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•	2017 Album

•	1988 Album

Most of the score for A Summer Story is occupied by supporting the character drama, with only a few dark passages along the way. The middle of the score has three cues with dissonant or light action material, the drowning scene in "Rescue" using string figures much like Bernard Herrmann as a nice touch. Shrill moments of despair in "Waiting for Megan" and "Abandoned" are fleeting, and only the prior one really distracts from the overall listening experience on album. Some outward moments of borderline action elevate the drama, as in "Missed the Train," but otherwise this score is one of pure romantic drama. Strings carry most of the weight, with a single cello offered several engaging passages. Solos for oboe and flute are typical to Delerue, the former for sadness and latter for love. The harp plays its standard role of flowery romance at every opportunity. Aside from a brief vibraphone application for a touch of fantasy, no other instruments play a role in the score. The composer's themes are a bit vague because of their extremely long-lined nature, but the narrative still survives due to the stunning end cue at the main character's realization that he has a son by the short relationship. The main love theme of A Summer Story shares some ascending progressions with the tradition tune "The Gentle Maiden" and debuts on oboe over pleasant strings and harp support in "Falling in Love." It starts on solo cello in "Love in the Loft" for the obligatory insemination sequence and culminates in large-scale strings for the shots of naked young bodies. The tone is far more innocent than the earth-shattering depth of the sex cue in the just prior Un Homme Amoureux, with solo flute finishing off the roll in the hay. That instrument continues with cheery melodicism in "Megan at Work" but is somber on solo oboe by "Night Meeting" as the separation nears. The idea occupies the lead's imagination against fluid harp in "Flashback and Rescue" and struggles to congeal on strings in the suffering midsection of "Abandoned," a solo cello killing the theme as the man refuses to be seen by the girl in the street. Some hope still remains for the flute in "Megan in the Field."

The finale of the movie, set decades later, is where Delerue's main theme really hits home. After agonizing on the solo cello and strings together in "Return to the Hill," the idea builds to a momentous string rendition in "Ashton's Son" with a very powerful impact on screen. The performances in this cue range from solo cello to soaring violins, a single flute taking the melody over harp and lighter strings for the end credits before another robust ensemble rendition closes those credits with tragic depth. A secondary theme of sadness for the man, Ashton, utilizes the same ascending start as the main love theme but is gloomier in its tones. Developed throughout "Ashton Arrives" on cello with restrained lyricism for the landscape, a cello revisits the opening tones with solo violin on top in "Megan Leaves Forever." Strings carry it out of the love theme in the second half of "Night Meeting" while heightened dramatic string turbulence toils with the theme in "Missed the Train." A separate identity for the girl, Megan, is a highly lyrical, undulating identity of innocence. Heard with wholesome flute in the lead during "We Meet Megan," this material is adapted to a bright moment of sunny optimism in "Coming to Town" and shifts to a new lullaby on oboe using the same general chords in "Summer Poem." The theme is turned anxious and disappointed on oboe in the first minute of "Abandoned" but returns to its soothing, original innocence for a moment in "Thinking of Ashton." In the end, though, it's the love theme that dominates A Summer Story and yields its many easy highlights. It's an undemanding and uncomplicated score that doesn't stand among Delerue's best but is a pleasure throughout. On album, the longstanding 37-minute presentation from 1988 offers all best from the work. A 2017 expansion by Music Box Records adds incidental cues in the middle of story, and these insertions are not pivotal but are at times pretty, some of them dialed back in the film. The film version of "The Gentle Maiden" isn't a critical attraction. Those with the 1988 album will be fine with only that product, though it is out of film order. The sound quality isn't quite as resounding as it could have been for the tale, but the music is still an enjoyable accompaniment to a sunny day.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Georges Delerue reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.89 (in 10 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.35 (in 2,542 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.