2005 Pride and Prejudice Soundtrack Review

This is a review of the 2005 movie soundtrack. For the BBC version, click here.

Dario Marianelli’s Oscar nominated score for the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie contributed so much to its sensuality and sweeping grandeur. While Carl Davis’ music for the BBC adaptation was all about keeping things small scale and relatively simple appropriate for the series’ style, Marianelli followed the movie’s more ambitious lead. The soundtrack is therefore not so much for dinner party background music, but more for telling your guests to shut-up while you turn your stereo to maximum volume and insist that everyone wait in silence for the best bits.

The Meryton Ball set to the lively 'Meryton Town Hall'

The piano, played on the soundtrack by Jean-Yves Thibaudet, is ‘the heart of the score,’ as Marianelli puts it, but unlike the 1995 soundtrack this one was produced with a full orchestra, which fits perfectly with the film’s contrasting style. By using the English Chamber Orchestra for the more epic pieces and writing songs that enhance the earthy, free-spirited scenes, Marianelli’s soundtrack is just perfect for this romantic and rustic adaptation.

Lizzy running in the rain during 'Darcy's letter'.

Not all the songs have this kind of epic quality,  but it’s the range in styles that really grips when listening to the soundtrack. ‘Meryton Townhall’ for example, used for the first ball scene is a lively little tune that invokes the homely small-town feel of the gathering. ‘Darcy’s Letter,’ used for the famous ‘rain scene’ is wildly absorbing, while ‘The Living Sculptures of Pemberly (sic)’ is a cooler, more ponderous affair. ‘Liz on top of the world’ lifts the spirits and perfectly conjours a sunny but wind swept day in the wild Peaks.  ’Your hands are cold’ is the song that unites Lizzy and Darcy at the end of the movie and is a perfect blend of all the refrains from the soundtrack.

Elizabeth Bennet striding a cliff to the stiring 'Liz on top of the world'.

Marianelli is a seasoned composer for Hollywood, having composed over 20 soundtrack scores before Pride and Prejudice. Since 2005, however, he has been involved in larger movies like The Brothers Grimm, V for Vendetta and most notably Atonement, for which he won an Oscar for Best Original Score. He was nominated for the same category for Pride and Prejudice, and did win a European Film Award for Best Composer and a World Soundtrack Award for the 2005 movie.

Mr Darcy and Elizabeth spy each other through the mist to 'Your hands are cold'.

In the sleeve notes, Joe Wright and producer Paul Webster explain that Marianelli was approached to write the score long before filming started, whereas the norm is for composers to have just a few weeks’ notice. Perhaps this explains why the CD has the feel of a complete album, written for its own sake, rather than as part of a Hollywood movie. Listening to this soundtrack is an adventure and a real emotional and immersive experience – perfect for any romantic fantasy…

1. Dawn (2.43)
2. Stars and Butterflies (2.07)
3. The Living Sculptures of Pemberly (sic) (3.10)
4. Meryton Townhall (1.19)
5. The Militia Marches In (1.00)
6. Georgiana (1.42)
7. Arrival at Netherfield (1.44)
8. Postcard to Henry Purcell (2.45)
9. Liz on Top of the World (1.30)
10. Leaving Netherfield (1.49)
11. Another Dance (1.21)
12. The Secret Life of Daydreams (2.09)
13. Darcy’s Letter (4.05)
14. Can’t Slow Down (1.15)
15. Your Hands are Cold (5.28)
16. Mrs Darcy (3.50)
17. Credits (4.54)

Your uplifted and rather emotional friend,

Lizzy