Period Film Score
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Scoring for historical and costume films that evokes a bygone era through period-appropriate color: harpsichord, fortepiano, chamber strings, solo woodwinds, and dance forms like the minuet or waltz, often pastiching Baroque, Classical or Romantic idioms. Some scores quote or arrange period repertoire, others write new music in an antique style; the tone is typically elegant, restrained and romantic, with lush string themes for grand passions and delicate solo lines for intimacy. Authenticity of instrumentation and dance rhythm is the defining concern.
History
Lush period scoring runs from the studio-era historical epics to David Lean's collaborations with Maurice Jarre (Lawrence of Arabia, 1962; Doctor Zhivago), whose sweeping themes defined the roadshow costume picture. The 1990s Merchant-Ivory and Jane Austen adaptation boom made the elegant chamber-period score a prestige staple through Patrick Doyle (Sense and Sensibility), Rachel Portman (Emma) and Dario Marianelli (Pride & Prejudice, Atonement), who fused fortepiano and typewriter percussion. James Horner and John Barry brought sweeping romanticism to Braveheart and Dances with Wolves, and Alexandre Desplat and Carter Burwell carried the refined period idiom into contemporary awards cinema.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Elegy for Dunkirk(2007) — Dario MarianelliSpotifyYouTube
- My Father's Favourite(1995) — Patrick DoyleSpotifyYouTube
- The Duchess(2008) — Rachel PortmanSpotifyYouTube
- Griet's Theme(2003) — Alexandre DesplatSpotifyYouTube
- For the Love of a Princess(1995) — James HornerSpotifyYouTube
- Carol(2015) — Carter BurwellSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Mervyn Cooke, A History of Film Music (2008)
- Kathryn Kalinak, Film Music: A Very Short Introduction (2010)
- Film Score Monthly period-scoring features