My journey with Alexandre Desplat and his lovely music
has been an enthralling one. The French maestro had scored several theatrical and
cinematic features in his country before rising to prominence in Hollywood with
his Golden Globe-winning score to The Queen in 2006. However, I was acquainted
to him after he was nominated for the 2009 Academy Awards for his sublime score
to The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button.
This particular score did not leave much of an initial impression upon me, but there were moments of
genuine beauty in the tracks like Sunrise On Lake Ponchartrain. After
repeated visits, my appreciation for this score has greatly increased now. It
made me check out more of his numerous works, many of which quickly became my favourites.
His theme music for the second entry in the Twilight
saga, New Moon, is simply otherworldly in its charm. His scores for The Ghost
Writer and The King’s Speech received enthusiastic acclaim from critics. He
provided two dynamite scores for the Wizarding World’s final stand against Lord
Voldemort and his Death Eaters in the two-part finale of Harry Potter And The
Deathly Hallows. He continues to write a surprising number of calculated and
impeccable scores for films every year, and is already being considered a
strong competitor in the upcoming awards season for his edgy, impactful score
for Ben Affleck’s Argo. However, for me and many other fans, the standout
highlight from coming from Alexandre this year has been the one for the
recently released DreamWorks animated film, Rise Of The Guardians. This
delightful announcement had been made back in February, and highly anticipated by
all his fans since. Apart from the official soundtrack release, the complete
score has been made available for preview on a promotional DreamWorks website.
The score is a grand orchestral adventure brimming with
lively orchestrations, bold themes and an omnipresent aura of adventure and
fantasy. Fanfare Of The Elves is one of the most addictive pieces I’ve heard of
late, which is already earning my “repeat” button numerous pushes. Lively winter/festival-favoured
tracks like Snowballs, Easter and Sleigh Launch are complemented by burly
action material in Chasing The Nightmares, Sandy Fights and Pitch At The North
Pole (which features a frantic string ostinato similar to the one in
Broomsticks And Fire in the final Potter film) among others. Jack’s bond with
the Guardians and kids is portrayed by gentle symphonic score at apt places
between the bombastic material. There are many more themes that’ll likely be
better understood after watching the film. For my money, this is one of the
absolute best scores of 2012 and a real treat. Here’s hoping that maestro
Desplat finally receives his long-awaited Oscar for his delightful works this
year.
