In Memoriam: James Horner (1953-2015)

THANK YOU, JAMES by Bennett Campbell Ferguson

 

Who was James Horner?  On paper, a composer of film scores, the man whose musical pirouettes roused films like “Avatar,” “Titanic,” and “The Wrath of Khan.”  But if you’ve heard his music, you know better.  Because James Horner did not simply write music—he created sounds that swirled with hope and wonder and emotion, suites to jumpstart the pulse and tinge the heart at the same time.

            And now he’s gone.  Just this morning, I read that Mr. Horner died in a plane crash.  He was sixty-one years old; the plane he was flying was his own.  But honestly, I think that’s beside the point.  All that matters right now is that we’ve lost someone, the creator of some of the sweetest and most beautiful film scores in existence.

            James Horner came to Hollywood’s attention with the “Khan” score, a masterpiece of delicate string motifs as excitingly nimble as nimble as a ballerina’s footsteps.  More recently, he resurfaced to write music for “The Amazing Spider-Man” and even under the shadow of original Spidey scorer Danny Elfman, he reached for the heights with a brilliant choral-infused symphony that rose with Peter Parker to the tips of Manhattan’s skyscrapers.

            And yet Mr. Horner’s greatest achievement came before that.  It began in 1986, when he composed music for James Cameron’s sci-fi action blood fest “Aliens”—a satisfactory score, but only a hint of what was to come in what would emerge as the most iconic Horner-Cameron collaboration of all time.  I am speaking, of course, of “Titanic.”

            To many, Mr. Horner will always be the composer of “My Heart Will Go On,” the gently haunting love ballad that plays over the end credits of “Titanic.”  But his mastery extends beyond that one theme.  Go back and watch the early scene in the movie where Leonardo DiCaprio stares down at the ocean streaming bellow him, watching a pair of dolphins slip through the clear waters—you’ll find that makes that moment wondrous is not only Russell Carpenter’s sunlit cinematography, but Mr. Horner’s deft blend of pulsating electronic beats and awestruck vocal flourishes.

            I could say more about the music.  But enough.  There’s only one thing that needs to said—thank you, James.  Thank you for all of the grand, hopeful, romantic, modern, and heartfelt music you gave us.  The joy your work has given me is beyond compare and if you’re out there, know that I am with you in spirit, forever in your debt.

            Goodbye, James, and once again, thank you.