Many people say that the best film music is the stuff you don’t notice, that it is the servant of the drama and should not intrude. How likely is that?

I’m sure film composers having a night off at the cinema are incapable of not hearing the music. Is anyone who owns, say, over 100 CDs likely not to notice elements of film music, having invested so much in one of their five senses? I don’t think so. Even if it were possible for music secretly to bring its contribution to the dramatic table, is it desirable? Would it be as weird as being served by invisible waiters? Would levitating soup and leaping wine bottles put you off your main course?

That said, let me recommend Dario Marianelli’s score to Atonement (you can hear sections of the film score from this link), the recently released film of Ian McEwan’s book of the same name. It will not spoil the story if I simply say, listen out for the hymn.

Categories: Music