Hollywood loses a giant in music - James Horner

As so often happens, it takes the tragic death of an individual for the rest of us mere mortals to reflect, admire, and celebrate the talent we have to make do without.

I’ll leave the many well-deserved tributes to others. Instead, I wanted to share 2 of my personal favourite films featuring James Horner's music.

Field of Dreams is a heart-warming film about a man’s love of baseball but the true story transcends beyond just sport. The score is wistful and nostalgic.  Horner somehow manages to create music which is both epic and intimate at the same time. Here is an example where Kevin Costner’s character meets his “dead” father for the first time.

Meanwhile, jump 10 years, and Ron Howard’s Apollo 13. To this date, I still get goose pumps when I watch the launch accompanied by Horner’s score that helps build the tension followed by the magical release of his melody as the rocket takes to the skies.

James Horner has written and arranged the score to so many films, including the best selling orchestral success of all time in Titanic, and has received numerous awards but, to me, I’ll continue to enjoy his music with or without the films that he helped bring to life.

James Horner 1953- 2015