Canter Bridge

Rob Lane and Joseph Vitarelli have not only written a reflective and shimmering work of music. They have provided a textbook example of how to write film music itself.

The thirty tracks of this HBO Series soundtrack strike notes that are alternately noble, daring, pensive, and troubled. All of it is stirring in the way that one’s soul is moved in proximity to great literature or the finest musical art. Yet, as is the nature of the case with a genre of music meant to frame a visual depiction rather than to publish its own grandeur, most viewers of John Adams will fail to realize the degree to which the series’ success has depended upon Lane’s and Vitarelli’s work in the shadows.

The Hollywood Studio Symphony performs its 20th/21st century score with the panache of a great ensemble. The score references rather than revolves around period sounds from the American Revolution. Its gestures are knowing, sophisticated and nuanced. They successfully anchor the sound of this film series at a point more than two centuries ago, then develop it according to the aural canons of our own day.

The result is not less than stunning. The score never turns mawkish, yet connects with the deepest emotions. I hope the next generation of film music writers learn their craft by listening over and over, as I will, to Lane’s and Vitarelli’s John Adams.