Atonement
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CD Details
Composer: Dario MarianelliPerformer: Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Soundtrack
CD Release Date: 2007-12-04
Music Label: Decca
Soundtracks:
- Briony
- Robbie's Note
- Two Figures By a Fountain
- Cee, You and Tea
- With My Own Eyes
- Farewell
- Love Letters
- The Half Killed
- Rescue Me
- Elegy For Dunkirk
- Come Back
- Denouncement
- The Cottage On the Beach
- Atonement
- Debussy: Clair De Lune
Music reviews of Atonement
Music Review: A careful, measured, enjoyable listen
Rating: 4 Stars
Marianelli's score is nicely unified and tight, an example of good composing. The two main themes are clear and distinct, often intertwining in the first several cues. I like how he uses the sound of the typewriter to influence the music, though I think it could have been done more subtly with greater effect. See John Ottman's 'Point of Origin' for another example of this. In fact, this score was so unified that I easily lost track of where one cue ended and another began. What sounds like background music on the first run through can often be very moving on closer examination. I keep wanting to insert the descriptor "complex", but the fact is that such a term doesn't serve here. The score is rather simple in terms of thematic motif, but I don't say that as necessarily a negative thing. I was a little confused by the cue "Two Figures by a Fountain", for it felt fast-paced, not what I might expect of such a tender or tense moment as the cue name suggests.
A cue that really jumped out at me from the first several is "The Half Killed." Here Marianelli breaks away from the solo piano or light chamber orchestra that define the earlier cues and engages the listener with deep, lush music reminiscent of a dramatic action film. Much of the film's music is played in a soft minor key, bringing to mind a detached sadness, a regret. "The Half Killed" closes the distance abruptly and paints a haunted, pained picture. Here is where the old wound starts to bleed again. Unfortunately, like most of the cues, this one was too short for my liking. Marinelli doesn't try to force his motifs down our throats, and I wished to give him more time to develop the music, to find out where he wanted to go with it. Occasionally it felt like the cues were afflicted with Sudden Cue Syndrome and dying prematurely.
The highlight of the latter half of the score, if not the entire thing, is the aforementioned "Elegy for Dunkirk." Perhaps most surprising because it breaks with the style and theme Marianelli previously sets for us, or maybe because it is the most complex and musical piece on the album. Most telling is the theme in minor keep gradually being subsumed by a boys' choir, which is singing in a major key. Surprisingly, the conflicting keys do not clash as one might think. It is a poignant, touching piece of music, easily my favorite on the album. Almost as surprising is the sudden introduction of an organ in the next track, "Come Back." To my ear it was a welcome addition, as I can only handle so much restrained British melodrama. The boys' choir and organ are synonymous with England to my mind and ear, but the organ also brings to mind situations when it is used: sacred instances of life and death - weddings or funerals. The last few cues end with a whisper of what began the score, fading into the mists of memory. Debussy's Clair de Lune is a curious if not unwelcome footnote to the score, performed beautifully by Jean-Yves Thibaudet.
Again, this is a very enjoyable score with some really heart-achingly beautiful music. The use of choir and organ light the desire to hear more of the composer's efforts in this area. One of the biggest problems I had with the score is that because so much of it is soft, speculative, and reflective, it is very easy to gloss right over it if you're not paying rigid attention. The last few cues are especially forgettable. It would have enjoyed longer cues too, but that may be entirely a personal taste, though some still felt truncated. The typewriter motif becomes a little cliche by the end of the score, but works well as a unifying piece. Since much of the music is restrained, it begs the question of what Marianelli could do if he let himself go a bit more. I was surprised to find out how young he was, but it gives me hope that the excellent orchestral score will not entirely give way to synthesized sound in the coming years. I was interested to later learn the score had one best Oscar; while good, I conclude the year's score selection must have been somewhat weak for it to have won. I look forward to more of Marinaelli's work and hope he decides to experiment in his choice of film genres.
Description of Atonement
MUSIC COMPOSED BY DARIO MARIANELLI PIANO SOLOS PERFORMED BY JEAN YVES-THIBAUDET THE BIG-SCREEN ADAPTATION OF IAN MCKEWAN'S BEST-SELLING NOVEL STARRING KIERA KNIGHTLEY The filmmakers of Pride and Prejudice (director Joe Wright) reunite for Atonement, based on the award-winning, best-selling 2002 novel, a classic British romance that spans several decades. Fledgling writer Briony Tallis, as a 13-year old, irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister's (Academy AwardŽ nominee Kiera Knightley--Pride and Prejudice) lover (James McAvoy--The Last King of Scotland) of a crime he did not commit. Focus Features presents Atonement, opening December 7 in theatres nationwide. The Decca soundtrack will be released on December 4 and features original music by Academy AwardŽ nominee Dario Marianelli, (Pride and Prejudice) with piano solos performed by Decca artist Jean Yves-Thibaudet.Soundtracks CDs
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