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Philippe Sarde - Where are you???

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Author	Topic: Philippe Sarde - Where are you???

Jeron Oscar® Winner	Okay fellas (and fellinas) - I'm constantly trying to expand my knowledge, appreciation, and enjoyment of other composers' works. I recently picked up my first Philippe Sarde album: The Bear. What a great score! The album, while only consisting of two tracks (roughly 20 minutes a piece) is an absolutely adventure. The theme is incredibly sweeping, majestic, and memorable! Stylistically, the composition and orchestration is almost like something out of the Golden Age. Yes, I'm discovering this like 12 or 13 years after the fact, but this guy's talent is refreshing! I've gotta get my hands on Tess and Quest for Fire... Why is Monsieur Sarde not more involved projects that deserve his abilities? I can think of several films on the horizon that could use a solid score I'm confident he could provide. After Broughton and Arnold, I'd say that Sarde would make a terrific candidate for any subsequent Harry Potter films. Jeron NP- The Bear (Sarde) [Message edited by Jeron on 03-17-2002]
posted 03-17-2002 11:32 PM PT (US)

SPQR Oscar® Winner	Necessary Sarde scores: The Bear (very Mahler) Quest for Fire Tess La Fille de D'Artagnan Music Box Fort Saganne Ghost Story Why doesn't he get more Hollywood scoring assignments? He doesn't live in Los Angeles for starters. And, despite his 15 minutes of celebrity in 1980 with an Oscar nomination, he's a virtual unknown on this side of the Atlantic. Which is a shame, because I can think of about a dozen composers on on this side of the Atlantic with name recognition who haven't a tenth the talent of Monsieur Sarde. Of course, it's not as though the fellow doesn't get any work in Europe... [Message edited by SPQR on 03-18-2002]
posted 03-18-2002 12:45 AM PT (US)

Lou Goldberg Oscar® Winner	Interesting question why Sarde doesn't get more scoring assignments in the US. Of course, he scored Sister Mary Explains It All that starred Diane Keaton and was issued recently on Varese, but you'd think he'd be getting more work here. Maybe it's Sarde's own choice not to work on Hollywood films unless he likes them (you know those wacky French). Maybe he pissed somebody off and has a bad rep. I wish I knew the answer to this.
posted 03-18-2002 12:55 AM PT (US)

Matthew Oscar® Winner	Hey Jeron,if you're looking to become more familiar with Sarde's huge body of work you can't go wrong with Tess,a wonderful score with a breathtaking main theme. Other Sarde scores I have and recommend are The Tenant which is coupled with Tess on the Universal France cd,Beau Pere,Le Train,Ghost Story,Eve of Destruction,and Music Box which has an absolutely gorgeous main theme,with a female vocal that gets me every time I hear it.Although the rest of the score doesn't quite live up to the wonderful "Ann's Theme",it is still a very good score worth picking up if you can find it. NP: Dead Calm(Revell) [Message edited by Matthew on 03-18-2002]
posted 03-18-2002 01:18 AM PT (US)

Lou Goldberg Oscar® Winner	I can't say enough good things about Tess and Le Train. If you have a turntable, it's also worth looking for La Pirate and Premiers Desires (which I saw on Ebay not too long ago). The album of Claude Sautet scores has one great cue after another.
posted 03-18-2002 02:45 AM PT (US)

monkey Oscar® Winner	Wasn`t Sarde`s The Bear theme a direct `rip-off` from a piece by Tchaikovski? I remember loving that score and once playing it in music class at high school. My music techer brought it all down though by directing my attention to the `quotation`. Can`t remember the name of the piece now, though it is great.
posted 03-18-2002 02:52 AM PT (US)

brutus Oscar® Winner	Wouldn't surprise me. Take his THE LORD OF THE FLIES for example. A lot of Stravinsky's RITE OF SPRING quotations. I don't mind composers ripping-off works of others as long as it is stated in the booklet. Sadly, this case is more than seldom. It would prevent one from the (unlucky) surprise, when you find out that a brilliant Idea isn't from the man you gave credit for... I recommend LOTF anway! [Message edited by brutus on 03-18-2002]
posted 03-18-2002 03:19 AM PT (US)

Jeron Oscar® Winner	Awesome. Other than comparing LOTF to Rite of Spring, how would you describe it?
posted 03-18-2002 03:21 AM PT (US)

brutus Oscar® Winner	Hmm. Apart from those Quotations, (I hope) it's highly original Sarde at his best. Moving between delicate solo performances by Tin-Whistle and Violin and full orchestral Rampages, it offers everything what you can expect from this Composer: Beautiful Themes in varied orchestrations provide many listenings without getting boring.
posted 03-18-2002 03:52 AM PT (US)

brutus Oscar® Winner	And please, let's not forget Sarde's baroque Scores like LA FILLE DE D'ARTAGNAN and LE BOSSU, where Sarde is also quoting several of his own scores. Get those, if you can!
posted 03-18-2002 04:27 AM PT (US)

cine-sin Oscar® Winner	I love 'The Bear'. 'Quest for Fire' is a real beaut too!! Rochelle
posted 03-18-2002 04:54 AM PT (US)

Timmer Oscar® Winner	Jeron, I've been a Sarde fan ever since I bought TESS way back in the early 80's! and it's this score I would recommend above all the others, it's a majestic masterpiece full of great themes. oddly it sounds very eastern european for a score set in the west country of England and one would have thought the score would have sounded more 'Vaughan Williams' like, in much the same vein of John Williams's Jane Eyre?! regardless it works perfectly and is a true joy to listen to, in fact this score would be among my desert island discs! Quest For Fire can be a harsh listen, if you don't like North's Dragonslayer your unlikely to love this. I think it's a great score with the powerful orchestral/choir cue 'Creation Of Fire' a true highlight that'll stand shoulder to shoulder with any power cue out there! p.s. A real shame that they left the pop arrangement of the Tess theme off the CD release, I really liked that one
posted 03-18-2002 05:25 AM PT (US)

Timmer Oscar® Winner	...Damn, just can't help myself, I've gotta play TESS right now! NP : what I just said
posted 03-18-2002 05:27 AM PT (US)

dgoldwas Oscar® Winner	Also, the SISTER MARY EXPLAINS IT ALL disc contains three scores: SISTER MARY EXPLAINS IT ALL, LOVESICK, and THE MANHATTAN PROJECT (all three are Marshall Brickman films). It was an enjoyable album, and worth checking out - especially if you're trying to dive into Sarde.... Dan
posted 03-18-2002 07:01 AM PT (US)

brutus Oscar® Winner	quote: Originally posted by cine-sin: I love 'The Bear'. 'Quest for Fire' is a real beaut too!! Rochelle YEP!!!
posted 03-18-2002 10:11 AM PT (US)

jonathan_little Oscar® Winner	The only disc I own by Sarde is Tess/The Tenant, and Tess is fantastic. I'll join in with everybody else -- Pick this one up!!
posted 03-18-2002 10:22 AM PT (US)

BMikeJ Oscar® Winner	Thanks to the magic of the Moviemusic Search Engine, I am able to provide a link to this thread from 2000, where I discuss my true feelings about the petite little creature known as... Tess. http://www.moviemusic.com/mb/Forum1/HTML/004584.html
posted 03-18-2002 11:21 AM PT (US)

cine-sin Oscar® Winner	quote: Originally posted by Timmer: Quest For Fire can be a harsh listen, if you don't like North's Dragonslayer your unlikely to love this. I think it's a great score with the powerful orchestral/choir cue 'Creation Of Fire' a true highlight that'll stand shoulder to shoulder with any power cue out there! The main reason why I really like this score is because of my adoration for the film. I must have seen it ten times by now and I still recommend it to people. The beginning of 'La Creation du Feu' (1), with its "shuddering effect" and choral ascension, gets me every time - as do the differently arranged 'La Plus Grande Des Promesses' (14) and 'La Guerre du Feu (Theme d'Amour)' (8). I did the same thing as you Timmer, I went and played 'Quest for Fire' as soon as I read this thread! Makes me want to see the film again. Rochelle
posted 03-18-2002 07:21 PM PT (US)

Lou Goldberg Oscar® Winner	As much as I love Sarde, he does borrow from himself quite a bit. Just one example: a Danse Paysane he wrote for Bresson's Lancelot of the Lake has shown up in different guises in Le Choc, Le Bossu, and god only knows where else. Just after posting about Sarde last night, HBO ran The Manhattan Project this morning. So, I caught a few minutes of it, and even though it's not pretty and lush the way some of the other Sarde's are it's good enough to raise the question again as to why he doesn't get more US films to score. Varese issued this originally on LP and then only offered an incomplete suite of it on the Sister Mary CD---for shame! The latest Sarde scores strike me as moving away from conventional film scoring towards writing chamber works that double as film music. Passages for solo guitar in Dis-Moi Oui could easily be played by a guy on a stool in any venue. Most of the music written for Jacques Doillon films on the Hommage a JD CD would be right at home in a concert hall, maybe moreso than on a film soundtrack. The same could be said of the Baroque music in both D'Artagnan and Le Bossu.
posted 03-18-2002 08:29 PM PT (US)

Jeron Oscar® Winner	You guys are terrific...
posted 03-18-2002 09:43 PM PT (US)

shureman Oscar® Nominee	My personal favorite Sarde is TAXI MAUVE, an old Vogue LP score.
posted 03-19-2002 09:12 AM PT (US)

mlw Oscar® Winner	Sarde seemed to be extremely uninterested in US flics and split more than a decade ago to mainly score in europe. Eve of Destruction was the last film I actually saw in the theater graced with his elegant dramatic touch. A lot of people comment on his "classical" modelling, but it is always done with the highest creativity and taste, and never is simply the regurgitated work of another composer- it's entirely recast in a new context, in fact I have never really noticed it that much unless maybe a theme was specifically a variation on something (see The Bear's inc. of a folk song melody also used by Tchaikowsky and others). Sarde's insight and wit distinguish far above what most of the hollywood top 40 will ever accomplish in a lifetime. I know that just reads like more message board hype but in this composer's case it also happens to be true. recommended-- choice of arms, ghost story, lovesick, fort saganne, lucie aubrac [Message edited by mlw on 03-20-2002]
posted 03-20-2002 03:01 PM PT (US)

Jeron Oscar® Winner	quote: Originally posted by mlw: recommended-- choice of arms, ghost story, lovesick, fort saganne, lucie aubrac mlw, what about these scores makes them your recommendations? I'm interested.
posted 03-20-2002 04:17 PM PT (US)

PeterK FishChip	brutus, I agree. Lord of the Flies is a personal Sarde favorite of mine after Tess, despite its questionable originality. Damn, the performances! Hot damn! My fingers fall off just thinking about the string players in parts of LOTR... woops, I mean LOTF.
posted 03-20-2002 06:03 PM PT (US)

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