I love the Coppola version of Bram Stoker's Dracula. It stands among my favorite vampire films, and one of the best parts about it is the score by Wojciech Kilar. Some time ago I gradually became obsessed with this music. I always wanted to play it on the piano, but could never find a written score, even for orchestra. So around 1999 I decided to transcribe the piece myself. I have no experience in transcription, but I love the score so much I just had to figure it out! It took hours and days of tedious work listening to the orchestral soundtrack CD, pausing after a few seconds, arranging it for piano and writing it down, listening again, etc.... A labor of love. I have played this for friends, family, groups of pianists and music lovers. People always seem impressed by the transcription and performance. I guess I did all right. :) You can find my video recordings on YouTube.
I adapted the music as a six-movement suite (Dracula: The Beginning; Vampire Hunters; Lucy's Party; The Brides; The Storm; Mina/Dracula). People who have seen my videos have been asking for a copy of the sheet music for a long time. I never intended for anyone else to see the score, and it is not written in standard notation. I wrote it in a way easiest to write down, as I don't have compositional training. As such some pieces have, for instance, a G# and a D# only in the notation, even though that is not an actual key. However, a friend of mine was able to play the score, despite it not being in standard format. Additionally, I interspersed the music with photos from the film for my own enjoyment and to set the mood. Other than a couple of friends, noone has seen this score other than perhaps Mr. Wojciech Kilar himself (I hope), as I gave a copy of it to Tadeusz Strugala, a conductor whose symphony in Poland has premiered his works and is a friend of his. Anyway, my musical shyness over the fact that it is written in an unusual manner, combined with my desire to first make a proper recording of the piece, have prevented me from releasing this score to the public so far. But it's the 20th anniversary of the film's release, and a lot of people have been asking for it, so here I give you my pride and joy, my transcription:
Piano Suite from Bram Stoker's Dracula
In return, I'm asking for a little help! It has long been my dream to make a proper video recording of this suite. My idea is to have a decorated set similar to the scene in the film where Dracula and Mina are dancing amongst many candles. I would like to wear a victorian dress, and have the piece filmed from various angles with dramatic lighting. If you can help, please contact me. I have set up an online fundraiser. Please donate any amount you can. (Note, the PayPal account appears under the name of SoledadMiranda.com, another of my websites, but the donation does go to my video project.)
Despite my former hesitation about releasing the score, I welcome feedback and would like to know what you think. You can reach me here:
