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Published: Monday, 16 December 2024 at 10:52 AM
Home Alone: who wrote the music for the festive classic?
It’s hard to believe that it’s 30 years since the classic Christmas comedy film Home Alone (1990) was released. The story about a small boy accidentally left behind when his family go to Paris for the holidays has become staple viewing for all ages at Christmas.
Home Alone composer: who wrote the music to the much-loved film?
Supporting the slapstick comedy scenes – as young Kevin defends his house from a pair of inept burglars – and the oh-so-warm-heated seasonal glow is an original score by none other than John Williams, who we named one of the greatest movie composers of all time.
Writer/Director Chris Columbus couldn’t believe his luck when Williams agreed to score his little family comedy, but the composer was won over by its charm and heart.
Williams dug deep into his festive armoury to create music that underlined both the comedy and the warmth, with colourful orchestral set pieces, original songs and a nod-and-a-wink to Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker (see the cue ‘Holiday Flight’).
A beguiling mix of new songs and seasonal classics
John Williams teamed up with his old friend, the acclaimed British lyricist Leslie Bricusse to write a pair of songs for the film. The most famous is ‘Somewhere in My Memory’, which picks up the main theme. ‘Star of Bethlehem’ is a more traditional carol for choir, organ and orchestra.
The choir also sings the traditional ‘Carol of the Bells’ and ‘O Holy Night’ in the film, and Williams ends proceedings with a rousing chorus of ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’.
Aside from Williams original score and songs, the film features classic seasonal tracks like ‘White Christmas’ (The Drifters), ‘Please Come Home for Christmas’ (Southside Johnny Lyon) and ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ (Mel Tormé).
Can you buy the soundtrack for Home Alone?
Yes you can. In fact Sony has just re-released its ‘Anniversary Edition’ of the original soundtrack album. It features selections from Williams’s score, the original songs, carols and the classic Christmas tracks mentioned above.
La La Land Records released Williams complete original score for the film in a 2015 limited edition set.