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Discussion by Erin Mulligan for Middle Ages and Renaissance, Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
All images contained within this website are public domain, to my best knowledge. Any questions and concerns, email abnfitch@aol.com
The award-winning motion picture Braveheart is a riveting tale of love, passion and courage. William Wallace, a Scotsman, is depicted in the film as he strives to win Scotland’s political freedom from English aggression the 13th century. Director and lead actor Mel Gibson incorporates emotionally poignant scenes of the Scottish countryside as well as traditional ceremonies and gruesome battles. Accompanying these scenes is a musical score that incorporates medieval English and Scottish elements and modern composition. This score is the topic at hand: is it historically accurate? Is the effect one originating from traditional writing or is it purely Hollywood glamour? Are we, the audience, more drawn to the musical traditions centuries old, or have we become cynical as the film industry developed--content only with modern musical concepts...or does the music of Braveheart surpass the monotony of modern film scores, using true musical roots to affect the psyche?
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photo obtained from BRAVEHEART website.
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Some Words on Themes...
The format of the Braveheart musical scoring is relatively simple.
-During scenes depicting Scottish ‘happenings’, traditional instruments and tunes are played, often with modern orchestra adaptations.
-During scenes of the English, less ‘traditional’ English music is used, rather original composition suitable for the setting; this with the exception of the royal wedding scene in London, during which a three part, all male acapella chant (sung in Latin, an Anglican hymn) is performed. The chant sounds rather like one of the Carolignian era, and is the only historically accurate portrayal of English music of the period.
Upon digression, however, this format is particularly effective as it draws the audience into a more personal understanding of the Scottish culture, while keeping the English culture at an arm’s length. Hollywood’s practiced arrangers use the power of subliminal musical persuasion to sway the audience to support the rebel Scots by exploring one musical lifestyle more accurately and frequently throughout the film.
Upon digression, however, this format is particularly effective as it draws the audience into a more personal understanding of the Scottish culture, while keeping the English culture at an arm’s length. Hollywood’s practiced arrangers use the power of subliminal musical persuasion to sway the audience to support the rebel Scots by exploring one musical lifestyle more accurately and frequently throughout the film.
So What Does All This Music MEAN?
Having discussed the arranger’s usage of cultural music, what exactly are we hearing?
Thirteenth century Scotland was host to time-honored musical tradition. Folk lore was passed through generations in the form of spoken verse and sung acapella (without instrumental accompaniment). Instruments and voice were not usually combined and the melodies were not recorded, but rather learned from older members of the community and altered slightly over the centuries.
The Scottish harp, or “clarsach" and flute were the most popular instruments of the period and can still be found as key components in the Scottish musical heritage. Perhaps the most well-known instrument is the Scottish bagpipe. Early Gaelic music, also known as “pibroch”, revolved around the use of the pipes, which produce an atonal droning sound from the bellows (bags) accompanied by a more melodic, higher pitched line played by fingering a flute-like attachment on the instrument. the effect can be a somber, wailing sound or a lively, upbeat jig.
It’s interesting to hear how the film’s arranger adapted certain sounds to imitate Scottish music without using the actual instruments in some places. Lower strings in the orchestra often held long chords, acting as the droning pipes, while vocalists sang non-syllabic pitches with no text to imitate the high melody line of the pipes.
In Braveheart, this traditional music is illustrated in many scenes, particularly those depicting such ceremonies as weddings and funerals. This usage produced a pure depiction of the Scottish heritage. A village wedding ceremony is accompanied by common music, using instruments such as the harp, flute and drums. Scottish dance is another tradition passed down through generations. The wedding celebration was complete with village musicians and traditional dances.
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photo obtained from BRAVEHEART website.
Drums are also fundamental in battle scenes. Whether the Scottish employed actual drummers in battle, as is recorded in such battles as the Civil War in America, has not been confirmed. However, the arrangers of the film deemed it necessary to illustrate the intensity of the battles with fierce percussion, played on what sound like crude, handmade drums.
When Wallace’s father is killed in battle and is buried, members of the village perform an old funeral ritual of playing traditional Scottish hymns by night, although the daylight burial was performed by an Anglican priest reciting Latin prayer, in the fashion of the English. Wallace is told that the men are playing “outlawed tunes on outlawed pipes”, the traditional Scottish good bye. The ceremonial music is emotionally moving and also foreshadows a growing conflict between the English and Scots, although the subject had not yet been formally addressed in the script.
Such musical adaptation is very effective, and as a transition, more modern composition blends into the bagpipe tunes, using a full symphonic orchestra and drawing the traditional music into a more Hollywood-esque dramatic form.
The tunes in the early traditional Scottish music use a pentatonic or five-note scale. These notes vary in pattern and don’t really cadence (or end on a ‘satisfying’ chord), much like early European [i.e. English] chant. This correlation has a great deal to do with social and political issues between the Scots and the English.
The Scottish church and court developed in the 13th century, influenced greatly by English aggression in this era and for many centuries to follow. The English wished to rule Scotland and consequently the religious rite of the country changed many times. The Celtic Church was established in the late 4th century, followed by the Roman Rite in the 8th century. [The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians] Such factors contributed to the slow evolution of Scottish liturgical music; one may hear characteristics associated with English chant “leaking” into ceremonies during the film.
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photo obtained from BRAVEHEART website.
Conflicts?
So is the music in Braveheart appropriate to the time period? For the most part, yes. Traditional Scottish instruments, musicality and style as well as English chant were accurately portrayed in the film, creating an atmosphere reminiscent to the actual period and conflicts at hand. However, the English portrayal was obviously less developed, this possibly in support of the theory described above: Gibson wanted more personal attention drawn to the Scottish side, leading the audience to be prone to support the rebels whether their cause was right or wrong.
In addition to this point, bagpipes were the main instrument of representation for the Scots, although in one source, it was stated that researchers believe that bagpipes didn’t even reach the highlands of Scotland until the 15th century. [The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians] This is disputable, however, as records of bag-blown instruments have been found in Scotland dating back to the 12th century.
Ultimately, Hollywood must intervene at one point, creating new musical scoring for a new time; adding to the drama that took place centuries ago. Luckily this endeavor was done tastefully, and accentuated rather than overshadowed Scottish tradition. In effect, the tradition of the Scottish heritage was quite accurately portrayed, although the English musical era seemed to get the short end of the stick.
Perhaps in this scenario, the Scots deserved to be glorified after their hardships...
Commentary
The following quotation was obtained from the BRAVEHEART website.
"James Horner's (Star Trek 2 & 3, Aliens) musical score is needless to say, very dramatic, but manages to remain effective."
Reviewed by Pamela Evans
May 29th, 1995
References
I used the following references to prepare this discussion:
1. Crossley-Holland, Peter. "Review-Musique Celtique, Gaelic music from Scotland." Ethnomusicology, September 1971, volume 15:3, p.447-449
2. Leyshon, Andrew; David Matless and George Revill. The Place of Music. The Guilford Press, NY, 1998.
3. MacInnes, Sheldon. A Journey in Celtic Music- Cape Brenton Style, Sheldon MacInnes, 1997.
4. Sadie, Stanley (editor). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1980 ed. volume 17, p.69-80.
5. Wilson, Ruth M. Anglican Chant and Chanting in England, Scotland, and America. Clarendon Press, Oxford 1996.
...as well as the following
Links
Gibson Bagpipes
Early and traditional music in Scotland
BRAVEHEART
Thanks for visiting!
Erin Mulligan abnfitch@aol.com