A SOUNDTRACK SUPPLEMENT EXTRA.

Welcome again to Soundtrack supplement extra, an extension if you like of Soundtrack Supplement, we start today with music from an animated movie, which has a delightful score. Even Mice Belong in Heaven, has a musical score by Polish composer Krzysztof A. Janczak, and it is just so good. There is so much going on within the work its hard at first to take it all in, but after listening a few times one begins to hear just how ingenious and fun this is. The score which as far as I can make out is fully symphonic overflows with inventive and effective pieces which are brilliant to listen to just as music and away from the images it was intended to support. I do have to say it is a wonderful score, and one that is very easy to listen to, but at the same time has so much happening, the themes are affecting and at times dramatic and emotive, the orchestration too is entertaining. The composer utilizing a music box effect at times which opens up a fragile and delicate side to the score. Being for an animated feature there is a lot of music here to keep any film music fan occupied and suitably entertained. I cannot really say that I can compare the composer’s style to anyone as it has to it an innovative and robust style and overall sound.

The composer also makes effective use of Soprano which we first encounter in the track Heaven and the Goat, and although it is brief in the introduction it gives the music an otherworldly or celestial aura, choir is also employed, again adding depth and giving the composition or more imposing stature. I love the track Heaven’s Bath‘s it is a waltz inspired piece that just flows beautifully and has to it a grand and lavish persona. Strings take the lead and are supported by woods, percussive elements and punctuated via pizzicato.

The cue does alter direction a little mid-way through with quirky use of brass purveying a more comedic air to the proceedings the cue taking on a jaunty style and conveying a clumsiness?  This is a great score, so many themes are included within the work, that one is spoilt for choice, so just press the play button sit back and be marvelously entertained.  Released on Movie Score Media digitally on all platforms. You would be foolish not to check this out.

Staying with animation and as its nearly Halloween lets visit The Addams Family 2, shall we, music by Mychael and Jeff Danna. Again, this is just a fun score filled with a vibrant energy and a wicked sense of musical humour. The composers have created an over the top dramatic but quirky soundtrack, which is a fusion of both symphonic and synthetic. Its mad cap, tantalizing, a little irreverent and has a slightly melancholy sound to it. I suppose because anything is possible in animated movies composers really go for it when scoring them, and that is what the case is here, fast, and furious in places but frolicking and calming in others.

I am pleased that the composers make effective use of the original Addams Family theme, it is somewhat updated and has a slightly different twang to it but it does come complete with the clicking fingers, in the cue The Addams Family Returns, which is very brief but also very effective. The score itself at times sounds clumsy and cookey but is perfect for the subject matter. We are treated to rampaging and mental action cues that could be something out of the Keystone Cops, the style employed just conjures up for me a pantomime type of picture, or music for a farce on stage the pace being busy and frantic at times. But saying this it is a very good score, filled with inventiveness and certainly catches one’s attention as soon as you begin to listen. Recommended.   

Turandot: The Curse Of the Turandot | 2021 | | Official Trailer | [ Chinese ] – YouTube

From the world of animation to the world of fantasy, the plot of the movie The Curse of Turandot, focuses upon Princess Turandot, who is cursed by a mysterious power emanating from three Mazovian bracelets that were given to her as birthday gifts. The bracelets which have life-draining effects cause the princess to become cruel, and gradually lose her humanity.

Many foreign princes who come to court her are given the task of solving three riddles, one for each bracelet, and only when these are answered will the Princess be freed from the power of the bracelets. In the event any of the questions being answered incorrectly results in the death of the riddle solver.  One day, Calaf, an ordinary citizen, risks his life to answer the riddles to save her and inadvertently uncovers his own extraordinary past.

The movie which is a Chinese production is an exciting and exhilarating viewing experience and the musical score by Simon Franglen (who worked with James Horner) matches the action with proud and powerful themes that support and enhance every second of the movie. It is a grand sounding work and is brimming with action cues that thunder and boom along performed by brass, percussion and strings. As well as the action material the composer has also fashioned haunting and delicate themes that have to them an oriental flavour, these affecting and alluring tone poems are truly beautiful and stand out above the remainder of the score. Tracks such as Master Zhou Returns is one of these and is a charming and romantically laced piece.

The composer also stays in a magical and romantic mood for the cue Holding Hands, which is tender and emotive. This is a score that you must listen to and then add to your collection. The composer at times does slip into Horner mode with familiar sounding brass sounds and choral support, but other than those two noticeable styles it is in the main an inventive and above all entertaining work.  Available on digital platforms.

Halloween Kills is set to hit the cinemas and scare the life out of audiences old and new to the character of Michael Myers. And what would a Halloween movie be with the familiar and unsettling music of John Carpenter, who on this occasion is assisted by Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies on the score writing duties, the Halloween theme is utilised within the score and is woven into the proceedings entwining itself with new material. I think that the Halloween series as we already know it, would have never been so popular or impacting upon audiences if it were not for the scores for the movies, the music playing an important and integral part of the horrific storyline that is unfolding on screen. It is also I think at times the music that is remembered more than the movies, but that’s just my opinion. Like the other Halloween scores this is an all synth/electronic affair, but this does not detract anything from it in the quality and atmospheric departments. Certainly, worth a listen (with the lights on). Bruno Coulais is a composer that many say is an acquired taste, well I am so glad I have that taste because I have always found something within his scores for TV and film that I like and find interesting.

One of his latest scores is for the movie L’Homme de la Cave, (The man From the Cellar). Is I think one of his best scores to date, the subtle and gentle musical interludes are mostly calming having to them some fragments of thematic properties, but in each easy or melodic piece there are elements that purvey an atmosphere filled with apprehension and uncertainty. It is a score that you can sit and listen to and before you know it has finished, I do like scores that are unassuming or not in anyway overblown, and this is a work that fits that description for most of its thirty minute duration, I say most of, because there are a few cues, that do become more animated and upbeat, and these too are highly effective. The composer employs both conventional instrumentation and electronic support for the score and fuses these flawlessly to create tense moods and dark musical passages that are complimented by the lighter and more melodious compositions. Again, a score that I think you should listen to.  

Just Beyond is an anthology series of eight episodes that has recently aired on the Disney Plus channel. The series was created by Seth Grahame-Smith, who based his writings around the graphic novels of author R. L. Stine. The tales of horror, mystery, magic, Aliens and the supernatural involve teenagers that step into a world that is Just Beyond reality. Stine was also responsible for creating Fear Street which has also recently been produced into three films and screened on Netflix, and the movie Goosebumps. The music for Just Beyond is the work of Carlos Rafael Rivera who is already known for his work in both TV and film.

He is an Emmy Award winning composer who has scored Godless, for Netflix which was directed by Scott Frank and produced by Steven Soderbergh, starring Jeff Daniels and Michelle Dockery, as well as  the Universal Pictures release A Walk Among the Tombstones, starring Liam Neeson. He also created an atmospheric score for The Queens Gambit which was also a Netflix production. The music for Just Beyond is very much a magic and mystery filled soundtrack, lots of drama lots of magic, sparkle and mystical sounding interludes, it’s a strong and very appealing score, the composer using symphonic sounds alongside synthetic components to fashion a score that is wonderfully grand and at times evokes the style and sound of composers such as John Williams, John Debney and Jerry Goldsmith.

It’s a more traditional sounding score than we have been hearing of late coming out of the likes of Netflix and Amazon TV productions, which I know many collectors will welcome with open arms. A superb score that is available now on digital platforms. Highly recommended.  The Last Duel has been hyped a lot in recent weeks, and from what I have seen I would imagine it to be a movie that entertains on many levels, the music is by Harry Gregson Williams, and I thought this would be a all action score vibrant and robust and maybe a theme here and there.

Sadly I will say here and now I do  not like the score, its very downbeat and in a word dreary, ok it suits the movie and that’s what matters in the end but it’s a score I have listened to over and over a few times and I just cant get into it. I am not saying the music is awful, but its just not for me. Make up your own mind its on digital platforms now. Henry Jackman has worked on a number of movies in recent years and has earned a reputation of a composer that delivers mostly. His score for the animated feature Rons gone Wrong is not a bad work, considering the subject matter of the movie. Jackman has written a varied if nothing else score, with upbeat cues and poignant passages. Its not great but its also not bad.

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Other scores I would like to mention are Superman and Lois season 1 which has a compelling score by the excellent Dan Romer, Paul Saunderson’s great music for The Obscure Life of the Grand Duke of Corsica, Richard Wilkinson’s brilliant music for the Dr Who video game Doctor Who- The Edge of Reality. Which is fifty minutes of great music.

There is also Herdis Stefansdottir’s music for Y:The Last Man, and season two of the Apple TV series See, with music courtesy of Bear McCreary. And action laced score for Don’t Breathe 2, by Roque Banos.

There are also some nice releases from Dragons Domain records this time around. Sorority House Massacre ll and ll,  being two titles that they have issued on a double CD release. The movies both contained music by the one and only Chuck Cirino, as we all know Cirino seems to excel creating grand sounding scores for low budget movies and these soundtracks no exception to that rule.

It evokes for me some of his other works, Transylvania Twist being one of them. The films Sorority House Massacre ll and lll were helmed by filmmaker Jim Wynorski who Cirino has collaborated with so many times, and this release I know will be welcomed by many. I always find thet Cirino’s scores are entertaining and there is always something within them that I and others just love. He has the ability to write great supportive film music but als it is film music that sounds good away from the film. Sorority House Massacre ll came to fruition because filmmaker Wynorski had noticed that some sets were available at Roger Corman’s studios. After getting permission to film on the sets from Corman’s wife Julie, while they were out of town and under the condition that Roger would not find out, Wynorski wrote, cast and filmed under the title Jim Wynorski’s House of Babes, with no producer supervision. The Cormans were pleasantly surprised at how well the film had turned out and thought it would be easier to sell if it were a sequel to an existing film but neither of Wynorski’s sequels as they became too be regarded, had anything to do with Carol Frank’s original movie, Sorority House Massacre which was released in 1986.

Chuck Cirino

Cirino’s music did much to enhance and assist the dramatic and atmospherics of both movies. This is an impressive release from Dragons Domain, recommended.

As are two scores by Cirino that have been issued by Dragons Domain on one CD, Teenage Exorcist and Witch Academy which are certainly worth adding to your collection.  Also, on the DD label this time around is a Richard Band score that I think is equally impressing, Deep Ones is a 2020 release in which we see Alex and her husband Petri visit California for a much-needed break from reality.

At an unassuming Air-BnB rental near Ventura Beach, they meet the mysterious Russell Marsh. Marsh introduces them to the oddly enthusiastic locals, fixes them a lavish meal and invites them out on his luxury boat. Little do they know that beneath Mr. Marsh’s thin veneer of avuncular charm lurks a dark devotion to an archaic evil. Richard Band is an underrated composer in my mind, he does as we all are aware work on a lot of horror movies and yes most are of the lower budget variety, but his music is in no way low budget, in fact his scores for films such as The Pit and the Pendulum, Mutant, Troll, and more recently Exorcism at 60,000 Feet are wonderfully epic sounding in places.

Like Chuck Cirino. Band also creates fantastically supportive music for film, which is highly rewarding to listen to just as music. The Deep Ones is one of the composers best scores to date, it is thickly atmospheric, with the composer fusing symphonic textures and colours with electronic enhancement. Other Dragons Domain releases include a rare documentary score by British composer John Scott, from the film Webs and Other Wonders and a re-issue of Scott’s score for the 1981 sci-fi thriller Inseminoid. Plus, a re-issue of the Thomas De Hartman and Laurence Rosenthal score for Meetings with Remarkable Men.

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So, a varied collection of titles for your delectation from Dragons Domain. In closing mention must also be made of two Hans Zimmer and Stanley Myers scores that have been released on Note for Note, The Zero Boys and The Wind, are both soundtracks that should be in your collection.

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AMINE BOUHAFA.

There are so many what I call relatively new composers that are writing music for film, the majority of these talented Maestro’s do not sadly receive the recognition that they so richly deserve, one such highly talented composer is Amine Bouhafa. I have been listening to his scores for a while now and with every new assignment the composer seems to introduce another style or level of inventiveness and originality. He is represented well on recordings with a number now being available on digital platforms. Pick any of his scores for TV or film and I mean any one of them and I know that you will find something within it that is attractive, haunting, richly thematic, or alluring. The composer has kindly consented to an interview which we will publish as soon as is possible. So I thought in the mean time why not highlight a handful of his scores.

One of my favourite soundtracks that is penned by the composer is Grand Hotel or Secret of the Nile as it is entitled in some countries. This is a score that simply oozes quality sophistication and class, it is mostly symphonic and evokes the sound and the style employed by seasoned composers such as Patrick Doyle, Christopher Gunning, Trevor Jones, John Lunn and Carl Davies, it is a lush and at times quite lavish and dramatic score, the composer utilizing strings, brass percussion and wood’s to great effect, there is a romantic and atmospheric quality to the score that straight away gets the listeners attention, I love the way in which the composer combines solo cello and violin in some of the cues, The Love Story for example,  in which he further enhances those elements with delicate whispers of woodwind adding a scattering of piano that is subtle but affecting and punctuating at times with subtle use of  harp.

There are many wonderfully luxurious compositions within the score, plus it is filled with an array of musical colours and textures that purvey so many moods. From luxurious and romantic to emotive stirring and I suppose romantic again, the composers score for The Godfather TV series, which is an Egyptian production, the music again possesses a richness that washes over the listener and straight away has an emotive and striking impact.

The melodious parts of this score are in a word stunning and affecting. Listening to the score is a moving experience especially when you go to tracks such as The Godfather Family Theme, which is filled with not just a haunting and heartrending theme but also contains hints of mystery and apprehension that are laced with a tenderness expressed via the swelling strings and the solo performance on what I think is a cello. He also utilizes female voice to great effect, adding even more depth and emotion to the proceedings. For me this vocal performance echoed the sound achieved by Dulces Pontes when she performed for the likes of Ennio Morricone, and I suppose too the music for The Godfather does have some affiliations with the romantic music as penned by the Italian Maestro over the years, there is a real warmth and also quality to this score.

The composer fashioning sweeping themes that are grand and lavish, but also writing more intimate and personal pieces to accompany the storyline and the characters within it. He also provides a more ominous sounding side to the work in tracks such as The Godfathers Dark Office, which has to it a threatening and slightly sinister aura, overall it is a vibrant and varied work, that I am confident will entertain many times and impress every time you re-visit it. The same can be said about the composers score for Let the Sun Shine, is a lighter sounding score in keeping with the subject matter, I say lighter but not any less heart breaking and effecting, the soundtrack is exquisite, and just develops and expands as it progresses, there are certain scores that do get right to any listeners core, and Let the Sun Shine is one of those scores.

Again I sense a style that has manifested itself in the works of Morricone and also the Maestro’s son Andrea, the strings are at times subtle but so powerful in establishing poignancy and raw emotion. There is a piece on the score entitled Tango of the Sun, which is delicious, strings and accordion combine to create a pleasing and memorable composition, which although brief is one of the highlights of the score for its melodic and quirky sound. The cue entitled How Dare you Leave Me is also outstanding but written in a totally different style, the emotion again is brought to the surface by strings which are accompanied by a delicate solo piano performance which overflows with fragility. Again, highly recommended. Other scores by this highly talented composer include, The First Lady, For the Highest Price, Gabal Al Halal for which the composer employs a wide range of instrumentation and the epic sounding score for Kingdom of Fire. Listening to the music of this Maestro is a pleasure, a delight, and an inspiration.

The score for Place in a Palace is too hugely attractive, o commanding and stridently thematic the composer utilizing solo piano, which is underlined and supported by the string section, which in turn swells at times into hugely thematic passages and via the use of solo cello demands that you listen.  

This also something that the composer does in the score for Bab El Khalk, fashioning driving but at the same time theme led interludes for strings, percussion and female voice, it also within this score that the composer creates action led pieces such as the exciting and exhilarating cue The Chase, where he combines the upbeat and driven strings, with percussive elements, brass flourishes, synth stabs, and choral work.  The music of Anime Bouhafa, is a listening and emotional experience you should not miss out on.  Look out for an interview with the composer coming soon to Movie Music International.

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SOUNDTRACK SUPPLEMENT FIFTY TWO.

Its that time again Soundtrack supplement is into its 50’s now so welcome to number 52.

What I said in the soundtrack supplement extra article last week about electronic and synth-based scores still stands but there has been a glimmer of hope in recent days for the future of melodic and emotive film scoring in the form of Claret by Oscar Martin Leanizbarrutia, which I reviewed just the other day as well as catching up with the composer and talking about the score.  

Plus, there have been a few scores released that are filled with proper themes and symphonically performed music, there is an exquisite sounding work being released soon by Mexican composer Alejandro Karo, the composer you might remember scored the movie Jesus of Nazareth (not the Zefferelli) but a more recent take on the life of Christ which contained a beautiful score. available on Kronos Records and digital platforms.

http://kronosrecords.com/

One of his latest works which he collaborates with Maya Lepro on is for the movie 90 Dias Para El 2 De Julio, the score is a fusion of electronic, samples, synthetic and conventional instrumentation. Which is balanced just so to create a work that is brimming with tantalizing and effecting tone poems and layered interludes that at times hint at themes and convey an emotive and lingering atmosphere. It has to it a pleasing and lingering persona, with the composers purveying a sense of calm and poignancy throughout, the solo piano passages being particularly affecting, available on digital platforms through Plaza Mayor, but this is a short score just four cues, with a running time of just under six minutes, very brief but it makes its mark upon the listener. Whilst listening to this score why not also check out two more recent scores from Karo, which are written in the same style but also have to them a more dramatic side the composer delving into darker musical areas, take a listen to Tocar El Cielo, and Buenos Dias Ignacio, I am sure you will enjoy both. There is also like a showreel album on digital platforms entitled Trailer Music vol 1, which is the work of the composer and Maya Lepro, certainly worth a listen as it shows off the ample talents of both composers. Mayra Lepró is a mexican composer and orchestrator who has been making her way into film scoring. After getting her B.A. in Music at the University of Sonora, she founded the company “Emission Music Service”, respectively working on the orchestration and music preparation for film composers.
During her music career, she has been head of music preparation in several mexican and international films with different film composers such as James Seymour Brett, Leoncio Lara Bon, Matt Uelmen, Edy Lan, Alejandro Karo, Gus Reyes, among others.  See the MMI interview with Alejandro Karo here. alejandro karo | Search Results | MOVIE MUSIC INTERNATIONAL. (MMI) . (wordpress.com)

Another composer who I spoke to a while ago was Arturo Cardelus and he has written the music for the Disney animated TV series Descendants a Royal Wedding, I have heard a handful of cues, but there is a suite of music from his score available on the likes of Apple and Spotify, the music is lush and rich with a luxurious style and sound, which one would expect from anything Disney. Dramatic, regal, and apprehensive with a touch of the comedic and melancholy, what more could you possibly want, take a listen and also revisit or take a listen for the first time to his scores from Bunuel in the Labyrinth of Turtles and the excellent Altamira.  Check out the interview with Maestro Cardelus here.  AN INTERVIEW WITH COMPOSER ARTURO CARDELUS. | MOVIE MUSIC INTERNATIONAL. (MMI) . (wordpress.com) 

Liv Grannes from Mosjøen became Norway’s highest decorated woman after World War II. But, both her achievements, and Stalin and Churchill’s false flag operation in Helgeland, disappeared in the darkness of history. This is explained and explored in the new movie documentary Jeanne D’Arc of the North, directed by Fredrik Horn Akselsen who also wrote the story. The score is by Raymond Enoksen who recently scored Kjaare Landsmann and Atlantic Crossing for Norwegian TV. He is one of Norway’s most prominent film music composers and has created many soundtracks for both film and TV, including Thale from 2012, and Haunted from 2017.

The composer was Born 1982 in Mosjøen, Norway. Coming from a musical family, he began playing classical and improvisational piano from a young age. In 2001 he was enrolled at composition study at the Norwegian state academy of music and studied there under the guidance of professor Bjørn Kruse and Olav Anton Thommessen. In 2007 he was accepted to the prestigious diploma of composition (Elite master) at the same academy. Here he continued his studies with Professor Olav Anton Thommassen. During the early stages of his studies, his professor recognized a talent for dramatical composition in him and established a collaboration with the state film school. This resulted in his first film productions Oscar and Tokyo Express.

His score for the documentary Jean D’Arc of the North is a varied one and has to it numerous themes that all combine to fashion a score that is simply delightful, although dark and even ominous sounding in parts the work is one that is entertaining away from the images it was written to enhance and support.

The themes are at times subdued but affecting, it has a haunting and beautiful aura to it, with the composer utilising female voice and choir to great effect at times. There is a lightness and a touching eloquence about this work that cannot fail to both attract and please. At times for me it evoked the styles of both John Barry and Ennio Morricone. Available on digital platforms, via Dream score records. The composer will be speaking to Movie Music International in the next few days so look out for the interview.

So far so good with melodic sounding scores or soundtracks  that are in the majority performed by actual musicians, the next score came out earlier this year and is by Mexican composers Gus Reyes and Andres Sanchez Maher, Cosas Imposibles is a work that is mainly constructed from the use of electronic instrumentation, but it is written and put together in such a way that the composers realise an alluring and attractive sound, it is entertaining, calming and at times surprisingly  powerful and upbeat, the composers have already established themselves as being a chameleon like duo who can easily adapt their musical talents to accommodate most scenarios and situations in both film and TV scoring. One only has to listen to their music for the TV series Falco and then to their score for the movie El Complot Mongol to realise their adaptability and also the quality of the music that they produce.

Cosas Imposibles is somewhat lighter listening material then the two scores I have mentioned but it is still a score that I would recommend that you check out. Its vibrant and inventive, and will I know become a favourite. Check out the MMI interview with Gus Reyes here. gus reyes | Search Results | MOVIE MUSIC INTERNATIONAL. (MMI) . (wordpress.com)

Please do not think that I am totally against the use of synths, samples and electronics in film and TV scores, they are if used well an essential component and tool for film music composers these days, it is just at times the un-musical results that I despair at with many of what we would call A list composers utilising them, but creating dronish and colourless pieces that simply act as an annoying musical wallpaper to various movies possessing not melody or substance and to be blunt is just noise.  Many composers use these tools and produce wonderful scores other combine both the synthetic and the symphonic and get the balance right so obviously there is a need and room for conventional instrumentation and electronic support. This latest batch of scores are a very mixed bag, but thankfully this time around the symphonic or at least the melodic and thematic examples are in the majority. That’s all for this soundtrack supplement short and very sweet, next is a special on the record label Dragons Domain and their latest releases.

SCORING THE MOVIE CLARET….TALKING TO COMPOSER OSCAR MARTIN LEANIZBARRUTIA.

1. This is such an emotive score. How did you become involved in the movie? 

From the beginning of my career as a composer I had the pleasure of working with Pablo Moreno and his film company Contracorriente Producciones (now Stellarum Films). This film is an order from the Claretian Family that comes after Moreno´s movie “A forbidden God” (Un Dios Prohibido 2012), and as in the previous films I scored, Poveda, Luz de Soledad, and Red de Libertad. Moreno gave me the pleasure to compose the music for this beautiful movie. 

2. How many players did you have for the score. who was the cello soloist? And is it a live choir

The main group of musicians are The Mad4Strings string orchestra, about 25 players. The cello soloist is Dragos Balan, a genius who is the 1st cello of the orchestra of the Royal Theatre of Madrid. It was a miracle to have him, and his interpretation of my music was one of the best things that I have experienced. In addition, I had the opportunity to have exceptional musicians for the soloist parts too; Juanjo Hernandez for the flute and alto flute, Salvador Barberá oboe and English horn, David Martinez violin, the sopranos Natalia Bravo and Sonia Santoyo and the guitar parts of Swignleman (Diego Martinez). The choirs and other instruments like brass and electronic parts were realised by synths and samplers. The mixing was made by the incredible mixer José Vinader, he made the magic to combine all the instruments.

  3. The opening track sets the scene for the style and sound of the music did the director have specific notions about what kind of music he wanted.

Yes, Pablo always gives me a lot of different examples to express himself and tell me what he wants in the movie or a specific sequence. In this case most of the examples I had were Morricone and Hans Zimmer. It’s useful for me because with these examples I can understand the feelings, the atmospheres, and the instrumentation that he wants. Then, I tried to forget the examples and built something new by myself, inside the lines he gave me. 

4. Do you perform on the score.   

Yes, after composing and orchestrating the music, I conducted the orchestra, and in the movie, I played the clarinet in a dance sequence. I was on set, but only appear in a couple of frames.

5.The edition on Spotify is 54 mins in duration is this a full score edition or are there more cues.

In this edition I tried to include most of the music and put together similar cues to create larger tracks. Some cues were too short or had little musical importance, but this did not exceed ten minutes.  

6 It is a delicate yet grandiose work how much time did you have to write and record the score.  

I was lucky because I had much more time to create this music (comparing with the previous films or the standard situation to film scoring). I wrote the main theme in November 2019, and the total of the score was composed between March and May of 2020 (including orchestration and edition of the parts by my own). It was a calm process because there were several changes in the edition of the movie too. We had the recording session in 2020 September 3rd, and the soloist sessions the following days. It was a large but intense work that I fondly remember. 

CLARET.

Have you ever listened to a piece of music or a film score that has stunned you into silence and left you being without any words to describe the feelings that the music has stirred within you? Well, it does not happen to often these days when listening to music from movies, but just the other day I was recommended to listen to a score from a movie entitled Claret, I know very little about the film itself so forgive me for being ill informed. But the score just blew me away, the music is by composer Oscar Martin Leanizbaruttia who I interviewed a few years ago when he scored projects such as Poveda and Las de Soledad, both from 2016.

The score for  Claret is a perfect example of pure musical emotion, there are so many poignant and affecting parts to this score that it is I have to say hard to take it all in an appreciate that all this wonderfully eloquent music comes from just one score and one movie.  It was evident back in 2016, that this was a composer that possessed a rare quality and a talent for conveying emotions musically. He has a gift for melody and is also a purveyor of so many senses within his compositions, his music gets to the listeners core, invading not only their brain but their hearts, becoming mesmerizing and captivating.  

Claret is available only digitally at the moment on various platforms but hopefully that will alter soon and a CD will be released, it is a score that deserves to be released in every format that is available, it is polished and highly atmospheric and I was thinking when listening to it it is undoubtedly alluring and haunting which is down to the impeccable musical fingerprint and inventiveness of the composer, but at times there are touching nuances and small chinks of melodies that do evoke memories of Ennio Morricone, or Mark McKenzie, it also has certain affiliations with the music of Marco Frisina, (which is not a negative thing) but then one realizes no!

This is pure Leanizbaruttia, there is a consistent quality present here throughout, the composer realizing an exquisite, flawless and pure sound, that is filled with a spiritual aura and overflowing with a serene and dramatic persona.

Claret the score is a triumph and totally absorbing. Listening to the music made me want to see the movie, the composer has fashioned a score that is fragility and poignancy personified, but there is also a slightly darker side that raises its head momentarily on occasion, it is a score that one can listen to and be completely hypnotized by, its melodies are rich and full, its themes lasting and inspiring, this is for me the score of the year 2021 and I do not mean thus far  it is this years jewel in the crown of film music.   It is a welcomed oasis of wonderfully melodic music in a desert that is recently filled with droning non thematic examples of the art of film scoring.