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The Chorus (Les Choristes): (Bruno Coulais) A smash hit
in its native country of France,
The Chorus is the country's
submission for "Best Foreign Film" for the 2004 Academy Awards. Despite its
familiar storyline,
The Chorus launched past its competition in
French cinema and became the most popular film during the past year in the
country. A feel-good story in the genre of "good teacher versus bad
students," the drama follows the kind-hearted, washed up composer Clement
Mathieu (Gerard Jugnot) who becomes a teacher at a reformatory school in
1949 France. Appropriately named "Le Fond De L'Etang" ("Rock Bottom"), the
school has your usual collection of young boys who are brats and thieves,
and the institution is run by a militaristic headmaster in a castle-like
structure. The new teacher slowly assembles the delinquents boys into a
choir, a move that sets him at odds with headmaster, but eventually proves
that a little tender loving care and the inspiration of music can turn the
boys around. Adapting his material from a little-known French film called
The Cage of Nightingales, co-writer/director Christophe Barratier
makes his surprising feature debut with
The Chorus, and Miramax is
releasing the picture in limited American theatres in January 2005. French
composer Bruno Coulais, slowly gaining recognition in the United States for
his extensive work in Europe, was tasked with writing an underscore
integrated with the choral performances in the film itself. Utilizing the
Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra and the voices of Les Petits Chanteurs de
Saint-Marc Choir, Coulais combines his own material (a cross between the
romantic sensibilities of John Barry and Craig Armstrong) with thematic
ideas by Barratier (who also has a musical background) to create a score
that spent several weeks atop the French music charts. Selling a million
copies in France alone,
The Chorus has also made a star of
13-year-old lead actor and voice, Jean-Baptiste Maunier, and renewed
interest in boys choirs across the nation.
Studying Coulais' work for
The Chorus from a
technical standpoint would reveal a very simplistic score, with easy
melodies, a minimum of counterpoint, and significant repetition. But the key
element in the equation is the charming heart of the music, and not only has
Coulais' simplistic approach won the ears of fans, but it also serves the
plotline of the film quite well. The score is comprised of two intermingling
parts: the actual choral themes performed by the boys, and the adaptation of
those songs into the dramatic underscore. The actual performances by the
boys in the film mirror those you hear on the album, and they vary in sonic
depth depending upon the level of orchestral backing that Coulais provides
them. For instance, a simple voice-only performance of theme is often
accompanied by the piano --a common instrument in any school-- but Coulais
masterfully adds the strings, woodwinds, and percussion of the orchestra as
these pieces progress. The building momentum that these songs end up
achieving by their finales is resounding, and you begin to fall in love with
the cues during which Coulais allows the boys to perform above the orchestra
for several minutes. The "In Memoriam" cue at the outset of the album
highlights the title theme with this beautiful and expressive combination.
Cues near the latter half of the album, in which the choir performs solo
(without any instrumental accompaniment) do begin to wear thin your patience
with their repetitive nature. But the second part of the music --the score
itself-- often interjects with outstanding results. Almost always pleasant
and optimistic in tone, Coulais' underscore often consists of deep bass
strings with the choir performing wordless vocal renditions of primary
themes. The militaristic, drum-rhythmed "L'Incendie" cue presents a forceful
introduction of brass and snare with the boys choir chanting that is not be
missed. Tender melodies for piano and woodwind occasionally exists without
the boys' presence, perhaps for the teacher's love interest in the film. The
highlights of the album are the several Coulais underscore cues that utilize
the boy's talents, as well as, of course, the songs that also incorporate
the full orchestra. The American album includes two snippets of dialogue (in
French, of course) that begin and end abruptly in the final tracks. Overall,
for fans of boys choirs and heartwarming, sentimental choral performances,
The Chorus is a strong, albeit repetitive album.
****
The Nonesuch Records insert includes lyrics from all of the major song performances in both French and English, as well as extensive credits.
