Spencer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Soundtrack album by
Jonny Greenwood
Released12 November 2021
GenreSoundtrack
Length45:05
LabelMercury KX
Jonny Greenwood soundtrack chronology
You Were Never Really Here
(2018)		 Spencer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
(2021)		 The Power of the Dog
(2021)

Spencer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the 2021 film Spencer directed by Pablo Larraín. It was composed by Jonny Greenwood, and combines free jazz and classical baroque music highlighting the tragedy and emotions of Diana, Princess of Wales. The album was released on November 12, 2021, by Mercury KX label.

Background

Greenwood received an e-mail from Larrain insisting him to score the film, but as he was not familiar with his work, Larrain sent one of his filmographies, the Chilean film The Club (2015) which he liked and agreed to be on board. Instead of deriving George Frideric Handel or other pastiche works in royal biopics, Greenwood wanted to underline the empathy of how chaotic and colourful Diana was, in amongst that baroque tradition.[1] He wrote music in regular royal style with kettle drums, trumpets, harpsichords and pipe organs, and while playing, he substituted the baroque orchestra with free jazz players. He did not want the music to sound like the theme from Antiques Roadshow, but improvise them and let it sound vaguely baroque while leaving enough space for true anarchy and chaos.[2][3]

There are sequences of music that had to be already in place, such as the Christmas Eve dinner where Diana has a breakdown. Larrain wanted the music to be a few minutes long, which Greenwood had written for it and Larrain edited the scenes, which he described as "lovely" as it meant that "all I had to do was write this piece of music and have players play it in a room without thinking about a time code and all of that stuff. It breathes. They are playing to each other rather than playing to a film."[4]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Arrival"7:25
2."Ancient And Modern"4:54
3."Calling The Whipper"2:53
4."Spencer"1:43
5."The Pearls"4:13
6."Invention For Harpsichord And Compression"1:46
7."Frozen Three"1:56
8."The Boys"1:29
9."Delusion / Miracle"4:09
10."Partita In Five For Two Organs"1:57
11."Home / Lacrimosa"4:19
12."Crucifix"3:36
13."Press Call"2:06
14."New Currency"2:33
Total length:45:05

Reception

Matthew Strauss, in his review for Pitchfork assigned a score of 7.3 out of 10, and wrote "There is beauty throughout Greenwood’s Spencer, and it always sounds as if it’s about to collapse."[5] Brian Kiwanuka of Post Genre magazine wrote "The bar was set extremely high after the remarkable Phantom Thread, but the excellence of Spencer shows that Greenwood was more than up to the task."[6] Music critic Jonathan Broxton wrote "In the end, as is the case with most Greenwood scores, your tolerance for extended periods of dissonance, weirdness, and surprising unconventionality will determine whether or not you can settle in for the long haul and listen."[7] Nick Levine of NME wrote "All scenes, whether soft-hearted or stress-inducing, benefit from a magnificent score by Radiohead‘s Jonny Greenwood."[8] Mark Kermode of The Guardian called it as "a magnificent score that brilliantly accompanies and amplifies the drama".[9] Vanessa Ague of The Road to Sound wrote "Spencer’s soundtrack ultimately finds its footing in subtlety, in the moments where a tiny shift in rhythm, or bow stroke, or dynamic that signifies the rot inside of all the beauty."[10] A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote "Jonny Greenwood’s lacerating score like a stiletto, leaves in tatters."[11]

Sumitra Nair of The Week wrote "The background score by Jonny Greenwood is startling and captivating. Greenwood has made use of classical violins and a spattering of jazz to capture the mood of the story, which has been done brilliantly, for right from the beginning one is acquainted with the princess' agony."[12] Justin Chang of Los Angeles Times wrote "The music shudders with all the raw-nerves lyricism you’d expect from Jonny Greenwood (adding another remarkable score to an oeuvre that includes There Will Be Blood and You Were Never Really Here)."[13] Ian Freer of Empire commented that Greenwood's score is "flitting between orchestral tumult and skittish free-flowing jazz".[14]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Austin Film Critics Association 11 January 2022 Best Original Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [15]
Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 12 December 2021 Best Original Score Jonny Greenwood Won [16]
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 15 December 2021 Best Original Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [17]
Critics' Choice Movie Awards 13 March 2022 Best Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [18]
Denver Film Critics Society 17 January 2022 Best Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [19]
Dorian Awards 17 March 2022 Best Film Music Jonny Greenwood Nominated [20]
Georgia Film Critics Association 14 January 2022 Best Original Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [21]
Gold Derby Film Awards 16 March 2022 Best Original Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [22]
Hollywood Critics Association 28 February 2022 Best Original Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [23]
Houston Film Critics Society Awards 19 January 2022 Best Original Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [24]
International Cinephile Society 6 February 2022 Best Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [25]
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 18 December 2021 Best Music Jonny Greenwood Runner-up [26]
Online Film Critics Society Awards 24 January 2022 Best Original Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [27]
San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle 10 January 2022 Best Original Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [28]
Satellite Awards 2 April 2022 Best Original Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [29]
Seattle Film Critics Society 17 January 2022 Best Original Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [30]
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards 19 December 2021 Best Music Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [31]
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association 6 December 2021 Best Score Jonny Greenwood Nominated [32]

References

  1. ↑ Maxwell, Dominic (6 November 2021). "Jonny Greenwood on Spencer: how I wrote the soundtrack to Diana's crisis". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  2. ↑ Earls, John (3 September 2021). "Jonny Greenwood on writing the soundtrack for new Princess Diana biopic 'Spencer'". NME. Archived from the original on 8 November 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "Jonny Greenwood on writing the 'Spencer' film soundtrack". Far Out. 3 September 2021. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  4. ↑ Ross, Alex (19 December 2021). "How Jonny Greenwood Wrote the Year's Best Film Score". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "Jonny Greenwood: Spencer (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 17 January 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "Review: Jonny Greenwood's Soundtrack to 'Spencer'". PostGenre. 17 November 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  7. ↑ "SPENCER – Jonny Greenwood". MOVIE MUSIC UK. 7 December 2021. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  8. ↑ Levine, Nick (4 November 2021). "'Spencer' review: Diana in the arthouse – set to a stunning Jonny Greenwood score". NME. Archived from the original on 4 November 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  9. ↑ Kermode, Mark (7 November 2021). "Spencer review – portrait of a princess on the edge". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 25 November 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  10. ↑ "Album Review: Spencer Original Soundtrack". The Road to Sound. 20 January 2022. Archived from the original on 30 September 2022. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  11. ↑ Scott, A. O. (4 November 2021). "'Spencer' Review: Prisoner of the House of Windsor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 10 November 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  12. ↑ "'Spencer' review: The portrait of a princess as a woman". The Week. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  13. ↑ Chang, Justin (4 November 2021). "Review: Kristen Stewart's 'Spencer' continues the Diana-ssance. But don't call it a biopic". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  14. ↑ "Spencer". Empire. 2021. Archived from the original on 17 November 2021. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  15. ↑ Neglia, Matt (4 January 2022). "The 2021 Austin Film Critics Association (AFCA) Nominations". Next Big Picture. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  16. ↑ Vincent, Maxance (12 December 2021). "2021 Boston Society of Film Critics Awards Announced". Awards Radar. Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  17. ↑ Anderson, Erik (13 December 2021). "2021 Chicago Film Critics nominations: 'West Side Story' leads with 11". AwardsWatch. Archived from the original on 13 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  18. ↑ Tangcay, Jazz (13 December 2021). "Critics Choice Awards: 'Belfast' and 'West Side Story' Dominate Nominations". Variety. Archived from the original on 17 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  19. ↑ Neglia, Matt (17 January 2022). "The 2021 Denver Film Critics Society (DFCS) Winners". Next Best Picture. Archived from the original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
  20. ↑ Anderson, Erik (22 February 2022). "'The Power of the Dog' leads 2022 LGBTQ Critics Dorian Awards nominations". AwardsWatch. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  21. ↑ "Georgia Film Critics Association: 2021 Awards". Georgia Film Critics Association. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  22. ↑ "2022 Gold Derby Film Awards nominations: 'Dune' leads with 11; 'The Power of the Dog,' 'West Side Story' at 10 each". Gold Derby. 27 January 2022. Archived from the original on 30 March 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  23. ↑ "DUNE, CODA, AND BELFAST LEAD THE 5TH ANNUAL HCA FILM AWARDS NOMINATIONS". Hollywood Critics Association. 2 December 2021. Archived from the original on 4 March 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  24. ↑ Darling, Cary (3 January 2022). "'The Power of the Dog' takes a bite out of Houston Film Critics Society's nominations". Preview. Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  25. ↑ "2022 ICS Awards Winners". International Cinephile Society. 6 February 2022. Archived from the original on 19 February 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  26. ↑ Shanfield, Ethan; Murphy, J. Kim (18 December 2021). "'Drive My Car' and 'The Power of the Dog' Win Top Prizes at L.A. Film Critics Association Awards 2021 (Full List)". Variety. Archived from the original on 6 April 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  27. ↑ Neglia, Matt (18 January 2022). "The 2021 Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) Nominations". Next Big Picture. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  28. ↑ Neglia, Matt (7 January 2022). "The 2021 San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) Nominations". NextBestPicture. Archived from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  29. ↑ Anderson, Erik (1 December 2021). "'Belfast,' 'The Power of the Dog' lead 26th Satellite Awards nominations". AwardsWatch. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  30. ↑ ""The Power of the Dog" Leads the 2021 Seattle Film Critics Society Nominations". Seattle Film Critics. 10 January 2022. Archived from the original on 3 August 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  31. ↑ Neglia, Matt. "The 2021 St. Louis Film Critics Association (StLFCA) Nominations". NextBestPicture. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2021.
  32. ↑ "THE 2021 WAFCA AWARDS". dcfilmcritics. 4 December 2021. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
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