Twilight Thursday

I missed my usual Twilight Tuesday post because I was glued to election coverage on television all night.

Since the movie is coming out soon (two weeks according to the countdown clock!), there have been tons of new links and news that Alissa and Tameka have been sending me. It's been hard to choose which pictures and news to post, so for today I will go with: the soundtrack!

Tuesday, November 4 was a big day because not only was it Election Day, but the Twilight soundtrack was finally released. I've been waiting with bated breath for Bella's Lullaby, and when I finally heard it, I have...mixed emotions.

First, here it is!



My first reaction was - not surprisingly - that it didn't sound like what I thought of as Bella's lullaby in my head, and that I liked Schumann's Widmung much better (so did Alissa). The second thought: in spite of this, the official version is a gorgeous piece of music. At first I was thrown off by the strings (I was expecting a pure piano solo), but I read that this song is played throughout the movie and reflects the progression of Bella and Edward's relationship, so it seemed like it would need to be a fleshed out orchestral piece.

I have a hard time imagining it as a piano solo because the orchestral accompaniment weaves the theme and adds color and texture to the melody, and if just a piano solo, the melody would sound rather flat. Which brings me to my next point - it was hard discerning the central melody because the piece was so short - the version they released on the soundtrack stands at only 2 minutes. The cymbals at the end give this an epic, soaring feel, but a lullaby should be quiet, intimate, sweet - not necessarily soaring. It's a beautiful composition but I don't know if it should be Bella's lullaby. Still, I would love to play this on my violin with an orchestra.

And I'll leave you with another eye candy, this time with Edward (R-Pattz), Bella (Kristen Stewart) and James (played by Cam Gigandet, who I am told was also on the OC). This was from the latest Vanity Fair interview and photoshoot.