As the shark motif ascends to a higher register, additional instruments join the double basses. Rhythm quickens, and texture thickens; the music rises in intensity and unexpectedly ends, creating tension and increased apprehension. New voices emerge as a harp glissando leads a swell of strings, which mimic the swells of waves at ocean’s surface, and provide transition from the confined tonal space where the shark motif is first heard, to a wider vista, suggesting that the shark has moved from a confined hunting ground to open sea.
A variation of the shark motif begins with hints of the same diesel-driven rhythm as the original and sparks my imagination. A boat, suggested by this variation, plows through the waves above the menace of the deep. A xylophone plays a string of notes, pearls of sound, carried by the variation and an innocent echo of the menace of the shark motif. I imagine the notes as drops of sea-swept spray produced by the boat’s bow as it makes its way through the waves and carries naïve, would-be heroes unaware of the enormity of the task they’ve undertaken to slay the monster.
The variation ends, and Williams repeats the shark motif. It’s as if the beast has noticed the new prey and has turned to attack. The music rises in intensity to a frenzied, final burst of sound and fury, then softly repeats and fades, creating the sense that the shark has prevailed against the heroes and is moving off into the distance. The shark remains at large—just below the water’s surface, just below awareness.
References
American Film Institute (Producer). (2009). AFI’s 100 years of film scores. AFI.com, 2009. Retrieved fromhttp://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/scores.aspx.
Calkins, J. (1991). Sharks Tales of whales, turtles, sharks and snails. Retrieved fromhttp://graysreef.noaa.gov/tw/sharks.html.
Gazzaniga, M. (2008). Human: The science behind what makes us unique. New York: HarperCollins Publishers.
