People who have watched classic films usually remember a film for its musical score. For example, there is the theme on the trumpet from The Godfather, the shrieking violin sounds from the shower theme in Psycho, the majestic desert theme from Lawrence of Arabia and there is even the simple piano tune that would create the theme for the film, Love Story. But, it is without doubt that one can say that John Williams has written some of the most memorable scores in the history of film. Who could forget the blaring trumpets that start off the theme for Star Wars or the chilling cello playing for the Jaws theme? Who could even forget the simple 5-note theme that would help create the theme of Close Encounters of The Third Kind? All these soundtracks are extremely memorable and will be remembered as some of the greatest soundtracks made in the history of film.

However, in my opinion, I think John Williams' score for Schindler's List is the best soundtrack he has ever done. Before I start analyzing the songs, here is a track listing:

1. Theme From Schindler's List
2. Jewish Town (Krakow Ghetto - Winter '41)
3. Immolation (With Our Lives, We Give Life)
4. Remembrances
5. Schindler's Workforce
6. OYF'N Pripetshok and Nacht Aktion
7. I Could Have Done More
8. Auschwitz-Beirkenau
9. Stolen Memories
10. Making the List
11. Give Me Your Names
12. Yeroushalaim Chel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold)
13. Remembrances (with Itzhak Perlman)
14. Theme From Schindler's List (Reprise)

There are 14 songs in this soundtrack, but this soundtrack will be remembered for 3 songs: Theme From Schindler's List, Jewish Town and Remembrances.

Let's talk about the first of the mentioned songs: Theme from Schindler's List. You might ask what makes this theme memorable. There is one simple answer: Itzhak Perlman's spectacular violin, which leads the melody of the song. The theme starts off with violins, it bounces to the cellos, then back to the violins, which help bring in Perlman's violin solo. Perlman stretches out the notes to give out the full, rich sound from the violin, and stretching out the notes with the full sound from the violin gives his playing so much more conviction. Because he is a Jew, the empty sound of his violin increasing the theme in octaves (which is played only with a chorus of string instruments in the background) gives the song so much emotional power that I cry at the beautiful yet sad voice of Perlman's violin. The solo tries to introduce you to the somber events of the film and the melancholy nature really creeps in with the help of Perlman's violin. However, it is not only Perlman's violin which makes the song stand out. The complex countermelodies from the flute section show how intricate the song is, and being able to accompany such a complex melody from Perlman's violin is an achievement in itself. A great song to start off the film and among one of Williams' best ever.

Jewish Town also features Perlman on the violin, and this is yet another phenomenal violin solo. He starts the song off the song with a melody in a minor key that features some double-stopping (using the violin to bow on two strings), which produces some dissonance and introduces what the song is about (the idea of Nazis forcing Jews out of a Jewish town). The strings create a marching accompaniment to Perlman's slow solo, which already creates tension in the music (cellos are like the Nazis and Perlman's solo represents the Jews). Perlman's solo is played beautifully, and again he stretches out the notes to provide more emotional power to the song. But, what impresses me about the solo in this song is the part in the middle when he plays a series of really quick, high-pitched notes, which shows the tension breaking loose and emotions flaring. The clarinet section echoes the violin towards the end, which help set up Perlman's ending consisting of more double-stopping, more dissonance and the last note he plays brings the song down to literally nothing, which represents the Nazis completely destroying the Jewish Town. Another beautifully played piece done to perfection.

As mentioned in the track listing, there are two versions of the song, Remembrances. One features Perlman on solo violin, while the other is just the orchestra playing. Both are powerful, and the song basically describes the mixture of feelings at the end of the Holocaust. The beautiful harp intro immediately puts you in a dreamy state, but once the violins come in with the main melody (or Perlman's solo violin in the other version), you are pulled into feeling what the Jews had to endure during the Second World War. The melody leaves you feeling shocked at what happened, and you can certainly feel it through the melody of the song. The song is also ornamented with countermelodies between the flutes, clarinets, oboes and violins are featured throughout the song, which infers the mixture of feelings. The song ends with a trill that eventually falls into nothingness, which sums up the overall sadness of the Holocaust, and the Nazis' treatement of Jews.

All the other songs in the album basically play around with the three songs mentioned above. For example, Immolation starts off with the empty, soft sounds of the string section, which brings in a choir (singing in Hebrew), this increases in dynamics, but is eventually brought down to nothing, which introduces a clarinet playing the Theme from Schindler's List, which is used to end the song. Also, in Schindler's Workforce, it features the horn playing the Theme from Schindler's List, while OYF'N Pripetshok and Nacht Aktion features the same song played in a different key, and the same is done on the flute in Stolen Memories (the song's emotional power is not lessened as a result of this). These are different songs from the theme, but they feature the theme, because the theme is an integral part to the soundtrack and the overall mood of the musical score. These pieces are ornamented by other instruments, most notably the harp, which is vital in creating the echoing, empty effect of the soundtrack (similar to the violin) and has a few solos in the soundtrack.

I was also particularly impressed by the song, Auschwitz-Beirkenau, which features a violin solo at the beginning. This makes use of slurs from the solo violin and the dynamic changes from the accompaniment of strings plus percussion help create the overall uneasy feeling to the song.

Yeroushalaim Chel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold) is different to other songs on the soundtrack, since the entire song is sung by a Jewish choir (in Hebrew). The echoes produced from the voices produce the feeling of emotional loss, and it gets louder and louder as the listener starts to feel the emotional pain they are trying to portray through the song.

This is a classic soundtrack, and it suits the film so well. This soundtrack deservedly won an Oscar for Best Musical Score in the 1993 Academy Awards ceremony, and it is not hard to see why. I would recommend this to anyone, because of the emotional power of the soundtrack and Perlman's superb violin work throughout the soundtrack. It will leave you crying at the beauty and sadness of each piece. A job well done by Williams!

Thank you for reading this review.

Recommended: Yes

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