Hans Zimmer is a world-famous composer, who was born in Frankfurt, Germany in 1957. He is particularly renowned for his compositions for films; something he continues to this day. Some of his most popular works include music for the films 'Gladiator,' 'The Lion King,' and 'Inception,' to name a few.
Alongside his composition skills, Zimmer plays a number of instruments; the piano, the guitar, the synthesizer and also the keyboard. These instruments clearly have a heavy influence upon Zimmer's distinctive musical sound. He is usually distinguished by his interesting combination of orchestral arrangements and electronic sounds. It is quite typical in his pieces for their to be a flawless, indistinguishable transition from pure orchestral sounds into beautiful electronica, especially in his compositions for science-fiction films.
One of his more recent works includes the soundtrack for the immensely popular sci-fi film 'Interstellar.' The soundtrack received great acclaim from the public and critics alike, with praise upon its ability to make the film and its subject seem even more grandiose than it was alone. In particular, Zimmer's use of the organ was used to great effect, really creating a deep, resonating sound, that was at once chilling and awe-inspiring at the same time. The wonderful twinkling melodies so beautifully provided a sense of the solar theme, making the audience subconsciously realise the majestic scale of the universe. Equally, the larger, deeper register available enabled Zimmer to create the sense of urgency, of fear, of insignificance. Perhaps what made this so effective, is the fact that organs are so rarely used today in music, especially in film or popular music; the instrument is even tragically fading out of its original ecclesiastical uses. Therefore, it was a bold and undeniably innovative choice of Zimmer's to not only incorporate but focus so heavily upon the organ with this soundtrack.
The start of Zimmer's career was in the 70's, with Zimmer playing the synthesizer and keyboard at the time. He worked with numerous artists such as 'the Buggles,' an emerging new-wave band, who had a famous hit in 1979 with 'Video killed the radio star.' Zimmer even features briefly in the music video for this chart-topping track.
The 1988 film 'Rain Man,' was essentially Zimmer's big-break, that lead him into what we know him for today; Hollywood film-scoring. 'Gladiator' is perhaps the most well-known example of this, with his song 'Now we are free' featuring the singer Lisa Gerrard continuing to be voted as one of the most popular pieces of film music of all time (Classic FM). In this score, Zimmer uses a perfect mix of haunting strings and orchestral instruments combined with Gerrard's unique and powerful vocals; the lyrics of which are in a made-up language, with Gerrard saying it is “the language with which she speaks to God.”
Hans Zimmer will always in my mind be one of the greatest film-composers, as he has complete mastery of not only writing music, but orchestrating it for maximum effect. On top of this, he is never afraid to be innovative with his compositions and instrumental choices, ensuring that he will continue to create enduringly popular film music.
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