Pride and Prejudice: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Pride and Prejudice: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack
Book Review: Beautiful music for a beautiful movie!
Summary: 5 Stars
Just like verything else about the movie the music too is perfect, beautiful, captivating!Book Review: Lyrical, whimsical, perfect for daydreams...
Summary: 4 Stars
...Or an afternoon of reading by a window. This soundtrack reminds me of Michael Nyman's music for the Movie "the Piano" - but with a bit less emotional angst. It is music that can definitely stand alone - as my purchase proves since I wasn't a fan of the movie for which this score was produced. (I'm a purist when it comes to Pride & Prejudice, what can I say?) If you enjoy flowing piano music and the sounds of intricate fingering, this is definitely a soundtrack for you.Book Review: Beautiful music
Summary: 5 Stars
If you loved the soundtrack and can play intermediate - advanced piano, this is for you. Book Review: A true translation of the piano-heavy score
Summary: 4 Stars
This 40-page piano solo book is a wonderful translation of Dario Marianelli's simple but poignant score to the 2005 film "Pride and Prejudice."
The book includes 12 of the 17 tracks that appear on the P&P soundtrack CD, and the transcriptions are pretty much exactly as you hear it on the recording. The soundtrack is piano-based with an orchestra, but the songs translate very well into piano solos. Many of the songs are only approximately 2 pages long, which at first glance was disappointing; however, realize that most of the CD tracks are only 1 or 2 minutes in length. So the sheet music stays true to the soundtrack CD.
They have chosen the best tracks to put in this book. (I would've liked to have "A Postcard to Henry Purcell" in the book, but that is more of a violin piece, anyway.) Pretty much each has its own distinct theme, yet just like Marianelli's score, they have a unified sound. The sound is a fresh, modern take on Jane Austen's 19th Century England. The music is simple -- scales, trills, and arpeggios, hardly a chord in there. But in its simplicity there is a great emotional depth for pianists to experience. The music is easy to (mostly-)intermediate: simple enough for the novice (at least for someone with 2 years' playing experience and much practicing) but rich enough for an advanced player to really make the notes shine. (Just listen to the fantastic performance by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet on the soundtrack CD to see how much can be made of this simple score.)
Where the songs are difficult to play is this: sweeping arpeggios that require intuitive fingering and favor larger hands; quick grace notes; having to play with crossed hands; occasional fast tempos (e.g. "moderately fast, in 4" on "Georgiana"). Timing/rhythm is pretty simple -- eighth notes for the most part, but can be challenging and irregular at times.
Fingering is not included. Pedaling is. Only a few songs specify a metronome count (e.g. Liz on Top of the World states a quarter note = ca. 144; Living Sculptures of Pemberley merely states "slowly, lilting").
There is no spine on this book. It's got a glossy back and front cover, folded and stapled. Still, very much worth purchasing at the Amazon price of less than $10 (over $5 off the cover price).
Here are some more specifics:
1. Dawn: 5 pages.
2. Arrival at Netherfield: 5 pages.
3. Stars and Butterflies: 2 pages. One sharp.
4. The Living Sculptures of Pemberley: 4 pages. (2 flats. the last third of the song has six flats.)
5. Meryton Townhall: 4 pages. One sharp.
6. Georgiana: 2 pages. 3 sharps. All naturals. 3 flats.
7. Liz on Top of the World: 2 pages. 2 flats.
8. Leaving Netherfield: 2 pages. 3 flats.
9. Another Dance: 2 pages. 2 flats.
10. Secret Life of Daydreams: 2 pages. 2 flats.
11. Darcy's Letter: 4 pages. 3 flats.
12. Mrs. Darcy: 5 pages.
Each composition is pretty fabulous, but the standouts are "Dawn," "Living Sculptures of Pemberley", "Liz on Top of the World," and "Georgiana."
Book Review: Good music, fun to play.
Summary: 4 Stars
I really like the music from the Pride and Prejudice movie and I love playing the piano so naturally when I saw this music book for sale, I bought it. Most of the songs are at an advanced intermediate level with a few exceptions. I was able to play through most of the songs when I first got it but had to work out some of the more difficult sections. The music is nice to play and has some good romantic melodies. The only downside is that most of the songs are only 2 pages long... which totals to about 1 minute apiece. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys playing nice pieces on the piano and really liked the music from the movie.