The music from the 12-Oscar winning film encompasses the original score by Gabriel Yared, the haunting vocals of Marta Sebestyen and Fred Astaire
Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prizewinner The English Patient is a story which has successfully made its mark on every medium that counts. The film has 2 Golden Globe awards tucked under its arm, 1 for the original score, and it won 12 Oscars! The English Patient can only be described as a classic to beat all classics. It's a cathartic journey through the unstable world of World War II-.-a story which questions identity, fidelity and fate through an expertly woven plot. Shot against the majestic backdrop of the Northern Sahara and Italy, and drawing together such dissimilar characters, the story takes an unpredictable route and all the while subjects you to a thorough emotional overhaul. So when director Anthony Minghella invited Gabriel Yared (Betty Blue, The Lover) to score The English Patient, the composer was faced with a challenging task. But like the film, Yared's score stands on its own two feet-.-not only does the music skilfully plait disparate styles and influences, but also evokes the passion of Minghella's characters without the dependency on visuals and dialogue. And similiar to Minghella's complex mosaic plot structure, the original score is a swirling combination of Hungarian folk tunes, baroque themes and romantic orchestration. In addition such period tracks as Fred Astaire's and Ella Fitzgerald's versions of Cheek To Cheek, Benny Goodman's Wang Wang Blues and One O'clock Jump and Shepherd's Hotel Jazz Orchestra rendition of Where Or When add subtlety to this moving love story. Listen to Yared's score to prepare yourself for the film, and once you have seen the film listen to the score again-.-close your eyes and let the music take over your imagination.
