Post Description

Broadchurch is the critically acclaimed crime drama that hit British TV screens in the spring of 2013. Shown over 8 weeks, it has been compared with quality Scandinavian dramas such as The Killing and The Bridge partly because of Broadchurch’s whole feel and look. One of the reasons the drama gripped the audience was the story’s focus on how the death of a young boy affected both the boy’s family and the wider community and how both family and the close-knit community showed severe signs of strain as the police investigation progressed to a conclusion. Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds – who wrote a strings and piano-based score for the drama Another Happy Day – compliments the over-riding sense of tragedy, melancholy and grief that is carefully created by writer/producer Chris Chibnall by composing a sparse score that focuses on highlighting the underlying emotions felt by the protagonists rather than being just a mirror for on-screen developments.
Ólafur Arnalds’ music is recognised for it’s emotionally-charged, melancholic feel (think Max Richter or Zbigniew Preisner), and his use intimate groups of instruments (particularly strings and piano) augmented with a variety of electronic instrumentation. Ideally suited to the tone of Broadchurch’s “slow-burn” pace and focus on loss, grief and suspicion, Arnalds’ music for Broadchurch is a key “virtual character” and has rightly been singled out my many for specific praise. Written for string quartet and piano and with the addition of loops and electronic beats, the score centres around a central theme for Beth Latimer (“Beth’s Theme”) – the mother of the boy whose murder is at the centre of Broadchurch. Consisting of a short alternating motif that is heard most frequently on solo piano, this theme repeats over-and-over again, moving through a series of 3-4 chords in a circular fashion before repeating. The theme gives both a sense of melancholy to Beth’s character but is also suggestive of the unending grief and loss the mother feels; emotions that even the conclusion of the murder case cannot dispel. To add to the melancholia of this piano motif, a descending line of low strings adds colour and further shrouds the score with a darkness that permeates throughout the drama. This alternating piano motif is powerfully introduced in the first track, “Main Theme”, as a slow, isolated statement of Beth’s emotional vacuum. The majority of the remaining tracks on this short album are drenched with the same feeling of grief. Brooding strings at the start of “Suspects” and during “Broken” links these tension-filled tracks with Beth’s theme and the string lines that counterpoint the see-sawing piano motif. The composer’s decision to record the string quartet in an empty church in Reykjavik rather than in the comforts of a studio adds to the powerful tone heard in the strings.
The score to Broadchurch is not all pure grief and loss. The inclusion of electronic beats into the mix (e.g., towards the end of “Main Theme” and “Suspects”) adds a dynamism and tension that’s required particularly towards the end of each episode where various strands of story are recapped or if there’s an important plot development unfolding (a similar device was used in The Killing). “Arcade” is notable as the point in the album where there is a brief light of optimism (though this is relative and is not THAT optimistic). As the remaining members of the Latimer family spend a few hours at a local seaside arcade, piano and strings provide a nostalgic backdrop suggesting an echo to better times. The composer’s skilful suggestion of nostalgia is tempered though by the musicians restrained approach the piece and it is not long before the briefest of respites from events dissolves and the piano’s optimism falls apart and the sense of loss returns. The album also features the end credits song (though for some reason it appears as the second track on the album). Sung by Icelandic band Agent Fresco front-man Arnor Dan (Arnór Dan Arnársson) and written by Arnalds, “So Close” retains the tone and feel of the score (helped in no small part by the quality of the singer’s voice) and therefore the song feels an integrated part of the soundtrack as a whole. In fact, the composer has hinted that the song’s lyrics contains clues that help identify the killer. These hints may have been lost on most of the viewing audience due to TV channel’s love for providing voice-overs during credits and by the fact that most people don’t sit through the end credits of TV programmes.
Ólafur Arnalds’ score is a prime example of a piece of music that, when heard, takes the listener back immediately into the show for which it was written. The grief, sense of loss and the melancholy infused into the score mirrors the same emotions that have been skilfully recreated by the programme-makers. And this connection between film and score shows how significant an impact the score has on screen. Although the score does focus on darker emotions such as grief and melancholy it is not a depressing listen. It is a score worth tracking down because of the quality of the music itself: it is a great example on how to wring out the maximum amount of emotion from a minimum amount of effort (that’s not to be dismissive of the music in any way as sometimes the simplest-seeming music can be the most difficult to create).
It’s also worth commenting on what has actually been released by Mercury Classics. I would have thought that for an 8-hour drama there could have been more music released than the 20 minutes actually made available for purchase. Perhaps what’s in the release represents the main ideas of the score and any more would just be repetition. I do get the impression that the score is made up of numerous short cues and that for release several of these small cues may have been combined to make for a better listening experience (e.g., “Main Theme”). For those who have already seen Broadchurch, the music will be an immediate reminder of what was so good about the show. Those people who have yet to catch this drama will find value as a separate listening experience and will find it an excellent “primer” for this quality British drama. Ólafur Arnalds’ score for Broadchurch is available as a digital download at most online stores but is currently unavailable on CD.

Rating: ***½
Main Theme (3:01)
So Close (3:52)
Suspects (2:47)
Arcade (1:33)
Broken (4:24)
Beth’s Theme (5:15)
Running Time: 20:54
Mercury Classics (2013)

 TER INFO
- De huidige LOSSLESS muziek die gepost wordt, is gecheckt tenzij anders vermeld! U vindt een tekstdocument erbij met de resultaten. Bent u niet tevreden over die resultaten, dan zit er een delete knop op uw toetsenbord om de muziek weer te verwijderen. 
- Alle muziek die ik spot komt ergens anders van internet vandaan. Vragen naar een andere bitrate heeft geen zin, anders had ik die al gespot. Wel blijf ik naar de beste kwaliteit zoeken. 
- U kunt geen verzoekjes meer plaatsen. 
- Bevalt mijn muziek niet (ik spot met name New Age- achtige muziek), sla mijn spots over.
- Bevalt mijn muziek wel: voeg mij toe aan uw witte lijst of sla mijn naam “morris” op als zoekopdracht. U creëert hiermee een tag waarmee u in 1x al mijn spots te zien krijgt. 
-  Vragen naar bedankjes doe ik niet, immers echte dankbare mensen doen dit al vanuit zichzelf. 
 Enjoy the feeling 

 PS: helaas krijg ik steeds minder tijd om muziek te kunnen spotten. Mijn muziek bron (internet, niet mijn eigen collectie) is onuitputtelijk. Er bestaat een kans dat ik niets meer spot omdat het aanbod aan muziek groter wordt dan dat ik kan spotten. Mocht er iemand zijn met meer tijd maar vooral zin om new age te spotten, laat het mij weten. Je helpt niet mij (ik kom wel aan de muziek) maar alle mensen die graag dit soort muziek downloaden en luisteren.