Album Of The Month
By Jon Dreadon
Yann Tiersen - Amelie (Label: Virgin France)
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This month's selection is the soundtrack to the film Amelie from Montmarte (see Movie Reviews). Having seen this film, I left the cinema as if still riding a merry-go-round; a feeling largely attributable to Yann Tiersen's fantastic soundtrack.
That small number of French critics of the film who have described its depiction of Paris as unrealistic have missed the point. It is a fairy-tale of true love. Jean Pierre Jeunet's choice of Tiersen's music as the accompaniment is inspired; complementing the imagery perfectly (a soundtrack can not hope for a higher compliment).
Tiersen manipulates French musical idioms which instantly tap into the romantic view of Paris. The dominance of accordion (a favourite instrument of mine) is also key. The accordion, an instrument of the people with a proud continental heritage, is associated with heightened emotion; it is the accompaniment for weddings and funerals. The accordion is the dark and the light, and here a master of musical chiaroscuro uses it to enhance Jeunet's picture. The accordian's evocation of Brechtian theatrics, Wiellian cabaret and Victorian Circuses also allow Tiersen to create an other-wordly feeling, further helping Jeunet's film transcend the prosaic.
But the soundtrack is not all about accordion. Tiersen also employs toy piano, carillon, banjo, mandolins, guitar, harpsichord, vibraphone, piano, bass guitar and melodica. The opening track J'y Suis Jamais Allé wheels and whirls; a golden leaf dancing down a boulevard infecting you with pleasure. Les Jours Tristes is more playful and childlike, a march for toys. La Valse D'Amélie maintains the momentum, though this waltz occasionally hints at a danse macabre (as does the final La Valse des Monstres). It is revisited later on in an effective orchestral arrangement and again as a piano version. The orchestral version is a wash of sound and sadness while the piano version tumbles toward a reflective conclusion.
The Nymanesque Comptine d'un autre été: L'Apres Midi and the later Sur Le Fil are beautiful piano solos whose infusion of melancholy adds poise to the whole. The beautiful Le Moulin, where the opening accordion refrain is picked up and replaced by solo piano, is equally haunting. La Noyée is a highlight. Wheezing accordion is soon married with compelling strings and together they set the spirit ablaze. L'Autre Valse D' Amélie is more whimsical and is followed by Guilty, the first of two recordings from the 1930's that are used to allow Jeunet's characters to feel something of what the audience is feeling.
A Quai picks up the tempo again with frenzied harpsichord before the aforementioned Le Moulin. The sound of a rhythmic typewriter introduces and enhances Pas Si Simple and reminds me that Amelie is an author of good fortune. The remaining tracks continue to balance uplifting energy with melancholy, enhancing light and dark.
Many of the tracks are taken from Tiersen's earlier albums so even if you haven't seen the film this is a valuable introduction to his work. There is much to love in this music.
Our Rating: 9/10
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