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Bernstein's strategy for The Age of Innocence perfectly suits the stuffiness of the location and society but is passionless for those same reasons, and that lack of embrace will leave some listeners cold. Given the Paris connection in plot, a Georges Delerue score including his more convincing lyrical sensibilities would have been a fascinating fit for this film. Instead, the atmosphere we receive from Bernstein is as restrained as the characters on screen. Conventional orchestral instrumentation is presented with a hint of the composer's ondes martenot in a few places for the near mysticism of Ellen's allure. String quartet accents abound, as do prominent placements for harp. Brass reinforces the stature of the upper class in a few cues but is mostly relegated to support. The melodic lines are nearly always expressed by strings or oboe, with little variance. Bernstein's themes almost all follow a waltz rhythm, typically very slow in tempo and restrained in emotion. Everything is repressed by design, which allows all form and no passion in the performances of each idea. The main theme of the work represents the overall circumstances of the love triangle and society as a whole. Its light waltz clearly in character with the period and exuding an undercurrent of angst and melancholy, this theme includes ascending secondary phrasing that is a little more optimistic but also fails to generate warmth. It never changes key or performance inflection, which is a huge detriment. This theme opens "The Age of Innocence" without much weight, shifting to quartet styling after its interlude. The main and interlude phrasing toil amongst other ideas throughout the rest of the cue, consolidating to the primary melody in the last minute with a bit more volume. The secondary phrasing offers some whimsical hope in "Slighted" while the main line tentatively develops during the allure of "First Visit" and these phrases define most of "Roses Montage" with lofty string whimsy over sparse brass and woodwinds. Musing in the background of "Archer Pleads," the main theme more clearly defines the emotional sways of "Passage of Time," becomes very slight in "Blenker Farm," and opens "Pick Up Ellen" with a little more sense of yearning before expanding to full fanfare mode as Bernstein attempts to unlock the identity's heart with only moderate results.

At the end of The Age of Innocence, Bernstein's main theme finally reaches its catharsis, albeit still a somewhat muted one in passion. The idea supplies a little urgency at the outset of "Madame Olenska" but becomes massive in scope for the finale, an interesting strategic choice when the use of Ellen's theme instead could have been merited. The main theme then opens "End Credits" much the same as in the "The Age of Innocence" suite and follows the same structure with the interlude as well, again closing the arrangement in the same fashion. The composer ultimately wrote themes for each of the main characters, with most of these identities summarized in the closing credits cue. The theme for Ryder's character, May, conveys a lighter tone overall with opening three notes of repeated, quiet distinction. As she is described in the film as handsome, the same could be said of this theme, which debuts at 1:28 into "The Age of Innocence" and offers the loftier passages in the cue's middle. It's brightly optimistic with robust brass presence late in "Dangerous Conversation," slightly entangled with the Ellen theme in "First Visit," and effortlessly airy in "Archery" for the character's subdued triumph. After hinting against the Archer material in "Archer Leaves," May's music lightly opens "In Paris" on woodwinds and violin, likely for Archer's son in conversation, and that material continues at the start of "Ellen's House," interestingly as Archer cannot betray his wife. For the ending suite, May's theme is soft on woodwinds at 2:26 into "End Credits." The identity for Pfeiffer's Ellen is something of a love theme, and it espouses the most Nino Rota influence of any of the melodies explored. It gets a slow start, as you might imagine, a variant introduced at around the three-minute mark in "The Age of Innocence." It teases the main theme with a touch of naughtiness in "First Visit," stews in fragments during "Ellen's Letter," and turns almost positive at the end of "Passage of Time." But it becomes fully developed in "Ellen at the Shore" to affirm the romance. For later tension, it teases for a moment in "Blenker Farm" and dissolves against the formality material in "Farewell Dinner." Bernstein stutters with the idea in "Ellen Leaves" before consolidating to another full rendition, and it appears at 1:08 into "End Credits," first on full strings and then the solo violin and woodwinds.

The remaining themes in The Age of Innocence aren't as well defined, and some listeners may miss them completely. Bernstein's music for Archer himself is badly underdeveloped, perhaps because the man himself cannot seem to find the gumption to make a difficult decision. His music attempts to apply its sections to the middle of "The Age of Innocence" and is seemingly tortured in "Archer's Books." Barely alive in "Archer Pleads" but inextricable from pieces of May's theme, this identity struggles on strings and harp in "Boston Common" and agonizes in loneliness during "Archer Leaves." One could argue that only the two leading ladies should have received themes, leaving Archer as an ineffective medium in the middle. Stuck in between all of them is the composer's material for the concept of formality and the powerful families at the center of that New York society. This music is where the opulence really kicks in, a three-note brass motif in distinction in "Van Der Luydens" leading to a descending melody closest of any in the score to the classical source pieces. Stripped down to bare woodwinds in "Blenker Farm," this idea teases in abbreviated calls during "Conversation With Letterblair" and "Farewell Dinner," the original three-note pulses and melody for the Van Der Luydens returning with the ondes martenot in the latter cue as a quiet anxiety sets in. Finally, a secondary theme for the ridiculously dog-obsessed Mrs. Mingott is conveyed as a more fluid, slightly warmer variant of the other waltzes in "Mrs. Mingott," and shadows of this identity persist in "Mrs. Mingott's Help." While each of these themes is adequate in its general tone, their interplay isn't handled as well as one might want. The entanglements between the three main themes are evident but not masterfully designed. Like Archer's inner conflicts, this score is largely inert, failing to move forward convincingly despite its superficial beauty. All the passion of the topic is stripped away by this music, which instead follows convention. That was likely the entire point of the score, and it fits the film's attitude perfectly. But while the album is a very smooth listen with few diversions of any challenging tone, its presentation thus becomes a balance of respectful and boring cues, its quiet agony not always appealing. Ultimately, The Age of Innocence is a very highly revered score, especially with older Bernstein collectors, but be aware that its passions are heavily restrained by design.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

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For Elmer Bernstein reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.5 (in 25 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.2 (in 12,253 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 64:25