INTERVIEW THOMAS MORSE (SEPTEMBER 2006)

Thomas Morse is one of those new values in film music that, although having worked very hard in the soundtrack industry for more than ten years, is now beginning to stand up strongly thanks, especially, to his excellent score for "The Sisters", a drama by Arthur Allan Seidelman based on Anton Chekov's "The Three Sisters". MovieScore Media released the album a couple of months ago and you can read a review of it HERE. Because of his interesting course and renown, CINE & BSO asked for an interview with Mr. Morse; he, very kindly, accepted to answer our questions and, as a result, we got a truly interesting interview that you can find next.

CINE & BSO: What are your musical influences? And, though it may seem very typical, who are your favourite film composers?

Thomas Morse: My schooling followed the tradition of American composers like Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland and Howard Hanson. Also, I was fortunate enough to study with Jerry Goldsmith, who has undoubtedly been my strongest influence as a film composer. Also the Beatles of course. I know that might sound strange coming from an orchestral composer, but their use of harmony and inventive recording techniques have probably influenced every musician in the Western world. Regarding my favourites: Alexandre Desplat is among the last real film composers. He finds truly original solutions for each film. Also I admire Danny Elfman a lot. Of course he has been criticized for having a lot of help with orchestration, but he has nothing to apologize for. Elfman is the only film composer working today that has a truly unique and instantly recognizable style.

C&B: Please, tell us something about your musical beginnings and your introduction into the soundtracks' world.

TM: I started on the piano then took a serious interest in composition in my early teens. Through pure luck, I encounter teachers who encouraged me and pointed me in the right direction. I ended up at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, 5 km from Hollywood. That's where I discovered film composition. I'll never forget the day I was walking by a bulletin board on the school campus and there was a sign the said "Composer Wanted". I couldn't believe it. People actually wanted composers!

C&B: How was it to compose "The Sisters"? Did you have creative freedom? Was your relationship with the director and the producers good?

TM: It's really boring to say "everyone was great, the director was amazing, the producers were the best". But that's the way it was. The only frustration I encountered was right at the beginning of the project. I was asked how many musicians we would need and I said, "oh not many, about 45". Well, to the producers that sounded like a lot of people. The problem wasn't a financial one, it was that they didn't want a big score for the film. They were worried that the sound would be too epic for such an intimate film. I had to convince them that the strings would be like a warm bath, non-intrusive. In fact, a smaller group would have been more strident, and therefore more intrusive on the scenes. Also, they were worried that I wanted to use a harp. They were thinking of the harp cliche, like people in heaven, you know... But in the end they trusted me.

C&B: How did you get the inspiration to create a so wonderful, mature and special main theme for "The Sisters"? Did the images from the film help you or it was a musical idea that came up from, for example, your own perception of the book by Anton Chekov?

TM: This was the first score that I composed in Europe, so I was especially inspired. It was summer in Berlin, and my office was in an old communist clothing factory in the East. I would write at night, with the windows open to the warm wind; and the sounds and smells of the city would fill my studio. It was kind of a magical creative time that I'll never forget.

C&B: Once you had the main theme, was it easier to find and develop the secondary or support themes?

TM: Yes definitely. One typically has around a month to compose the score for a film. And in the course of that month, there is a sort of momentum that builds. It could be that as the deadlines approach, you start to think less and rely on your instincts. There simply isn't time to agonize because you have to get dots on the paper. That's very freeing in a way. You know that orchestra will be waiting at 10AM a week from Monday, and it's like a train driving toward you.

C&B: As I say in my review, I find a curious and brilliant duality in your score for "The Sisters": in the one hand, the form is smooth and delicate (like a little soundtrack), but in the other hand, the substance is intense and strongly emotional (like a big soundtrack). Do you agree with that? What can you tell us about that duality?

TM: "The Sisters" is a film that is strongly rooted in theater. So it was a big challenge for us to make it feel like a feature film, and not a play. That is where this duality comes from. The score had to be very intimate and subtle, but still feel like a real movie, in the tradition of American cinema. So I guess I tried to make it big and small at the same time.

C&B: For me and many other fans, your score for "The Sisters" seems to get better and better with each listening. Do you think this happens due to the fact that its style is not a popular one (although wonderful) and it's difficult, in a first listen, to become totally absorbed by its deep beauty and its lyrical style? I think that another factor that contributes to that fact is that you can always discover something new in your score every time you hear it, don't you think so?

TM: Maybe it's like the first time you drink a beer. If you keep forcing yourself to do it, eventually it tastes good (laughs). Actually you're talking about the balance between being listenable, but not too obvious. It's a very tricky middle-ground to find. Few people enjoy a complicated, intellectual mess. But few people enjoy a trite folly either.

C&B: I've seen that, at least in "The Sisters", besides composing the score, you make your own orchestrations and also conduct the orchestra. Is that a constant in your way of working? Does it give you more control of the final result? Or do you simply do it because you like to?

TM: For me, composition and orchestration are one single process. Orchestration is one of the basic things which give a composer an original voice. Can you imagine two people in front of a blank canvas and one saying, "ok, you paint the trees and I'll paint the river." The brush strokes, proportion, instinct for color, it would all be in two different styles. I'm aware that in Hollywood some composers have a whole army of assistants completing their sketches. This music can't possibly have a distinct voice, and that is something I will never do. It's the main reason most films have a "McScore". They should just put golden arches in the credits. In regard to conducting, I do it because I believe I have to. To be honest I don't particularly enjoy it. I would prefer to just listen in the control booth. But I know that the orchestra can sense from me how the music should sound. I don't say a lot to the orchestra in recording sessions, the information is on the page in front of them. It's more about using my body to conduct what words can't possibly express.

C&B: What do you think about your evolution as a film composer?

TM: I've spent a lot of time in Berlin in the past three years. And in that time I've been exposed to a lot of new things and experiences as a person. I finished my schooling long ago, so I haven't really learned anything new regarding raw technique. It's more about learning more about people, myself, and the human experience. The more an artist learns about those things, the better one can express those things.

C&B: Of all the soundtracks you have composed, which are you more proud of? Are you proud of it because something special or simply because you think it is the one with more artistic qualities?

TM: Each score I have composed represents a different period of my life to me. When I hear old scores, I remember things that were happening in my life as I composed them. Each one represents a place that I lived, a woman I loved, a difficult time, or a happy time... So in some way I'm very attached to them all, they are a part of me. But to narrow it down, I would have to say "The Sisters" because the orchestra is wonderful and I think it was a breakthrough in maturity. Also "The Big Brass Ring" was a thrill. It was my first big opportunity and the process of scoring it was really emotionally charged.

C&B: What are you favourite types of films and what genre would you like to try next?

TM: I like all types of films if they are well-crafted and honest. Dramas, smart comedies, period pieces, even horror. But I must admit that it would be a lot of fun to do a big outer-space epic -- to just unleash the orchestra like a stampede of bulls.

C&B: How was it to work with such a powerful and important producer as Jerry Bruckheimer in the TV series "The Amazing Race"?

TM: He was so powerful and important that I rarely saw him! I accidentally parked in his parking space once -- does that count? (laughs) But working as part of his organization was a real Hollywood experience and a lot of fun. Everyone was friendly, but they were very, very professional. I got hired for that job the day after September 11. I was a complete mess, my agent told me I had the job and I remember just feeling nothing. And I had to start immediately, there was no time to process what was happening in the world. I remember trying to write this big exciting "Bruckheimer" music when all I really wanted to do was write a sad requiem, or nothing at all. It was basically horrible.

C&B: What can you tell us about "Kounterpoint"?

TM: Kounterpoint is the title to my first album, which is almost finished. I've written it over the last 3 years, in between films. It's a combination of orchestra, choir (sung in Latin), harp, piano, and electronic programmed beats. It's a real international effort: the strings are from Prague, the choir from LA, the piano from London... I was flying all over the place with a hard drive, recording different elements in different cities. As much as I love film scoring, I must say that it's been a real joy to write music with no restraints.

C&B: For me and the soundtrack fans it is a luck and a joy to be able to listen to a music with a so high level of quality as yours, and in the case of "The Sisters" we have had the opportunity to do that thanks to MovieScore Media, a young company that bets for young but high talented composers. What do you feel about that? Is it difficult for a young composer to find a record company that wants to release his works?

TM: It's easy to complain about the state of the record business. Yes the piracy hurts, but we have to just get over it and move on. It's hard for a record company to release soundtrack CDs because they simply don't sell very well. Someone at Varese Sarabande once told me that even Jerry Goldsmith has less than 5,000 fans that bought everything he did. MovieScore Media has the right idea. Instead of complaining about the internet, they are using the internet to create new distribution opportunities!

C&B: Do you already know what it is going to be your next score? When will it be released so we can enjoy it?

TM: I'm just about to begin a film called "Crossing Paths". The film is currently being edited in Seattle. So I'm going to spend a month in Seattle on the initial composition, then go to Los Angeles for the final recordings and mix. It should be released early next year.

C&B: That's all, Mr. Morse. It's been a real pleasure to have interviewed you. Thank you very much for your time, your interest and, of course, your music. Hope to be able to interview you again soon.

TM: My pleasure.

Ricardo Borrero (2)