Best of the Year – 2019

ADULTS IN THE ROOM – Alexandre Desplat

Desplat is getting some buzz for his score to LITTLE WOMEN, but there is something about this little score from director Costa-Gravas’ film about the Greek financial crisis in 2015 that just sticks out from the composer’s previous work.  His integration of Greek instruments into his own stylistic musical fingerprints is really rather engaging and as he moves from these ethnic stylings they are given extra gravitas along the way that can keep the listener guessing if we are headed into a darker moment or a lighter one.  I liken this sort of to ZORBA THE GREEK meets THE GHOST WRITER.  So far, there is nothing quite like it in the composer’s oeuvre, and probably will not be.

CAPTAIN MARVEL – Pinar Toprak

Pinar Toprak has created a steady stream of excellent big action adventure scores for video games and this is a score that really announced her to a broader audience.  She crafted a really strong theme that is then sent through a host of variations demonstrating her command of the orchestra and dramatic technique.  Though likely needing to connect to the Marvel Universe styles of late, Toprak’s approach merging electronics and orchestral textures allows the former to emerge naturally and not just a necessary afterthought.  Certainly, as her career continues this score should be the one that marks her arrival for big screen scoring.

MARRIAGE STORY – Randy Newman

Admittedly, I was totally taken in by Randy Newman’s touching score for this little dramatic film.  It was in many ways a reminder of some of his finest dramatic writing in films like PLEASANTVILLE, AVALON, and RAGTIME.  His Americana style is in full swing in this little score that brings out some of his finest melodic gifts and ability to add emotional touches to real life dramas from which he has been missed.  

UNTAMED ROMANIA – Nainita Desai

Most folks will not be familiar with Nainita Desai’s music, but I suspect you will be if she continues to have the sort of year she had in 2019.  This particular score gives listeners a real sense of her orchestral and narrative abilities for a nature documentary and displays great wit and orchestral sensibility.  Most of all, one gets a chance to really hear her ability to craft memorable thematic material.  All of this said, I want to point out that as I took a look at scores I tracked that stood out to me throughout the year, her name appears three times.  Other scores that one could easily place here include her dramatic music for ENEMY WITHIN and another excellent documentary score that could easily be interchanged for my choice here, FOR SAMA.

US – Michael Abels

After reminding people what a good horror score could sound like in GET OUT, Michael Abels came back to score this horror film and managed to even top that by resorting to of all things, contemporary concert orchestral technique (jagged writing, clusters, orchestral color).  Clusters of sound, integrated motives and probably one of the most chilling uses of children’s chorus in a while are all on display here.  The opening “Anthem” sets the tone for the sort of score that would have made BELOVED (1998) a far better film.  US is an intense and masterful score that really pulls you in to the music and does not let go.  

THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) – Franz Waxman (La-La Land Records)

Perhaps one of my personal favorite scores is this one from Franz Waxman.  This new release allows us the chance to hear the original soundtrack restored to truly stellar results.  There is something about the immediacy of this music that comes across in the recording by musicians most likely glad to be working.  Surely, this odd film with its unknown composer likely had few proponents, but how this score came together and the resulting music would open the door for Waxman’s Hollywood career.  (It strikes me that this choice parallels several of the above newer scores as well—the more things change, the more the stay the same!)

Song of the Scarlet flower (1919) – Armas Jarnefelt (Ondine)

Most film music releases tend to focus on Hollywood scores so Ondine’s release of this important score in Swedish cinema was a breath of fresh air.  Jarnefelt, a Finn birth, is mostly known for two orchestral works (Berceuse and Praeludium).  His style is similar to that of other Nordic 19^th-early 20^th Century composers such as Alfven and Stenhammer.  His music for each chapter of the film and the end result in this restoration is a sense of a longer set of symphonic poems.  In addition to his own motifs and themes, Jarefelt also drew from Finnish folk tunes to connect with the story.  The other very interesting feature is that his underscoring morphs into diagetic music to match what is seen on screen—no small feat in the early days of cinema.  This is an important release for those interested in early cinema.

The Film Music of Gerard Schurman  (Chandos)

Schurman will celebrate his 96^th birthday this month (January 19) amd last year Chandos put together a collection of music from across the span of his career.  He began composing for the British Ealing Studios and would also work as an orchestrator for Jarre (on LAWRENCE OF ARABIA) and Ernest Gold (EXODUS).  This collection includes music from swashbucklers, horror films, and more higher art endeavors like 1984’s CLARETTA PATACCI.  His music is a blend of modernist and romantic styles often finding a middle Hindemithian harmonic structure from time to time.  It makes for a wonderful overview of his career and begs for more!