Philip Glass is inarguably one of the most distinctive and influential composers of the modern era. In addition to his ground-breaking concert hall works and operas, his film scores, such as The Hours, Kundun, and The Thin Blue Line, have won acclaim and popularity through their combination of Western classical music, synthesized sounds, and non-Western influences. His emotive score for Notes on a Scandal is an integral part of the dramatic arc of the film. Notes on a Scandal is a story of loneliness, loyalty, envy and love. Directed by Richard Eyre, the film follows a free-spirited and charismatic art teacher Sheba Hart (played by Cate Blanchett), who is brought down by scandal when she is arrested for engaging in sexual relations with a 15-year-old student. Academy Award winner Judi Dench plays a fellow teacher, Barbara Covett who befriends the younger woman and observes her fall from grace. "The score essentially is about Barbara," Glass states. "It begins with Barbara and it ends with Barbara."Notes on a Scandal opens in theaters December 25th.
Philip Glass deserves his Oscar® nod for this superb, richly atmospheric soundtrack. His work on, say, The Hours may have been found overly sappy and intrusive by many, but Notes on a Scandal is a masterful example of what a film score can achieve. Glass has explained that he wrote it from the point of view of the Judi Dench character, who becomes increasingly obsessive and unhinged as the film progresses; similarly, the early tracks are relatively calm, only to start building up and up and up, and the last third of the CD is a master class in how to suggest psychological tension. The composer's familiar hypnotic repetitions are used very sparingly, giving the technique even more impact when it hits (check out "Invitation" and "Betrayal" for textbook examples). A cue like "Barbara¹s House" easily sits next to Bernard Herrman's best work on Hitchcock classics--no small compliment. --Elisabeth Vincentelli
