Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Yet again I am presented with a marvellous score by Alex North, about which, I feel almost useless in being able to describe adequately. The film, adapted from a stage play starred real life couple Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor as a couple who use (for want of a better term) a young couple to strengthen their own marriage. Of course the emphasis is on dialogue, which makes it quite a difficult challenge for most composers. Of course, Alex North was a master at writing music for almost any genre and it is therefore unsurprising to note that Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?? is often picked as an example as some of the best dialogue underscore ever written for cinema. Fortunately, it is an absolutely gem in its own terms.

When not aiming for a very abrasive, modern sound, Alex North's music is considerably more timeless than other film music, which often has an era associated with it. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?? is possibly one of his most dreamy and timeless scores. There is a slight, lilting baroque feel to certain parts, but North's writing is far too dreamy to ever be real baroque music. The opening track, Moon, is almost a musical depiction of the beautiful front cover painting by Matthew Joseph Peak - a gorgeous nocturne that slips easily into the Main Title which introduces North's effortless main theme performed here on acoustic guitar.

The chambers proportions of the opening minutes set the tone for the remainder, but the film is quite a violent film - psychologically speaking. The characters become embroiled in dynamic word play and tracks such as Total War and the final seconds of Snap, are written with a spiky that completely shatters North's previously slow burning underscore. The larger part of the orchestra is brought in with a quite prominent, slightly jazzy saxophone part playing against the rest of the rest. This central outburst is tempered somewhat in the latter stages and the score almost slips away as quietly as it started.

I always harp on about how great Randy Newman and Elmer Bernstein are at scoring these kinds of talky films. They are of course, but North's is surely a highlight of the genre. The movement from the ethereal beauty of the opening tracks to the descent into dissonant drama for the larger part is extremely striking. The mainly small ensemble means that those pesky recording issues never really arise as every detail of the individual instruments has been captured just perfectly with the National Philharmonic conducted by Jerry Goldsmith doing the music justice. The liner notes are detailed and informative with a track by track guide that far better explains the music than I have here. An essential addition to any film music collection.