Abstract: Epic Music – Its History, Origination and Description Our present era offers us ideal conditions for experimenting both with combinations of various music genres, and with creation of new ones, not analysed hitherto in theoretical reflection. A rather young – and still in the process of development – music genre of epic music, with origins rooted in film music, and namely in trailer music, may serve as an example. Epic music, a music phenomenon popular mainly with young generations, is gradually acquiring a permanent position among the similar genres of film music and trailer music. As the issue of epic music as a new music genre has not been dealt with in the scholarly literature sufficiently yet, the aim of the study is to present basic existing information about and characteristic features of the genre, as well as a comparison with related genres, and to bring new impulses for further elaboration of this current theme. In the study we focus on the origins of epic music, its historical background and theoretical definition of epic music, film music and trailer music. We deal in more detail with the question of what tendencies and facts in the domains of film and trailer music contributed to the origination of the new genre. The most famous composers and companies producing epic music are presented. We offer concise data regarding the way of creation and combination of epic music with other genres. We likewise deal with theoretical questions and present our own definition reflecting the characteristic features of the genre. The comparison of epic music, trailer music and film music genres forms the core of the study.
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