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Talk to Her
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Composed and Conducted by:
Alberto Iglesias
Produced by:
Clarissa Farran
Avshalom Caspi
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LABEL & RELEASE DATE
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ALBUM AVAILABILITY
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Regular U.S. release, but out of print as of 2007.
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AWARDS
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None.
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ALSO SEE
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Buy it... if you want to experience a short-lived, but shining international
hit consisting of a competent blend of classical chamber music and authentic Spanish
flavor.
Avoid it... if relatively obscure scores that whisper their intents in subtly
constrained fashion don't engage you regardless of their effective, multicultural
constructs.
BUY IT
 | | Iglesias |
Talk to Her: (Alberto Iglesias) Considered one of 2002's most
engrossing dramas, Talk to Her is Pedro Almodóvar's twisted story of love,
obsession, and loss. These are typical topics for the writer and director, but this
film in particular is delivered with such strong character development that even its
most seemingly innocuous conversational scenes can merge both suspense and romance
into singular moments. Two men form a bond when the women they love, both in
comatose states, are housed next to each other at a hospital. In the process of
exploring the relationships both men had with their hopeless partners, Talk to
Her suggests a tone of homoerotic tension between the men and conflicts with
other family members. It's a rare "talking head" film of deep sexuality that
involves men at its core, and it received outstanding marks from critics during the
awards season of early 2003. Neither Almodóvar nor composer Alberto Iglesias may
have been household names for American film score collectors, but their
collaborations were gaining notice in Europe and Latin areas of the planet at such a
rate that they eventually reached relative international fame. Their work together
dates back to 1995's The Flower of My Secret and includes the subsequent
Live Flesh and All About My Mother (the latter of which also highly
praised). Iglesias' career in film composition began in the early 1980's and he has
won several international awards for his music since that time (along with Oscar
nominations). He is also known for his concert arrangements and chamber music, as
well as symphonic compositions for large ballet productions. The film Talk to
Her was one of those enigmas that successfully bridged the oceanic gap between
different cultural audiences, and one result of that success was an unceasing
popularity for Iglesias' Talk to Her score on album at the start of 2003. In
its soundscape, the film exhibits some very obvious and memorable uses of score and
song, too, further heightening the popularity of the music on album. In the
effectiveness of his stately and occasionally warm writing for these dramatic
stories, Iglesias continued to impress.
Iglesias's music for Talk to Her is consistent with his
previously established style of string-dominated chamber music. Many of the most
memorable moments of the score are those in which the London Session Orchestra is
seemingly constrained in size to a tense, yet still lyrical quartet of strings.
Several cues, including "El Amante Menguante," "Trincheras/Decadence," and "A
Portagayola" feature tight and pointed performances for these strings, with an
aggressive choppiness and scattered personality hailing back to the personality of
Bernard Herrmann's edgier dramatic suspense. At times almost inaudible in its
volume, the composer's handling of solo woodwinds and strings is smoothly harmonic
in most of their applications, despite a mid-section in the work that does espouse a
somewhat uncomfortable personality. A slight thematic identity is immediately
established for low strings in early cues, though while Iglesias may shy away from
obvious statements of this identity, he compensates with his subtle Spanish
influence on a classical genre that does not lend itself regularly to such a Latin
sound. For most mainstream viewers of the film who are interested in the album, the
enticement will come in the form of the songs and specialty performances on the
product. The more spirited and flourishing Spanish guitar and vocal performances of
"Hable con Ella," "Raquel," and "Cucurrucucu Paloma" (including contributions by
Brazilian vocalist Caetano Veloso) are easily the highlights of the album. The last
mentioned cue is an internationally renowned song, performed here with an
appropriately creepy simplicity and haunting mood. Likewise, "Por Toda a Minha Vida"
and the finale, "The Plaint: O Let Me Weep" (coordinated for the film at the last
moment), infuse the film with an operatic beauty that crosses all lines of
nationality. The best combination of Iglesias' proper score and the Latin flair
exists in "Hable con Ella," which is a remarkably relaxing five minute rendition of
the composer's primary theme (over clapping effects) followed by vocals of a nearly
mourning tone. The overall product, while probably too restrained for many veteran,
American film score collectors, serves as perhaps a glimpse of Spanish classical
music for the 21st Century, with elements of traditional chamber music merged
seamlessly with Latin flavor.
*** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
Total Time: 63:33
• 1. Sabana Santa (1:03)
• 2. Hable con Ella - performed by Vicente Amigo/El Pele (5:17)
• 3. Cucurrucucu Paloma - performed by Caetano Veloso (3:50)
• 4. El Grito (3:29)
• 5. Por Toda a Minha Vida - written by Ellis Regina/Tom Jobim (2:08)
• 6. La Mesita de Noche (1:45)
• 7. Jordania (2:51)
• 8. El Amante Menguante (8:28)
• 9. Maria Santisima de Araceli (2:12)
• 10. La Noche y el Viento (1:10)
• 11. Trincheras/Decadance (3:29)
• 12. Habitacion de Alicia (1:49)
• 13. A Portagayola (1:48)
• 14. La Discusion Viaja en Coche (3:43)
• 15. Alicia Vive (2:46)
• 16. Los Olivos (1:15)
• 17. Amanecer Agitato (1:57)
• 18. Soy Marco (2:21)
• 19. Raquel - written by Bau (4:11)
• 20. The Plaint: O Let Me Weep, For Ever Weep - written by Henry Purcell (7:52)
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The insert includes notes about the composer and the score
in both Spanish and English.
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