Musique Fantastique

Original Press Release announcing Musique Fantastique II:

Creature Features Publishes Second Edition of “Musique Fantastique”

Randall D. Larson’s expansive new edition wholly rewritten and expanded in Four-Volume Collection

Creature Features announces the publication of a wholly rewritten, revised, and expanded 2nd Edition of Musique Fantastique: 100 Years of Fantasy, Science Fiction & Horror Film Music by noted film music writer, Randall D. Larson. The first (of four) separate books that make up the book series will be released in September as a limited edition trade paperback and an e-book, with the succeeding three books to appear shortly.

When it was published in 1985 by Scarecrow Press, Randall D. Larson’s Musique Fantastique: A Survey of Film Music in the Fantastic Cinema was the first book-length analytical commentary of these genres of film music. Out of print, elusive, and sought after for many years, Musique Fantastique has been regarded as a unique and important reference work for students and enthusiasts of both film music and fantastic films. The first extensive analysis of music in science fiction, fantasy, and horror films, Larson’s exhaustive commentary covered the use and techniques of music in these genre films from the silent era and the groundbreaking Golden Age of the ’30s and ’40s through the rise of electronics and the resurgence of symphonic film music in the late ‘70s and early ’80s. Taking the approach that film music has an especially unique responsibility in these genre films and has achieved significant advances in musical style and form in these genres, Larson examined in detail how music has been used to intensify the filmgoing experience in these types of movies.

“Creature Features is pleased to announce the publication of Musique Fantastique, 2nd Edition, said publisher Taylor White. “Intricately detailed and wide-ranging in its scope, Randall has significantly expanded his in-depth coverage of the subject, from the silent era through the summer blockbusters of 2012.” Featuring a new introduction by film composer Christopher Young, Musique Fantastique, 2nd Edition, is a massive, four-book comprehensive examination of music for fantasy, sci-fi, and horror films and television worldwide.

“Music for science fiction, fantasy, and horror films has always been a particularly unique area of film scoring,” said Larson. “Just as fantasy has allowed the minds of writers and filmmakers to flow into new and unexplored regions, so has it allowed the imaginations of film composers to create much of the finest music composed for motion pictures.”

The original 1985 edition has been thoroughly rewritten to include new research, interviews, and access to films, scores, and reference data not available when the first book was written. “The explosion in genre product in cinema and television over the last two decades has demanded an extension of my original discussion to see where film music in these genres has gone since 1985,” Larson said. “I’ve also got a much better opportunity to write about these films, having written about film music for more than a quarter century. I’m not a musicologist and you won’t find a lot of discussion about musical theory and technique in Musique Fantastique II. What you will find is analysis about music’s dramatic function and purpose and what has been and remains unique about music for sci-fi, fantasy, and horror films. The 2nd Edition gives me an opportunity to revisit the old movies and analyze new ones, from the biggest Hollywood blockbusters to the cheesiest low-budget independent films from the farthest corners of the world, exploring what film music does to enhance these imaginative genres, and to get inside the heads of these music makers and discern their thoughts and perceptions.”

Musique Fantastique, Second Edition
100 Years of Fantasy, Science Fiction & Horror Film Music
A Historical Appreciation & Overview
By Randall D. Larson

One Book – Four Volumes – Encyclopedic Commentary – Essential Reading

“I would like to thank Randall on behalf of the entire music community for his years of commitment to promoting film music and the film composers that write it. Most importantly, he has always done it entirely out of true love of music and what it can do in these kinds of films.  It’s been this passion for genre music that prompted [this] analysis and commentary.”
– from the Introduction by Christopher Young.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Randall D. Larson was the editor and publisher of CinemaScore: The Film Music Journal from 1981 to 1987, and for many years thereafter senior editor and reviewer for Soundtrack Magazine, until its demise in 2002, “The Score” columnist for Cinefantastique magazine, and a prolific writer in fields of music, fantasy literature, cinema, and other fields of interest. The original Musique Fantastique was his first book, published in 1985, and was followed by Music from the House of Hammer, Film Music Around the World, several books about author Robert Bloch, and Films Into Books, the first book-length study of film novelizations and movie tie-in books. Larson currently writes the Soundtrax film music column for buysoundtrax.com and is the author of more than 100 liner note commentaries for specialty soundtrack albums. He currently resides in Eureka, California.

Musique Fantastique 2nd Edition, Book One, sells for $29.95 (trade paperback – limited edition of 500 copies) or $ 14.97 (e-book – forthcoming).

To order Musique Fantastique 2nd Edition, Book One, see: http://www.creaturefeatures.com/products/books/musique-fantastique/

The Musique Fantastique Web Site offers additional background information about the book, including an author’s commentary, behind-the-scenes report, and additional data on music in science fiction, fantasy, and horror movies around the globe. See: www.musiquefantastique.com

A Facebook page has been created for updates, news, networking, and other details about the publication of the 2nd Edition at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Musique-Fantastique-II/162142597165759

For more information and ordering details, see the publisher’s web site at: www.creaturefeatures.com