The King's Speech Soundtrack

In the absence of anything to write about, I thought I'd mention my immense love for Alexandre Desplat's work. As everyone should know by now, he won a Grammy for his work on The King's Speech, and was nominated for Harry Potter 7 as well. Too bad he can't win twice in the same category, because he deserves it.

The OST for TKS is one of my all-time favourites, and I can't rave about it enough. Think of any fantastic piece of music you may have heard of in the past few years, and then multiply that feeling by several thousands. There we go.

Lionel and Bertie

The album starts with this poignant track, which has a very subtle and gentle melody mingled with the strings, before gradually building up with a flute. It never loses the warmth from the first few bars though, and it makes a nice introduction to the music.

The King's Speech

One of my favourite tracks, it has a great melody. There's a sense of melancholy in it, mixed with a sense of hope.

My Kingdom, My Rules

Despite what the title might have you believe, the piece isn't at all obnoxious. It carries a slight sense of pomp, tempered by the instrumentation which is, again, understated and very well crafted. One thing about this soundtrack is that The King's Speech is constantly reused as leitmotif, even in the other pieces. It sounds familiar, but different as a result.

The King is Dead

It's appropriately sad, and sinks into the background while you listen. I find it to be one of the weaker tracks in the running, but really, that doesn't make it any less pleasant to listen to.

Memories of Childhood

Continuing the theme of deceptive names, this song is nostalgic, but melancholy in tone. It's quite long, but illustrates a certain sense of transience that fits in very well with Childhood.

King George VI

Another nice track that takes its time building up to a crescendo. It feels lonely and unsure, before the strings cut in with a strong melody filled with determination amidst apprehension. I can't explain it exactly, but it fits the king very well.

The Royal Household

This is The King's Speech, with the primary differences being the dynamics and length. A nice track really.

Queen Elizabeth

This amazing lady gets a nice song to herself. She's famous for being ridiculously brave and the song is indicative of her resolve in my opinion.

The Threat of War

I don't like this one all that much, but it sounds very tense and suspicious, the way I'd imagine the run-up to World War II was. It features a nice crescendo that is probably analogous to the tension before the war, which is rather nice.

The Rehearsal

This is my absolute favourite because of the difference in mood and theme from the rest of the soundtrack. It starts soft and hopeful, and then builds up with a very light flute and strings accompaniment and that lovely melody. A must-listen, no questions asked.

Fear and Suspicion

The King's Speech is rearranged once more, but is slower to start, and changes slightly towards the end in both melody and accompaniment.

There are also two more tracks in the OST, but those aren't composed by Desplat - rather, performances of Beethoven's 7th (II) and Piano Concerto 5th. Very nice listens, but I honestly cannot do justice to that sort of thing. My prose is sadly lacking.

You should be listening to this. Right now. You'll thank me for it later.

Well, so much for my first actual content post.

I'm out.