These are really the two main components of the score. Both artists elevate the music with their playing immensely. The counterpoint to Sayuri's cello is the violin played to perfection by Itzhak Perlman that portrays the character of the Chairman. Cello that has a soulful and warm sound is indeed ideal to portray this young woman's journey through life and Yo-Yo Ma's expertise and artistry brings her alive in music in a way I do not think would have been possible with any other artist. Williams had as a starting point the cello as the voice of Sayuri's character. Only at the end of the movie the music blooms into larger than life emotion on the track Confluence where both of Sayuri's themes are performed in a grand manner offering an emotional closure as Sayuri and the Chairman are finally reunited, finally expressing their true feelings openly. Often the emotion is tied to the instrumental solos, carrying all the unsaid and unexpressed in their timbre and voice. There is emotion in it but it is mostly not in Hollywood proportions. I think the music follows this idea throughout. ![]() Public outbursts of big emotions is not part of their culture. I can't say to be an expert on Japanese culture and customs but I know that they are a reserved people and put a lot of emphasis on public appearance and honor. Most of all it is a portrayal of a society and culture. I think more than anything it is introspective and subtle, lyrical and delicate with a lot of underlying subtext both psychological and poetic. ![]() The film has several of what could be called musical numbers, Becoming a Geisha being the most prominent, so the music is allowed to shine throughout the film.īut Williams' music even though it has a large part in the film, is not bombastic or overly lush. The music has a large role in it, almost another character in the storytelling, an integral part of the drama. The movie is very colourful and theatrical portrayal of Japanese culture, more an illusion than real. This certainly shows how inspired and impressed Williams was by the story. And later when the film was announced Williams did what by his own words he has done never before: He actively sought to score the film, asked for the assignment. Williams also thought of Yo-Yo Ma from the beginning, actually sending the book to him and talking to him about the possibility of scoring the film and the idea of cello. He knew that Spielberg had acquired the rights to the novel so there was an inkling of it being made into a film. ![]() Williams was impressed with the book and immediately thought of cello to portray the character of Sayuri, of course not knowing that he would be scoring the film at any point. ![]() There is a lot of atmosphere and ethnical touches on the soundtrack to emphasize the locale, time and place but to make it accessible to the audiences it is presented in Western orchestral idiom with the cello taking center stage. The composer mentioned in several interviews that for this assignment he studied more the Japanese instruments than he did the Japanese music, especially how would these instruments enhance and blend with the Western orchestra and would give a certain ethnic colouring to it without dominating the soundtrack and make it too alien to the Western ears. The movie features a singular, more introspective score by John Williams which differs from most of his blockbuster fare in its restrained style yet plays a significant role in the film itself, where the music is often spotlighted perhaps due to Rob Marshall's background in musicals. Memoirs of a Geisha is based on the popular bestseller of Arthur Golden which was in 2005 adapted into a motion picture directed by Rob Marshall of the Chicago fame.
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