WoS episode 14 - Persuasion 1995
Welcome to World of Soundtracks, a podcast where we explore storytelling aspects in films and TV through music. Whether it is comparing book adaptations, observing themes over a series, or micro analyzing the choice of instruments, we look at how the story is told and moves us. I am your host Ruth Mudge and today we will be looking at the first of 3 adaptations of Persuasion: the 1995 movie featuring Amanda Root and Ciaran Hinds.
First of all, I want to thank so many of you for listening to this podcast as we celebrate the podcast being two years old this past March. The listenership has greatly increased over the past year, especially internationally, and I am really grateful that you are enjoying this podcast. It’s a small little podcast but it’s been fun to see this grow especially as it has taken longer for me to get episodes out during this current season of my life. So thank you for those who are sharing, liking, and subscribing and to those of you who reached out especially from Australia.
This episode is begins a small little series focusing on adaptations of Persuasion, a book by Jane Austen. This has been my favorite book since High School so I have do opinions on what all the adaptations do well and how they fall short. Along that is the tricky aspect that not much of the music is available on albums which makes them a little more complicated to tackle. But I’m going to try and do my best to cover how they tell the story in their own unique way.
Essentially, all the soundtracks set the mood for each adaptation of Persuasion going from an extreme of detachment to all the emotions over the course of 25 years with different takes on the beloved story. Persuasion has a challenge being that the heroine is a quiet older woman in Regency standards with emotional journey mostly kept internal while remaining calm outwardly. We see her navigate her family who mostly overlook her or take advantage of her kind nature and good sense and a return of her ex-fiance after 8 years. Much of the decision in regards to the music is made on how much the music will reflect her internal emotions as we watch the story unfold.
I think one of the trickiest aspects that fans have with adaptations of their favorite stories is how much does the story capture the essence of the characters and tone of the book. Plot may change (although hopefully not to a wild degree) to point out different aspects or highlight specific themes. In addition, a movie is trying to distill as much as possible within two hours or so which means that characters or plot may be taken out or changed to help stream-line it. We all have our adaptations that we love, ones that we can understand the changes, others that we tolerate, and others that we can’t stand. Austen’s writing is humorous and to keep that wit with the quiet heroines is the challenge of Mansfield Park and Persuasion which is why Pride and Prejudice and Emma often work better with witty bright heroines on screen. Many women identify with Anne Elliot, however, as a quiet, intelligent woman as much as women identify with Elizabeth Bennet which is one of the reasons this is one of Austen’s most beloved novels and therefore, the interpretation of this character often hits at a visceral level.
The 1995 adaptation was directed by Roger Michell and the music was composed by Jeremy Sams. Originally produced by BBC, they ended up partnering with both a PBS station in Boston and the Millesime from France. This gave them a larger budget to film at locations including Bath and Lyme Regis. While released on TV screens in the UK, Sony released the film to movie theaters in America when it became clear that Austen was becoming popular thanks to the movie Sense and Sensibility and the mini-series of Pride and Prejudice also in 1995. It is interesting to speculate if anything would have changed production wise if they knew it was going to be released to the big screen.
Jeremy Sams, who won a BAFTA for his score for Persuasion, is a British pianist and composer who has been heavily involved with theater productions, not only composing for them but also a director and translator. Other movie scores included two other films directed by Roger Michell, “The Mother” and “Enduring Love”. Roger Michell is probably best known for directing Notting Hill.
This is a quiet faithful adaptation with the director choosing to have minimal makeup on the actors and reflecting a realistic view without seeming too polished especially in regards to the Navy and different classes. Everything is quiet from the dialogue to the music. This version is the only one of the three where Anne does not share her feelings with the audience except when speaking with Lady Russell. She expresses through her eyes and her body language but there is no verbal communication to the audience of her emotional turmoil in regards to Captain Wentworth. Everything remains very subtle excepting the odd circus around the proposal.
That being said, I will say that the choice of music has baffled me for years and I have struggled to figure out why it has bothered me so much. The majority of the score is solo piano pieces that are comprised of Bach and Chopin, as well as Jeremy Sams’ own work often fitting the same melancholy style of these pieces for solo piano. Jeremy Sams did essentially the opposite of most Austen composers in that he wrote the music for the concert in Bath and a few themes used for transitions instead of writing mostly an accompanying score and using classical music for the concert. Now, I love good use of classical music. Love and Friendship is an amazing example of almost all classical music being used for dramatic effect, or even the use of classical music in the newest Emma. Weirdly enough, part of it feels like a bait and switch of expectations due to the Persuasion trailer which used Jupiter from the Planets by English composer Gustav Holst. It’s a wonderfully moving orchestral piece and each time we watched Sense and Sensibility on VHS growing up, we would watch this trailer. However, there is no use of an orchestra in the film of Persuasion as the largest it gets is at the end with a chamber ensemble of 7 instruments. This kind of false advertising got the Star Wars show Obi-Wan Kenobi in trouble in a similar fashion by using many of the classic themes in the advertisements and then barely any at all in the show with a very different direction and feel. It led to a lot of disappointed fans. In the same way, the music for the Persuasion trailer was big, English, and dramatic, a big contrast to what was actually used. (Jupiter - 3:00) I can still hear the finishing words “and the power of Persuasion”
Like many Austen movies, the majority of the music is used for transitions such as arriving or traveling to a new location as well as the concerts and dances leaving space for the dialogue and characters or even the horror of Louisa’s slow-motion fall only hearing the thud as she hits the ground. The music in this film functions as background as it gives you a mood but very few themes for characters and places actively telling the story themselves.
The music for the dances are either folk tunes or in the style of folk tunes played by Anne on the piano and Henrietta shows off her skills with the harp, demonstrating the refinement that the girls received at finishing school. Harp is also heard in the background when Anne and Lady Russell walk around the Pump Room in Bath to match the idea of having a background performer in that space. The harp music is in the style of Mozart, often emulated in Regency period dramas films. The other music that is diegetic, meaning part of the world heard by the characters would be the circus music as it goes by Anne and Frederick. It’s jarring and supposed to show how the couple is so wrapped up in each other that they don’t notice but as an audience member, I definitely notice and feel jarred out of the mood. Nevertheless, the music is fun and provides a lot of color with the flute, drums, clarinet, accordion, and horns, seeing them being played by various performers of the circus as they go by.
On a closer examination, the music sets the mood for Anne’s melancholy throughout the film. In fact, the main theme written by Sams is called Tristesse which is French for being in a state of melancholy or sadness. This perfectly encapsulates the majority of the music and it is fitting that it is solo piano as the piano is Anne’s instrument and a solo instrument leans into the idea of her solitude and isolation. The music is in minor, repeating the same few notes before going down, while the harmony has a repeated note in the bass and a melodic minor scale going up. What is a bit unusual in it is the use of a lot of unresolved 7th chords, used more in jazz or impressionist music at the beginning of the 1900s. Here is an example which I recorded thanks to Faber’s sheet music “Jane Austen’s World”: “Tristesse”
This piece first plays as the Elliots leave their home with the tenants watching and Anne is left behind to oversee the packing up of her home. The second time it is played, Anne is again left behind as the Musgroves hear about Louisa’s accident and prepare to leave for Lyme with Captain Wentworth heading back in the rain. In one of the few moments of instrument color, the clarinet plays the melody as Anne hears that Louisa lives, looking out a window in the rain, switching to the flute. The piano takes it again in a different key as it transitions to raining in Bath, with Anne again looking out the window. All these moments are moments of grief - whether it is over the family needing to leave their home, Louisa’s accident, or returning to Bath, a city Anne dislikes, the music reflects Anne’s melancholy as she watches people move around her.
The end of Tristesse is actually an open 5th going down which can be turned minor or major depending on the chords underneath. Sams transforms this little bit at the end as Anne is shown on the ship, happily married to Captain Wentworth. The music climbs up in the piano, clarinet and harp while the French Horn, in its only appearance, plays this little bit of the melody followed by the flute and clarinet as the instruments continue to rise complete with a harp glissando as they look out over the sea, completely happy and content. That melancholy has now been transformed into joy and peace. While not completely a bookend, it does bookend much of Anne’s journey from the beginning of being alone and needing to leave her family home to the end being on a bustling ship with her husband, now at her new home.
This small ensemble also echoes the small ensemble in the Assembly Rooms concert, featuring the flute, clarinet, harp, cello and violin as they accompany the soprano opera singer. This Aria, written by Sams, not only is the main song heard as Anne translates the Italian into English to Mr. Eliot in the concert but also returns as the main credits music at the end. It is clearly imitating Mozart with both the melodic and harmonic structure, not to mention featuring the clarinet prominently. This is an example of Mozart’s aria “Ruhe sanft” from his unfinished opera “Zaide”.
In contrast, this is a piano version of Sams’ Italian aria. You can hear the similarity of the triplets in the accompaniment as well as repeated notes in the melody resolving down, combined with the leaps in the soprano melody.
The concert contained two Italian arias, the second being more melancholy in nature after Captain Wentworth leaves saying there is nothing worth his staying for as Anne visibly droops heading back to her seat with Mr. Eliot. A few of the harmonies match more of his earlier Tristesse piece, combining the feel of Mozart with the slightly more modern harmonies as the scene transitions.
Due to the fact that there is no soundtrack to listen to, much of the music outside of what is printed in the Jane Austen music book that I just played is less prominent and quite honestly, much more in the background like Anne. It continues the mood of Anne’s isolation and melancholy, matching at times either the Bach or Chopin pieces that are used throughout in style. It is well woven through with a consistent tone and it takes focus to notice it which seems to be the desire of the project, hiding behind dialogue such as the Musgroves all complaining to Anne about Mary, or quietly accompanying Anne as stays behind with young Charles as the rest of them have dinner with Captain Wentworth for the first time or even the final card party as Anne wanders around waiting for Captain Wentworth to arrive after their engagement. The music lends to the idea of quietly waiting.
The classical pieces are used for movement throughout the film while Sams’ piano music is for quiet waiting. In concept, this is a really neat idea despite the unusual choices of Bach and Chopin. While most of the Austen adaptations prefer to use music from the previous 100 years or reflecting pieces that those in Regency era may have heard or been familiar with, J.S. Bach was very much out of fashion in the early 1800s. In fact, it wasn’t until Felix Mendelssohn had a revival of his music by performing St Matthew’s Passion in 1829 that Bach started to become recognized and revived as one of the greats. So, it is a bit curious that Bach is used as well Frederic Chopin whose Preludes and Nocturnes used were written between 1835-1839. It be period accurate, neither of them quite match the times being shown in Persuasion.
However, both composers reflect a freedom from form and structure that became an ideal to the classical era such as Mozart and Haydn. While much of the music used in this film is melancholy, there is a flow to the music and winding around that reflects the emotional state underneath all the propriety and calmness required on the outside.
In the film, the Chopin pieces are performed by pianist Susan Tomes and the Bach is performed by Jeremy Sams himself. Which leads to one of my problems with the music which may have been due to budgets or the director’s vision.
My biggest problem with the music in Persuasion is the opening scene with Admiral Croft on the sea with the Navy intercut with Mr. Shepherd and Mrs Clay arriving at Kellynch Hall during the upheaval of those demanding that Sir Elliot’s debts be paid. To me, all the emotion and musicality has been stripped out of the piano performance. I don’t know whether to blame the pianist or the mixer or the director’s vision but something happened to either match the tempo of the shots and then make the tempo of the music too slow but it’s quite honestly very emotionally flat if you just listen to the music. Where is the drama of the Navy or the tradesmen clamoring to be paid? Chopin is from the romantic era with lots of ups and downs in its brilliance and emotions. While that recording sets the tone of being serene for the entire movie as you go across the seas and countryside, it doesn’t quite match either event that it is accompanying. One other unusual aspect of this moment is that this is also the opening credits at the same time, unlike having specific credits with music before the movie which was usually the case in the 90s. That seems to match it being a TV movie first. I will say that the feel does match the moving of water connecting the theme of movement and water. To me it’s a dramatic piece that sadly had the drama sucked out of it. Here is an example of Chopin’s Prelude No. 21 in B-flat by Martha Argevich.
This is not the only place that Chopin is used for movement and water. His sparkling Prelude No. 3 reflects the movement of the water and the sun sparkling on it as the characters soak in the coast at Lyme. Anne is beginning to feel reinvigorated and that feeling is not only heard through the Prelude but also Sams imitation of the moving arpeggios as they later walk on the Pier with Louisa exclaiming how much she admires the Navy. This is also the happiest music throughout the movie and provides a different feel for all the characters now visiting the sea on a delightful holiday. Here is a brilliant example of Chopin’s Prelude No. 3 performed by Evgeny Kissin.
The other Chopin piece is his Nocturne in B major as the Musgrove girls, Mary, Anne, and Captain Wentworth walk to Winthrop. Fitting both with music for movement and transition as is typical for an Austen novel, it also matches the emotion of Anne witnessing Louisa and Captain Wentworth flirt, with Captain Wentworth catching Louisa over the style while Anne is once again left to fend for herself. The part used is the more light-hearted portion of the Nocturne to match the flirting and movement. Here is a snippet performed by Arthur Rubenstein.
Both of Bach’s pieces are minor Sarabandes from his French Suites for keyboard. A Sarabande was a dance from the 1700s in a slower 3 with the emphasis usually on beat 2 unlike a Minuet or a Waltz that would emphasize beat 1.
The first one occurs as Anne leaves her home at Kellynch and travels to Uppercross in a cart feeling the loss of home and again adding to the feeling of isolation. Like the previous Chopin Nocturne, this is a classic example of music being used fro transitions as Anne moves from one place to her next home. This Bach Sarabande has more gravitas instead of moving quickly to match Anne’s sadness in leaving. This is the Sarabande from French Suite No. 1 in D minor performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy.
The other Sarabande is from French Suite No. 3 in B minor playing as the Elliots are watching the rain come down in Bath, stuck taking tea in a shop, waiting either for Mr. Elliot with a carriage or for the rain to stop. While Chopin was reflecting the sea, Bach is being used along with Sams’ own music for transitions with rain and dreariness. This is also performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy.
While I love the use of classical music, I would have loved to have a little more active storytelling with themes or reusing themes. While the movie is faithful and well-done, I don’t feel the emotional journey the way I would wish to. I think that could have been accomplished with better recordings of the classical music but sadly, that didn’t happen, most likely due to budget. After all, not everyone can afford Jean-Yves Thibaduet and it is quite common for composers to record the piano pieces themselves. However, the music does reflect both the quiet melancholy of Anne and a quieter world, letting the drama speak out for itself instead of emotionally leading through the music.
This concludes the first adaptation of Persuasion and the quiet, unobtrusive nature of the music matching the heroine’s character. Next time, we will focus on the TV mini-series from 2007-2008 with music by Martin Phipps.
In the meantime, you can join in on discussing all the musical moments regarding the 1995 Persuasion movie in the Facebook group “World of Soundtracks” or on Twitter and Instagram at WoSoundtracks. Please like and subscribe, share with friends, or even leave a review on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or Amazon. I highly recommend subscribing so you don’t miss when the next episode comes out especially as it has a been a little more sporadic. You can also reach out through my website RuthMudge.com. A special thanks to Panzhu who sent me a lovely message regarding the podcast. Those messages and reviews do mean a lot to me.
Until next time, Happy Listening!
A special thanks to all those involved to make this podcast happen especially Edith Mudge for the title music and Lindsey Bergmsa for the graphics. This is World of Soundtracks.