Welcome back to Compositions on Composers! It saddens me to say that this will be our eighth and final post together. On our journey, we have learned about classical, jazz, romantic, and even early Japanese electronic music. What an interesting journey it has been for me and, I hope, for you too! I sincerely hope that these posts have opened your minds to different genres and composers and that you have enjoyed reading my ramblings. This all brings us to the topic of our final post. Last week, we learned about French romantic composer Claude Debussy. Today, we will discuss the life and works of a fellow Frenchmen who was influenced by Debussy, Alexandre Desplat. I absolutely adore film scores because of their intricate use of music in an amazingly expressive medium. Desplat, who primarily composes for film, has created some of my favorite scores and has greatly contributed to my love of film music. In fact, my first blog post on last semester’s blog was about his score to The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). How fitting for us to both begin and end with Alexandre Desplat. So, get ready to learn about an amazing composer who composes artistic scores that are just music to my ears.

Alexandre Desplat was born on August 23, 1961 in Paris, France. Like many of the other composers discussed in this blog, Desplat first found music through starting to play piano at age five. Desplat would also later learn to play the trumpet and his main instrument, the flute. From a young age, Desplat was also known to enjoy the works of French symphonists Ravel and Debussy and to collect soundtrack albums from composers such as Max Steiner and Georges Delerue. These composers all interested him and inspired his style, but it wasn’t until Desplat heard John Williams’s score to Star Wars (1977) that he decided to become a film composer. From that point on, Desplat would begin to study many kinds of music from Brazilian to African in order to develop a holistic understanding of music and the emotions and deep cultural meanings that it carries. Among his chief influences today, his loving marriage to gifted violinist Dominique LeMonnier, whom he met during his first feature film recording, would spark his creativity and inspire his compositions. However, his theater scores for La Comédie Française influenced his career the most through teaching Desplat the importance of dramaturgy. This focus allowed him to compose and to adjust scores to actors’ performances, which gives his film scores a precise and brilliant feel.

Desplat has been the master behind many critically-acclaimed, award-winning film scores. Among Desplat’s most notable film scores are those to The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), The Imitation Game (2014), and Argo (2012). In fact, Desplat won the Oscar for Best Original Score for both The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) and The Shape of Water (2017). He also received Oscar nominations for The Queen (2006), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), The King’s Speech (2010), Argo (2012), Philomena (2013), and The Imitation Game (2014). I encourage you to explore any of these scores; they are all great to listen to while studying or working.

I would like to focus my attention on describing some of my favorite Desplat scores. I believe that the score to The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) is my favorite, but seeing as I already wrote a whole blog post on it on my other blog, I will just link it here. To summarize, this score creates an excellent atmosphere with its unique use of the balalaika and periods of silence. It has a whimsical and lively feel that charms and delights the listener. Desplat’s dramaturgy studies really shine through in this score. Another great score is the one to The Shape of Water (2017). With a very graceful, emotional, and French sound, this score highlights Debussy’s influence on Desplat. The main theme, Elisa’s Theme, best represents the score. With the Parisian accordion, unique string parts, and the heavy use of the flute, this song speaks volumes for the silent, gentle, caring Elisa. Many of the score’s pieces such as Underwater Kiss and Overflow of Love feature the flute and strings predominantly and excellently construct the world of Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water (2017). I would also like to briefly mention Alexandre Desplat’s next upcoming score. It will be featured in Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs (2018), which releases in theaters this weekend. Desplat has worked with Anderson several times before and it will be exciting to see how his next score highlights the unique Japanese setting and stop-motion animation.

Thank you for reading this post! Though these posts have been part of a school project, I have enjoyed researching for and writing them. It has been my pleasure to do so. I hope that you continue to explore these composers and many more talented ones like them beyond this blog. Thank you and have a great day. 🙂

Image Credits:
Figure 1: Image 1

Figure 2: Image 2

Figure 3: Image 3

After a short hiatus, we are finally back here at Compositions on Composers! With Spring Break now behind us, we will move into our final section. Classical music is one of my favorite genres, we started this blog with it and I now hope to end the blog in a similar fashion. Through the Mozart/Mackey section, we learned about the basic characteristics of traditional Classical music. In this final section, we will dive into my favorite Classical period, the Romantic/Impressionist period. Though we could focus on any one of my favorite Romantic/Impressionist composers such as Liszt, Rachmaninoff, or Chopin (my all-time favorite, check him out!), today, we will learn a bit about Claude Debussy.

Born in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France in 1862, Claude Debussy grew up in utter poverty, but after becoming acquainted with Russian millionairess, Nadezhda Filaretovna von Meck, Debussy began to travel with her, experiencing the world and gaining an appreciation for music through playing duets with her and her children. Debussy first displayed his musical gifts through piano lessons at age nine. Madame Mauté de Fleurville, an associate of Frédéric Chopin, taught Debussy and helped him to pursue his interests in piano and composition from an early age. By 1873, Debussy, age 11, began to study piano and composition at the Paris Conservatory, where he would later win an award, the Grand Prix de Rome, for his composition L’Enfant Prodigue (The Prodigal Child). A beautiful 35 minute composition, the gentle orchestration, swells of emotion, and careful use of the oboe and female operatist make this piece absolutely stunning and breath-taking. After leaving the Conservatory, Debussy moved to the Villa Medici in Rome, where he spent two years composing. The scholarship from the Grand Prix de Rome would have allowed him to stay for three years, but he found the place bothersome and moved back to Paris as soon as he comfortably could. He then engaged in a number of affairs, married twice, gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, and suffered under the constant stress of suicidal thoughts. Though difficult and full of hardships, Debussy’s complicated and emotionally-charged life enabled him to compose beautiful, gentle, and poignant pieces.

Among Claude Debussy’s most notable pieces are Children’s Corner, La Mer, Clair de Lune, and Rêverie. Clair de Lune is by far his most well-known composition. Several years ago, I played this piece on the piano. In order to really master the song and bring out the beauty of the piece, you had to delicately touch the keys like flower petals and take artistic liberties with the tempo and dynamic expression. Listening to this calm and somewhat mysterious piece changes your outlook and feels refreshing and relaxing. Rêverie grabs me in much of the same ways. Its beautiful solo piano composition feels like a peaceful state of mind wrapping itself around me. As the song slowly and methodically progresses, a wave of complete calm and tranquility overcomes any stressors. On La Mer, this late Debussy composition achieves many firsts in symphonic composition and musical expression. Inspired by the English Channel outside of Debussy’s hotel room in Eastbourne, La Mer creates a beautiful and majestic atmosphere. Finally, in Children’s Corner, dedicated to his daughter Claude-Emma, Debussy created a six-movement suite for solo piano. One of his final compositions, this piece fully culminates his development as a composer.

Image Credits:
Figure 1: Image 1

Figure 2: Image 2

Figure 3: Image 3