2016 Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media Selma Nominated [27]
Best Song Written for Visual Media John Legend and Common for "Glory"Won
Houston Film Critics Society January 12, 2015 Best Original Song John Legend and Common for "Glory"Nominated [28]
Motion Picture Sound Editors February 15, 2015Feature MusicJulie Pearce and Clint BennettNominated [29]

Track listing

No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."Glory"
4:32
2."Ole Man Trouble" Otis Redding 2:37
3."I've Got the New World in My View" Gertrude Morgan 4:32
4."Keep on Pushing" The Impressions 2:31
5."One Morning Soon"
3:08
6."Alabama Blues" J. B. Lenoir 3:12
7."Walk with Me" Martha Bass 2:48
8."House of the Rising Sun" Duane Eddy 2:44
9."Take My Hand, Precious Lord" Ledisi 3:23
10."Yesterday Was Hard on All of Us" Fink 5:02
11."Cager Lee" Jason Moran 1:42
12."Final Speech"Jason Moran3:46
13."Bloody Sunday Parts 1-3"Jason Moran4:10
Total length:44:07

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References

  1. ↑ "Jason Moran Scoring Ava DuVernay's 'Selma'". filmmusicreporter.com. November 5, 2014. Archived from the original on November 8, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2014.
  2. ↑ "We Finally Have an Oscar Front-Runner". Vanity Fair. November 18, 2014. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  3. ↑ Hughes, Hilary (April 6, 2018). "How Jason Moran Met His Musical Match in Ta-Nehisi Coates with 'Between the World and Me'". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Chagollan, Steve (January 6, 2015). "Jason Moran Tips Hat to Tradition While Transcending the Jazz Idiom". Variety. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  5. 1 2 Zo (December 4, 2014). "John Legend & Common Deliver The Anthemic Collaboration 'Glory'". okayplayer. Archived from the original on December 13, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Common Album & Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Common, John Legend - Glory". YouTube . Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  8. ↑ Strecker, Erin (December 11, 2014). "Golden Globes: John Legend Calls 'Selma' Song 'A Labor of Love'". Billboard.com. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  9. ↑ Newman, Jason. "'Glory' Wins Best Original Song at Oscars, Brings Cast to Tears". Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  10. 1 2 3 Gallo, Phil (January 12, 2015). "How Jazz Pianist Jason Moran Landed the Score to 'Selma'". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "SELMA composer Jason Moran talks about taking his big Hollywood step – Interview - Assignment X". January 3, 2015. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  12. ↑ James, Emily St (December 24, 2014). "How "Selma" gets Martin Luther King, Jr., right". Vox. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  13. ↑ Foundas, Scott (November 12, 2014). "Film Review: 'Selma'". Variety. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Official Compilations Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Official Soundtrack Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Soundtrack Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Soundtrack Chart History (Soundtrack Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  18. ↑ "The 87th Academy Awards". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  19. ↑ Yamato, Jen (December 8, 2014). "'Selma' African American Film Critics Association". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  20. ↑ "The Winners' Circle". BET . Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Nominees". Black Reel Awards. Archived from the original on December 23, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Previous Winners". Black Reel Awards. Archived from the original on February 20, 2016. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  23. ↑ Gray, Tim (December 15, 2014). "'Birdman,' 'Grand Budapest' Top Critics Choice Awards Nominations". Variety . Archived from the original on December 16, 2014. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Critics Choice Awards Winners". Variety. January 15, 2015. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Golden Globes 2015 nominations". BBC News. December 11, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  26. ↑ Warner, Denise (January 11, 2015). "Golden Globes: John Legend and Common Win For Best Original Song". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Grammy Nominations 2016: See the Full List of Nominees". Billboard . December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 13, 2015.
  28. ↑ Tapley, Kristopher (December 16, 2014). "'Birdman' and usual critical darling suspects lead Houston critics' nominations". HitFix. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  29. ↑ "'Birdman,' 'Apes' Top 2015 Golden Reel Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. January 14, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
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