Friday, January 20, 2012

Are These Songs the Same Song? (Little Dorrit, Downton Abbey)

Comments are very much appreciated! This has bothered me for months ever since I first watched Downton Abbey. I remembered when I first watched Downton Abbey: my mom and I were on the second episode and this song came on...





The first thing I thought was "Hey! That song is in Little Dorrit!" I could have sworn that it was the same song!

Watch from 0:00 to 0:44

I am asking for your opinion: are these two songs the same? They seem to have the same melody and the same musical instruments. Comments are welcome! 



 God Bless,
 God Bless, Miss Elizabeth Bennet

13 comments:

  1. They do sound very similar, don't they? Actually, when I first saw this post I thought it would be a different song; the other day my mom and brother were watching an old tv show and during commercials they changed the channel to PBS, where the second season of Downton Abbey. I was like "Oh! Edward Ferrars!" and then I came closer and the music sounded almost exactly like the 'sad' song on Little Dorrit! Like when she's standing in front of the river about to throw her button in. Then it started varying a little but, but it was almost exactly the same for a while! Is it the same composer, I wonder?

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  2. Melody,
    I just looked it up: yes, it is the same composer, John Lunn (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0526753/). That would make sense that the two pieces would be reused/sound very similar.

    I know! Edward Ferrars is in Downton Abbey! Now every time I see him in Downton Abbey, all I could think of is Edward.

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  3. When I read Melody's comment (before watching the videos) I thought she meant that the Downton Abbey music sounded like the Little Dorrit "sad/tragic" theme. So when I listened to it, it didn't sound like that at all, and then I found myself thinking that it sounded a lot like "Fanny's Theme" as my sister and I call it. And lo and behold, the second video was indeed Fanny's Theme!
    Now I'd be interested to hear the part that DOES sound like the tragic music...

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  4. But, My dear Miss Dashwood, the 'sad' and 'tragic' themes are different songs. :P

    It was during this parting at the train station, and the music was softer and slower than the on on LD, but the tune sounded so similar! Same composer explains it.

    Ha, that Mrs. Merdle theme doesn't sound anything like the sad song! ;-)

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  5. I think they sound similar in style, but I don't think they are the same piece of music exactly:)
    -Lauren

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  6. I rewatched the river scene from Little Dorrit. The music didn't sound like it was in Downton Abbey, but I'm basing this off my memory. It's possible that the composer reused some of the tracks.

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  7. Very similar, but not exactly the same. I have a sister who is a professional musician and an amateur artist and she always says that John Lunn works in textures; I would have to say the textures are the same but the colors are just slightly different.

    The funny thing is that when we watched Downton Abbey we exclaimed about how similar the music for the hunt scene was to the wedding scene in Bleak House.

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  8. Okay, so this is the song I thought sounded like the sad song on Little Dorrit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U6dsEyVXu8 (starting at about 0:26) It's quite different, but bits of it sounds like a very similar tune.

    Also, I found out that John Lunn composed the music for Bleak House (you really should watch that! ;-) ), and one of the songs reminded me of something on there, too.

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  9. Melody - I also noticed a similarity between the song played in Downton Abbey that you posted above (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4U6dsEyVXu8) at 0:26 and the "sad" song played in Little Dorrit:
    Start at 7:17
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcucAb5mHLc

    I'm glad to know I wasn't going crazy. I purposefully googled this to see if anyone had noticed similarities so I'm glad I discovered this blog and read the comments.

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  10. Melody and Noelle,
    YES! Both songs sound very similar! It sounds like the same tune, but the Downton Abbey one sounds happier than the Little Dorrit one.

    Noelle,
    Glad that we could help! :-)

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  11. Can anybody tell me if they can also hear the song "Lir" by composer Wim Mertens in the opening soundtrack? It seems to be more than an inspiration...

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    Replies
    1. It is very close to "LIR". I ear Wim Mertens few minutes ago in Madrid in concert and, while listening to this song in the theater, many images of Downton Abbey came to mind. ... Maybe it's the reason I love this TV series so much, because of its music.

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    2. European Grasses by Wim Mertens also sounds a lot like the Downton Abbey theme

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