Chevalier (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2023 film of the same name directed by Stephen Williams, based on the life of French-Caribbean musician Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, featuring original music composed by Kris Bowers, and also features classical compositions from the 18th century (some includes the own work of de Saint-Georges), reworked and produced by Michael Abels. The soundtrack was released by Hollywood Records on April 21, 2023,[1] alongside the film, preceded by the first track "Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 8, No. 2: I. Allegro" released as a single from the album on March 17, 2023.[2]
| Chevalier (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Film score by | ||||
| Released | April 21, 2023 | |||
| Recorded | 2022–2023 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 1:06:01 | |||
| Label | Hollywood | |||
| Kris Bowers chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Chevalier (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) | ||||
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Development edit
In August 2021, Michael Abels was roped in to compose music for the film,[3] Nearly a year later, Kris Bowers recruited to score music for the film, thereby replacing Abels.[4] It was later revealed that both Bowers and Abels had contributed original music for the film, although the former would receive the scoring credit, while the latter would provide music for the on-camera performances.[5] Abels felt that "it was very important that the music be legitimate to Joseph [Boulogne] and the period, but also that it displayed his swagger in a way that would play to a modern audience".[6] In the opening sequence, introducing the talents of Bologne to the French upper class with a violin showdown with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, he had to begin with Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 5, as the character was asked to play this music, and Joseph shows up and outplays it, which intended the importance to write in the style of what Joseph had written, which was "classical and showy". During the scene evolves over, the soloists take on a modern tone of Jimi Hendrix's style, hence the music reflected that way.[5]
Bowers studied Bologne's music thereby starting with cues that were inspired by and stemmed from his music, while he could figure out how to modernize the sound, using it as a "launch pad to write themes that are very much inspired by his music" and while those themes are established he tried to limit those instrumentation to match with the traditional aesthetics of that period but finding ways to "mess with the score". He did not use synths, but however detuned and stretched string pads, violin and cello to much lower quality, used harpsichord as percussion instruments, reverbing solo violin performances to use it as a pad for texture, leading to a score that "feels fresh and contemporary without cheating what could have been done in Bologne’s era".[6]
"It was important that all the music could be played live. So we weren’t using processes that couldn’t have been found in 1775. Sometimes we might add a couple of instruments to give a little bit of extra power to a phrase, but primarily this was about displaying Joseph's music and telling his story and making sure that it was cinematically valid."
— Michael Abels[6]
Using the character themes he developed for the film, he pieced the score together. While describing Joseph's themes, he said "There’s a slave hymn that Michael and music supervisor Maggie Rodford discovered in one of Joseph’s pieces, and it’s this little moment where the melody theme stands out. So, [in the film], it’s this piece his mother hums to him as a child and that becomes his fight for justice by the end of the film."[5] Nanon's (Ronke Adekoluejo) theme was born from the notion of longing and reconnection, with Bowers adding:
This is an emotional moment. There’s a lot of happiness in being reconnected. But for Joseph, there’s anger and disappointment and his feelings of being abandoned. But as she’s braiding his hair and talking about what Black people have been through, in my mind, that’s where that theme is being handed to him in a way.[5]
For Bologne's love theme with singing protégé Marie-Josephine (Samara Weaving), he looked back at tragic love stories and the darkness to those emotional love themes, so he had to strike a balance so as to "[encapsulate] those feelings that they felt for one another, without it being too dark or too sweet and lovey".[5] Her thematic instrument was a grand piano which had been felted, while Bologne had a cello, which Bowers described: "When they first meet, there’s this duet between the piano and cello, and it’s straightforward. It’s a softer, rounder and warmer sound." As their relationship gets intense, an "icy high violin comes in, and the cello becomes scratchier".[5]
Release edit
Joseph Boulogne's composition "Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 8, No. 2: I. Allegro" was released as a single on March 17, 2023.[2] A three-track sampler featuring cues from Bower's original score released on April 20,[7] while the full soundtrack was released by Hollywood Records on April 21.[8]
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 8, No. 2: I. Allegro" | Joseph Boulogne Chevalier de Saint-Georges |
| 9:59 |
| 2. | "Sinfonie Liberté Part 1 & 2" |
| Abels | 3:19 |
| 3. | "Main Title – Arrival at Polytechnic" |
|
| 1:07 |
| 4. | "Fencing Duel" | Bowers |
| 2:15 |
| 5. | "Awarded Chevalier" | Bowers |
| 1:20 |
| 6. | "Violin Duel" |
| 3:31 | |
| 7. | "A Letter Came for You – Nanon" | Bowers |
| 2:34 |
| 8. | "It’s Called Ernestine" | Bowers |
| 1:27 |
| 9. | "The Kiss" | Bowers |
| 1:28 |
| 10. | "Soul of an Artist" | Abels |
| 1:22 |
| 11. | "Scena from Ernestine" |
|
| 2:25 |
| 12. | "Now I’m Only a Negro" | Bowers |
| 2:42 |
| 13. | "The Only Home I Knew" | Bowers |
| 1:48 |
| 14. | "We’ll Find a Desert Island" | Bowers |
| 2:04 |
| 15. | "Not a Queen of France" | Bowers |
| 4:57 |
| 16. | "Flowers Through Church" | Bowers |
| 3:42 |
| 17. | "Choices Come from Within" | Bowers |
| 4:09 |
| 18. | "Composing the Finale" | Bowers |
| 1:28 |
| 19. | "Egalité" | Bowers |
| 1:20 |
| 20. | "Dansons pour la vie" |
|
| 1:38 |
| 21. | "My Child" | Bowers |
| 1:49 |
| 22. | "The Queen Is Here – You Will Be Erased" | Bowers |
| 2:05 |
| 23. | "O cessate di piagarmi from Il Pompeo" |
| 1:10 | |
| 24. | "String Quartet in D major, Op. 1, No. 6: Rondeau" | de Saint-Georges |
| 2:23 |
| 25. | "String Quartet in E-flat major, Op. 1, No. 2: Rondeau" | de Saint-Georges |
| 1:25 |
| 26. | "Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 8, No. 2: I: Allegro" (quartet version) | de Saint-Georges |
| 2:34 |
| Total length: | 1:06:01 | |||
Reception edit
Music critic Jonathan Broxton commented:
Chevalier is an excellent soundtrack, a superb mix of outstanding classical music from the period, and new original score which takes elements and influences from the period and blends it with more contemporary elements to first-rate effect. The solo violin performances – especially those by featured virtuoso Randall Goosby – are sensational, but Bowers’s original music does play second fiddle (pun intended) to the classical selections, and is more muted in terms of its clearly recognizable thematic content. With that in mind, this still gets a recommendation as an excellent musical tribute – and long overdue acknowledgement – to this pioneer of black classical music.[9]
Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com wrote "Kris Bowers’ sweeping score does work wonders, though, to create a feeling of atmosphere."[10] Valerie Complex of Deadline Hollywood and Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter classified the score as "brilliant",[11] "grandiose"[12] and "fittingly epic".[13]
References edit
- ^ "Chevalier (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Kris Bowers & Michael Abels". Apple Music. April 21, 2023. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ a b "Violin Concerto in G major, Op. 8, No. 2: I. Allegro (From Chevalier) – Single by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Randall Goosby, Kris Bowers & London Contemporary Orchestra". Apple Music. March 17, 2023. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ "Michael Abels to Compose Music Stephen Williams' 'Chevalier'". Film Music Reporter. Archived from the original on August 20, 2021. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ "Kris Bowers Scoring Stephen Williams' 'Chevalier'". Film Music Reporter. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f Tangcay, Jazz (April 21, 2023). "How the Music of 'Chevalier' Enlivens the Story of an 18th-Century Creole Violinist in Marie Antoinette's Court". Variety. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ a b c Hemphill, Jim (April 26, 2023). "'Chevalier' Breathes New Life Into the Music of the 'Black Mozart'". IndieWire. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ "Chevalier Drops Classically-Inspired 3-Track Album Sampler [Exclusive]". ScreenRant. April 20, 2023. Archived from the original on April 21, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ Anderson, Erik (April 21, 2023). "Hollywood Records releases 'Chevalier' (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) from Kris Bowers and arrangements by Michael Abels". AwardsWatch. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ "CHEVALIER – Kris Bowers and Michael Abels". MOVIE MUSIC UK. May 23, 2023. Archived from the original on May 26, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ Lemire, Christy. "Chevalier movie review & film summary (2023)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on April 28, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ Complex, Valerie (April 21, 2023). "'Chevalier' Review: Kelvin Harrison Jr Holds Court As A Violin Virtuoso". Deadline. Archived from the original on April 26, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ Gyarkye, Lovia (September 13, 2022). "'Chevalier' Review: Kelvin Harrison Jr. Blossoms in Sumptuous but Shaky Biopic of a Classical Violinist". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
- ^ Erbland, Kate (September 12, 2022). "'Chevalier' Review: This Composer Biopic Needs to Loosen Up the Strings More". IndieWire. Archived from the original on May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.