FREDERIC TALGORN:
A look back at Anthony Zimmerby Yann Merluzeau
You were given a short period of time for the writing of this music. Was the emulation different ? Did this added time pressure necessitate a different approach ?
The short amount of time available for the writing of the score (one week!), was the main difficulty of this project. This being said, I work very well under pressure and one writes sometimes his best works in that kind of situation, because there is no place left for doubt. The most important thing is spontaneity and the courage to accept it without looking back at the initial creative work. A solid writing technique and some experience also help a lot in the present case.
Did the producers of Anthony Zimmer have a precise idea of the music they wanted or were you given a free hand ?
The director Jerome Salle was very clear on his intentions, he agreed on the first musical ideas that I played for him on the piano. Then I was able to build and decline freely the remainder of the score. It is also important to say that we did not have much time to discuss each scene into details. Each minute counted for the writing and the orchestration.
Which character, or which scene, was the main source of inspiration for the tonality - the mood - of your work ?
The hypnotic rate/rhythm of the movie, its atmosphere, as well as the superb photography, were my specific and principal sources of inspiration.
Where did you record the music of Anthony Zimmer?
In Paris, at the Davout studios.
What kind of orchestra was needed for the performance of the score ?
Mainly strings, 6 woods, Piano and percussions.
Édouard Dubois - your longtime colleague and friend - was music consultant on Leaves Your Hands On My Hips, as well as on Anthony Zimmer : is this a coincidence?
Edouard Dubois is a great professional, I must say it, and he's achieved a great deal for film music in France. He has originated my collaboration on not only Leave Your Hands On My Hips, but also on Anthony Zimmer and Le Brasier, which was my first French film. We share a great friendship for a long time, and a common passion for film music.
Following Leaves Your Hands On My Hips and RRRrrrr!!!, Anthony Zimmer is your third French film in the past couple of years, is this the prelude to a trend signaling a more regular association with French cinema?
Absolutely, and besides I'll be starting soon the writing of another score for a French film, the Red Needles, which we will record by the end of the year.
Looking back at the time of Le Brasier - your first French film, fifteen years ago - did the working methods evolve ? Is this revealing on a film like Anthony Zimmer?
I have had the chance, until now, to work on French films where the music was taken seriously (one can see there the positive influence of Edouard Dubois...) and where the available budgets allowed me to work in a rigorous and professional way, which is not always the case.
Will you continue scoring films in the USA?
I always have work in the US and I have just finished "Robots of Mars", which should be screened in Imax theaters. It is a 20 minute animated film, science fiction oriented, very spectacular. I recorded the music in Bratislava with a 95 player orchestra.
This is not the first time that you are associated with documentaries, following Jupiter the Giant, Across China with the Yellow River or Legends in Light, among others. Is this a genre which leaves more freedom than a feature film, where the timings are much more strict ?
The timings are on the contrary in general less strict, but emotionally speaking, the approach is the same one for me.
Your score for HEAVY METAL 2000 is without question one of your highest rated work to date. Was it a good experience retrospectively ?
I did not know that Heavy Metal was one of the most appreciated scores of my career, I am delighted to hear that ! It is a score which I like much, even with the process of time and which, as far as I can remember, was a hard working assignment.
The film DEVIL' S ARITHMETIC, for which you composed the music in 1999, was very well received by critics. Does it remains a special project ?
Yes, because the subject of the holocaust is very difficult to approach musically : an extreme reserve is required here and besides I think that - retrospectively - a musical translation, personal or emotional, can only be out of place in such a context. Stupefied and horrified silence does not need any additional comment.
Which is the film which was the most gratifying for you to date, musically speaking?
I believe that Monty Spinneratz and Edge of Sanity remain musically very close to my heart, but I must also say that each film proved to be an opportunity to share great joys and learning each time a little more and, if possible, to do better.
Did the music budgets you were given for the US TV productions - which you were associated these past years - allow you to compose works up to your expectations? Were you able to forge strong working relationships with the directors?
The Devil's Arithmetic and Do or Die were interesting because they enabled me to integrate electronics within their respective scores, which sometimes proves to be necessary and enriches the sound pallet.
Did you work with an orchestrator for Anthony Zimmer or does it remain an exception ?
I always orchestrate myself, for me this is an essential part of the writing. Sometimes, I use an orchestrator to copy my sketches in full score form, when I do not have time to do it. They are not doing any orchestration job in this case, they do not make any choice of instrumentations or voicing. The job is to copy accurately my 12 staves which contain everything : music, instrumentation, voicing and so on... This being said, today I do not write complete sketches like I used to, I write and orchestrate directly in full score, which is quite useful in cases such as Anthony Zimmer for example, with only one week allowed for all the writing process.
Your first score, EDGE OF SANITY, remains my favorite. Do you have some hopes to see this score finally released on CD?
The masters for Edge of Sanity and Le Brasier seem to have disappeared, but I am acting on a few leads. I am not giving up yet.
Two of your CD - Fortress and Heavy Metal 2000 - were produced and published by yourself in the form of promotional albums. How and why these projects did see the light of the day ?
If I remember well, it was the only solution at this time to have these scores made available to the public.
Is there any hope to see the music of the Olympic Games republished on a larger scale than the 1992 promotional CD ? This music - just like Edge of Sanity - is very much in-demand.
I have never heard of any project of reissue, but that would be a good idea.
Did record companies express the wish to produce CD of your music recently?
My Trumpet Concerto, written for Thierry Caens, should be recorded soon, there is a strong probability that it will remain in the works.
How did you go about the production of Anthony Zimmer's CD with Milan?
Very well, I must say, they did an excellent work.
Do you have a project which is currently particularly close to your heart ?
At the request of the Royal Academy of Music of London, I've started writing a concert piece for winds, which is something I have never done before. I have accepted this offer with great enthusiasm.
Looking back at the last 15 years spent in the film music world, in the USA and Europe would have you wished to have lived or approached them differently?
"Non, rien de rien, non, je ne regrette rien..."
Thanks to Florence Dinh (Milan Music France) and to Frederic Talgorn for his availability.....and his immeasurable talent.