Music Composed by Dario Marianelli
Rating: ****

Jane Austen’s novels have gone through countless cinematic incarnations, but Joe Wright’s adaptation of Pride & Prejudice is easily one of the best in recent years, rich with emotionally vulnerable performances and a gritty, lived-in environment that brings well-received element of hard reality into Austen’s lighthearted comedy. This attempt to inject the novel with a shot of realism extends to composer Dario Marianelli, who follows his vividly ravenous Hollywood debut in Brothers Grimm with this restrained and often poignant portrait of youthful longing in 18th century England.

Austen has been the fodder for a number of lovely film scores in recent years, from Patrick Doyle’s serene and Mozart-heavy Sense and Sensibility to Rachael Portman’s playful balance of Victorian and contemporary idioms in Emma (and I’m told that Carl Davis’s music for the A&E Pride & Prejudice is also very nice). Marianelli’s approach isn’t wildly different from what composers have recently written for the genre, but his music is easily the most restrained of the lot, leaning heavier on period-pastiche than light gaiety. His music occupies that middle ground between the Classical and the Romantic period, often (and knowingly) echoing of Beethoven, though Mozart and Purcell shadow over things as well. With the exception of “A Postcard to Henry Purcell,” Marianelli rarely directly quotes any of these composers (at least not to my knowledge – I’m hardly a trained musicologist of the period), but his music is rooted so firmly in their world that the casual listener might mistake the album for one of these masters’ works. The prominence of Beethoven in particular leads to a much less light-hearted work than most people will probably expect from an Austen comedy, but the approach serves the film well. Rather than playing up the comedy (the witty dialogue and performances handle this fine by themselves), Marianelli taps into the understated and often painful emotions running beneath the banter, grounding the comedy with emotional substance and adding new meaning to Austen’s novel.

Dario Marianelli

Of course, the emotion may be hard to make out sometimes, given how thick the adherence to the musical setting is. While the score has recurring themes, almost every track is constructed as a self-contained piece of music, any of which could probably be placed in a book of 18th century etudes or sonatas and avoid scrutiny. This is largely because much of the music on the album is used as source music in the film, with frequent social dances and character piano solos occupying the running time. The occasional effect is one of listening to an album of classical pieces and not a film score, but Marianelli manages to hold enough dramatic content within the pastiche to keep the listening experience engaging. The aforementioned “A Postcard to Henry Purcell” for example, begins as a simple violin solo source cue for an early dance between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. As their relationship sours, however, Marianelli gradually brings the orchestra in and turns the dance into a more anguished piece of nondiegetic score, emphasizing the lovers’ emotional distance. In general, Marianelli keeps a fine balance between the keeping the music both authentic to the setting and meaningful to the characters.

As for thematic content, the score has roughly two major themes, though neither is particularly obvious at first glance. The first is a Mozart-inspired portrait of quiet grace and serenity, usually performed by Jean-Yves Thibaudet on solo piano (“Dawn”). The piece reoccurs frequently throughout the film, often as source music every time a character sits down to play the piano (which makes one scene extremely confusing – it takes you a few seconds to realize that a character in the film can hear the same music that the audience hears). It’s an elegant piece of music, though it speaks more to the period than the actual drama or characters of the story. Marianelli opens up a little more for the second theme, a portrait of the heroine that captures both her dignity and emotional fragility. We hear it hinted at in “Arrival at Netherfield Hall” but we’re about halfway through the album before we first hear the theme in its full lush form in “Liz on Top of the World.” Once we get to this point, Marianelli begins to let more genuine emotion overshadow the period influence. “The Secret Life of Daydreams,” offers a restrained but poignant variation on Elizabeth’s theme, while “Darcy’s Letter” offers bittersweet understatement that actually seems to cross Beethoven with Michael Nyman’s minimalism. But the emotions don’t really begin to swell until we get to the climatic “Your Hands are Cold” – when Thibaudet’s solo piano soars in halfway through with all its uninhibited Romantic furor, only the hardest of hearts will keep from melting. Things nicely resolve with “Mrs. Darcy, ” with Marianelli gently binding the two themes together, reflecting Elizabeth’s newfound contentment and fulfillment. Strangely, the closing “Credits” suite ends the score on a more solemn note, returning us to Beethoven-flavored melancholy.

Indeed, the Beethoven influence often gives the score a weightiness that Austen scores don’t usually carry, which might be a turn off for those expecting the sprightly jubilance of Rachel Portman’s frequent trips to this genre. Overall though, Pride & Prejudice is a thoroughly charming score, full of great class and grace. It’s perhaps a bit too restrained and period-heavy to immediately nudge the CD ahead of Portman and Doyle when you’re hungering for a jubilant Victorian holiday, but the lingering emotion running through Marianelli’s music makes for a far more meaningful Jane Austen companion. A winning and memorable score, from a composer who has quickly emerged as this year’s freshest new voice.

Music Composed and Produced by Dario Marianelli; Orchestrated and Conducted by Benjamin Wallfisch; Pianist: Jean-Yves Thibaudet; Recorded and Mixed by Nick Wollage; Availability: In print; Label (Catalogue): Decca Records, (B000562002); U.S. Release Date: November 15, 2005

01. Dawn (2′40)
02. Stars And Butterflies (2′01)
03. Living Sculptures of Pemberley (3′03)
04. Meryton Townhall (1′14)
05.The Militia Marches In (0′57)
06. Georgiana (1′38)
07. Arrival At Netherfield (1′42)
08. A Postcard To Henry Purcell (2′41)
09. Liz On Top Of The World (1′24)
10. Leaving Netherfield (1′43)
11. Another Dance (1′15)
12. The Secret Life Of Daydreams (1′56)
13. Darcy’s Letter (3′59)
14. Can’t Slow Down (1′11)
15. Your Hands Are Cold (5′25)
16. Mrs. Darcy (3′47)
17. Credits (4′47)

Total Playing Time: 41′23