The Piano Soundtrack Amazon

The Piano Soundtrack Amazon

The Piano Soundtrack Amazon

Alexandre Desplat is no stranger to scoring romance and fantasy films: his career is littered with such fantastic highlights as The Painted Veil and The Golden Compass.

Now, for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, a film which uniquely combines both of these genres, Desplat has provided a suitably complex and intimate score that rings out with brilliant clarity, yet remains somewhat unmemorable even after repeated listens.

Brilliant Instrumentation and Recording in Benjamin Button

As is typical for Desplat’s music, Benjamin Button is an undeniably brilliant composition: the depth and clarity of the music is astonishing, and it is drenched in Desplat’s light, prancing style, with dancing woodwinds, delicate piano, tingling light percussion, heart-melting harps and extremely light electronic accompaniment at times.

In order to suit the New Orleans-centered story of the film, Desplat also incorporates bass harmonica and slow, lilting saxophone passages: and, as usual for a Desplat score, each instrument is allowed time to shine out, contributing its unique voice to the larger tapestry of the score.

Consistent Tone, Differing Sounds

The score maintains a remarkable sense of continuity, despite some cues which differ greatly in instrumentation, if not in tone. The tingling electronic rhythms of “Mr. Gateau” and the peppy, quirky style of “Little Man Oti” are quite distinct from the delicate harp duet in “Children Games,” the delicate cimbalom in “Love in Murmansk,” or the saxophone and cello in the astoundingly lush “Sunrise on Pontchartrain” (an album highlight).