Arachnophonia: Moana

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student assistant Marissa (class of 2025) and features vocal sheet music selections from the 2016 animated feature Moana. Thanks, Marissa!

Moana: music from the motion picture soundtrack
Original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’i, and Mark Mancina

Moana piano vocal selections

A newer Disney classic, the musical movie Moana hit theaters in late 2016. The story follows Moana, a Polynesian Disney princess on a mission to return the heart of Te Fiti that was once stolen by the demigod Maui. Throughout the movie’s twists and turns, a lively soundtrack mostly written by Lin-Manuel Miranda makes the audience feel as though they are part of the adventure. Known for the creation of the Broadway musical Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda is a beloved song writer and performer who makes all of his work memorable for years and years to come.

Have you ever wanted to replicate The Rock‘s stellar performance in “You’re Welcome,” or learn the instrumentals in “How Far I’ll Go” ? This collection of musical scores by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Opetaia Foa’i, and Mark Mancina includes sheet music for pianists, vocalists, and guitarists. This item is available now in the Parsons Music Library, along with the scores to many of your other favorite Disney songs.

Parsons Playlists: Movie Music

Welcome back to Parsons Playlists! Today’s playlist is curated by Music Library student assistant Naron (class of 2023) and features music from assorted movie soundtracks.

Movie Music

Some movie soundtracks have left a deep impression on me with their impressive music. The music in movies is usually carefully crafted by artists to match the main theme. The music often sounds even more powerful, carrying the memory of the story in the movie. Here is a short list of music from popular movies that left an impression on me:

movie music

Nick Laird-Clowes – “About Time Theme” (from About Time – 2013)

Lana Del Ray – “Young And Beautiful” (from The Great Gatsby – 2013)

Alan Silvestri – “Feather Theme” (from Forrest Gump – 1994)

John Williams – “Theme from Jurassic Park” (from Jurassic Park – 1993)

Hans Zimmer – “Why So Serious” (from The Dark Knight – 2008)

Ennio Morricone – “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (Main Title)” (from The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly – 1966)

Klaus Badelt – “He’s A Pirate” (from Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – 2003)

Lin-Manuel Miranda – “You’re Welcome” (sung by Dwayne Johnson in Moana – 2016)

Joe Hisaishi – “The Name of Life” (from Spirited Away – 2001)

Maurice Jarre – “Carpe Diem” (from Dead Poets Society – 1989)

Here is a link to a version of this playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU94rco57ZewCfuxxV4Gk3YIhi4ez0R4E

And here it is on Spotify:

Arachnophonia: In The Heights

Editor’s note: Arachnophonia (“Arachno” = spider / “-phonia” = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library‘s collection.

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record(s) for the item(s) in question or to additional relevant information from around the web.

Today’s installment of Arachnophonia is by student manager Eliana (class of 2024) and features the musical In The Heights. Thanks, Eliana!

In The Heights

In The Heights

Before the critically acclaimed film of the same name, In the Heights had a 3-year run on Broadway. In that time, it was nominated for 13 Tony Awards and won 4.

The musical, written by and starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, centers on a group of Dominican American young adults living in Washington Heights, NYC.

The story centers around Usnavi, a young bodega owner with the dream of returning home to the Dominican Republic. It’s summertime, so his neighbor Nina comes back from Stanford University with the unsettling news that she’s feeling out of place and wants to drop out, in turn disappointing her family. To make things even worse, things aren’t going great with Vanessa, the object of Usnavi’s affection. When there’s a city-wide blackout, chaos ensues.

The score features upbeat, energetic songs like “96,000,” “Blackout,” and “In the Heights” and slower, emotional numbers like “Breathe” and “It Won’t Be Long Now,” providing a myriad of entertainment for all types of listeners.

You can check out both the score and original Broadway cast recording here at Parsons Music Library!

New CDs added in November!

New CDs for November 2015

Classical

Eighth Blackbird – Filament
Antonio Vivaldi – Complete Viola D’Amore Concertos
Franz Schubert – The Unauthorised Piano Duos
Pablo Villegas – Americano
Kontras Quartet – Origins

Eighth Blackbird - Filament

Pablo Villegas - Americano

Vivaldi - Complete Viola D'Amore Concertos

Early Music

Blue Heron Renaissance Choir – Music From The Peterhouse Partbooks, Vol. 4

Blue Heron Renaissance Choir

Vocal/Opera

Joyce DiDonato & Antonio Pappano – Joyce & Tony: Live At Wigmore Hall

Joyce & Tony:  Live at Wigmore Hall

Musicals

Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton: Original Broadway Cast Recording

Hamilton Cast Recording

Pop/Rock/Country/Blues

Juan Diego Florez – Sentimiento Latino
Shemekia Copeland – Talking To Strangers
Shemekia Copeland – Outskirts of Love
Janelle Monae – The Archandroid
Janelle Monae – Metropolis: The Chase Suite

Sentimiento Latino

Metropolis

Outskirts of Love

Jazz

John Scofield – Past Present
Sun Ra – Four Classic Albums Plus Bonus Singles
Sun Ra – Soundtrack to the Film Space Is The Place
Kenny Clarke – Kind of Clarke
Dee Dee Bridgewater, Irvin Mayfield & The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra – Dee Dee’s Feathers

Dee Dee's Feathers

Sun Ra - Space Is The Place