The world lost an amazing musician and composer yesterday… in fact, my second favorite, next to Beethoven. I grew up playing French horn, and James Horner was known for some absolutely breathtaking French horn parts.

If you think you haven’t heard James Horner’s music, think again… if you’ve watched Field of Dreams, Apollo 13, Braveheart, Titanic, Avatar, The Mask of Zorro, Willow, Legends of the Fall, and a whole host of other amazing movies, you’ve heard his music. Often, the music in a movie is not focused on, yet Horner’s fantastic compositions brought life, magic, sadness, and beauty to the screen. They bring the scene to life.

Music has the ability to move us in ways that words cannot. It transcends words, language, race, and time. Below are a few of my James Horner favorites. Rest in peace.

One of my favorite “angry french horn” songs called “Master Alarm” from Apollo 13:

Braveheart Main Title Song:

“Somewhere Out There” from American Tail, which was sung by Linda Ronstadt:

“Rogue Wave” from the movie A Perfect Storm:

“Death of Titanic” from, well, you guessed it… Titanic:

I also think “A Hymn To The Sea” from Titanic totally makes the movie: