“The Portrait” by James Horner. 4:43
Back to Titanic (More Music from the Original Motion Picture)
This piece if from James Cameron’s epic film, Titanic. Fittingly entitled “The Portrait,” this piece is played about half way through the film, in the famous drawing scene. The first sound I hear in this piece is a short, soft succession of notes played three and a half times. Then an even shorter, three note transition into a repeat of the first succession. After this calming introduction, the piano starts to play what sounds somewhat like Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On.” The song so far is light and airy. Throughout the entire piece, there is not one specific part that stands out as the focal point. Almost all of the notes are played around the same volume, and yet there is immense variety in their tone. The song is played on just a piano, making it an extremely simplistic piece of music.
When I hear this song and I close my eyes, I feel as though I can touch the notes. When I feel myself touching them, they are soft and almost velvety, but at the same time, cold. The first part of the song, the introduction, makes me picture water. Not an ocean because it is from Titanic, but perhaps a small clear cup of water with little rays of light shining through it. Then after that, I can visualize the entire scene from the film in my head. Every camera angle, the actors, the lighting, the dialogue, the set, is all perfectly planned out in my head. I realize that this is going to sound trite, but this music almost gives me hope. I am an incredibly pessimistic person, and it is extraordinarily difficult to find a song that simply turns that pessimism around. But this song does just that. I don’t know why, but it instills some ounce of happiness in me, that I was previously lacking.
When I hear this song, I feel soothed and I feel relaxed. No matter what mood I’m in, when I hear this piece of music, I feel at ease. Suffering from difficult anxiety attacks more often than I would like, “The Portrait” is one thing that sometimes helps me calm down while waiting for the medicine to kick in. This is also the song I put on when I need to read something extensive. The song has no lyrics to distract me and it has no loud or surprising instrumentals that knock me off my seat. The song is simple. Simple in the way it was written, in the way it was executed, and in the way it is accepted into one’s mind. This is one of the most beautiful songs I could possibly think of. The song brings out strong emotions with only one instrument and no lyrics. Not one part of this song feels wrong, there is not one note that feels even remotely out of place. When the piece is over, I feel refreshed. I feel like the song was a filter for my body, removing any impurities that were slowing me down before.