Development
Campion insisted Mark Bradshaw to score music for Bright Star owing to their personal and working relationship, where the latter had composed for two of her short films. [1] Bradshaw stated that Jane did not want the music to sound like conventional film music, which allowed him to think about music in a more lateral way. Having wanted the music to come from the story rather than the opposite way, he felt that Keats' poetry and his sonnets helped him to access the characters' internal rhythms. He also admitted his poetry being the true music for the film and its combination with the score became much more effective. [2] [3]
The film's intimacy and raw vulnerability helped Bradshaw to write music for a small ensemble featuring violin, cello and harpischord. The beginning of the sonnet "Negative Capability" featured the use of meditation bowls and a harpischord, while for the characters' romance, Bradshaw used "feather-bowed" violin motifs to provide a feeling of "weightlessness". For the track "Human Orchestra", Bradshaw adapted Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Serenade No. 10" as a vocal arrangement where the cast sing a cappella during a parlor scene. Bradshaw chose this piece because of its "interweaving, syncopated accompaniment" and compared its treatment to one of Keats' poems. All of the musical pieces were designed and constructed in a fairly organic and intuitive manner with nature serving as an inspiration for the composition. [2] [3]
In the climatic scene where Fanny learnt that Keats' had died, Bradshaw noted that he did not want the music to dictate the emotions of the audience and manipulate them. He noted there were few scenes where the team knew it would not be helpful to have music. Bradshaw discovered that "music is more powerful when it is used sparingly" where Fanny's breakdown scene and her reading of the poem Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou art at the end of the film gained much impact from the absence of score. The audience wanted the music to have a breathing space, gently allowing to go on a journey without completely understanding it. [2] [3]
Reception
Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK wrote "An album for fans of the film, then, but those seeking only the music will probably be left disappointed due to the unthoughtful album presentation." [4] William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote "the film contrasts the formality of the setting with the passion of the lovers, and the album will serve as a souvenir to those who were swept away by that emotion." [5] Ray Bennett of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "Mark Bradshaw’s elegant score is pleasingly delicate." [6] Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote "Mark Bradshaw’s score reps a major plus." [7]
Sukhdev Sandhu of The Daily Telegraph wrote "Mark Bradshaw's score [is] full of spaces and silences that give us time to breathe and to think". [8] A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote "The music is so intricate and artificial, even as the emotions it carries seem natural and spontaneous." [9] Kelly Jane Torrance of The Washington Times considered the film's music to be "more arresting" and added that it "gives this film about grand people an intimacy suited to the story it tells — and it might be the way these people, without orchestras, heard such music." [10]
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