HILARY AND JACKIE

BARRINGTON PHELOUNG

Rating:

Original Review: Jacqueline Du Pré was one of the most controversial figures modern classical music has ever known. As a child, Jacqueline was initially in the shadow of her older sister Hilary, an excellent flautist in her own right. However, Jackie soon surpassed her sibling's achievements with a combination of fantastic talent and dedicated hard work and, as Hilary settled down to start a family with her husband Kiffer, Du Pré quickly rose to international fame. Her unconventional playing manner (she and her cello swayed to the music), eccentric behaviour and film-star outlook on life enhanced her reputation as one of the most brilliant female soloists of the twentieth century. However, after marrying famed conductor Daniel Barenboim, Jackie was struck down by the debilitating degenerative disease multiple sclerosis, and died while still in her thirties. Anand Tucker's searing film, starring the magnificent Emily Watson and Rachel Griffiths in the lead roles, attempts to condense the life of this tortured genius into two hours and, for the most part, succeeds admirably. Watson almost literally becomes Jackie, and her performance sparkles with life and energy in the marvellous "performance" scenes. Then, in one emotionally draining scene towards the end of the movie, she genuinely reduced me to tears. I sincerely hope she wins the Best Actress Oscar this year. Unsurprisingly, the utterly majestic Adagio Moderato section of Edward Elgar's Cello Concerto dominates both the film and the soundtrack CD. It's the bold, dramatic, sweeping piece which played over all the trailers. The one that Jacqueline performs on-screen to rapturous applause. The one which Jacqueline is listening to when she tragically breaks down in anguish, despairing of the terrible plight that has befallen her. The whole of Jackie's near-legendary performance of the concerto in Philadelphia in 1970 is included, and makes for wonderful listening. The expression in the performance, the subtle nuances and inflections in the voice of the cello are absolutely fascinating and, after experiencing it, one really can understand why this woman was regarded as the finest player of her generation. Despite literally playing second fiddle to one of the all-time greats, Barrington Pheloung's original underscore is certainly not without merits. His five original cues, amounting to approximately twelve minutes of music, are sublimely attractive, and effectively complement and blend in with the classical concert-hall sound of the concerto. The main theme, heard in both 'Sisters' and 'A Day on the Beach', is a faraway, dreamy melody with long, lustrous string lines, a romantic-sounding piano and, at the beginning of the final track, a virtuoso cello performance by Caroline Dale. Similarly, 'The Farmhouse' again features Dale's cello, underscoring a sequence of events which ultimately prove to be a turning points in Hilary and Jackie's relationship. Two other short cues, one of which is an adaptation of an original piece of music the sisters wrote and performed as children, are also included, as is a lively flute performance of Bach's Overture from Suite No. 2 in B Minor, a sweet little tune which is given added resonance when heard on-screen as its performance perfectly highlights the differences between Hilary and her more successful sister. An all-encompassing musical summary of the stormy relationship between the two sisters is a very difficult task to achieve. Over the years, the sisters' relationship changes from mutual affection and admiration to total dependency by one on the other, by way of optimism, hope, jealousy, bitterness and anger. However, Pheloung cleverly and effectively balances all these conflicting emotions. Through the music, Pheloung, Elgar and Bach never let the listener forget the fact that, despite everything, there was an incredibly strong bond between Hilary and Jackie.

Track Listing:

ORIGINAL SCORE CONCERTO FOR VIOLONCELLO AND ORCHESTRA IN E MINOR, OP. 58
written by Sir Edward Elgar, performed by the Philadelphia Orchesta featuring Jacqueline Du Pré, conducted by Daniel Barenboim Running Time: 49 minutes 22 seconds

Sony Classical SK-60394 (1998)

Music composed, conducted and orchestrated by Barrington Pheloung. Performed by The London Metropolitan Orchestra. Featured musical soloists Caroline Dale and Sally Heath. Recorded and mixed by Joel Iwataki and Mike Ross-Trevor. Edited by Joel Iwataki and Matthias Gohl. Mastered by Vlado Meller. Album produced by Matthias Gohl.


Home Page | Reviews A-M | Reviews N-Z | Composers | Links

Movie Music U.K is designed and maintained by Jonathan Broxton (c) 1999. All opinions and views expressed on these pages are my own and are in no way intended to reflect those the University of Sheffield. All photos and album artwork used on Movie Music U.K. are only for the non-profit making promotional purposes and no copyright infringement is intended.