Search - Debbie Wiseman :: Wilde (Original Soundtrack Recording)

A Beautiful Soundtrack

D. A Wend | Buffalo Grove, IL USA | 02/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw the film "Wilde" when it came out a few years ago but I did not acquire the soundtrack until recently. What I recall of the music, with the passage of time, was that it was highly regarded and it fit the film very well. Listening to it now, the music is very compelling. Debbie Wiseman, like many film composers, has a couple of evocative themes that are repeated with slight variation throughout the film, so the title music at the beginning of the film is essentially the same as the exit music. This music is elegiac and nostalgic, as if to remember a better time during a period of trial and desperation. There is a beauty to this music that is compelling: you get caught up in it without noticing, and the underlying sadness of the melody is unforgettable and very applicable to Oscar Wilde's life. The film, of course, had demands beyond evoking Oscar Wilde's tragedy. Track 2, "Wild West" nicely provides the atmosphere for Wilde's lecture to a group of miners and track 3, "I Do Need An Audience," sounds Handelian with the use of valveless trumpets. When I first saw Stephen Fry (playing Jeeves on television) I though he looked remarkably like Oscar Wilde, so the making of this film had special interest for me. Oscar Wilde's life is looked at in a dispassionate way, simply telling the story of his life. I can think of no one whose life was more tragic, particularly in the Greek sense of hubris. I highly recommend this disc, not only if one has an interest in the man behind the film but as beautiful film music."