Patrick Doyle, compositions for the history of film music

The Scottish composer, Patrick Doyle, also a baritone and occasional actor, was born in Uddington (United Kingdom) on April 6, 1953 and is considered one of the most renowned film musicians on the European continent. Although in recent decades it has not achieved as many triumphs as in the past, it is well known by the public and appreciated by filmmakers and the industry. Therefore, we are going to review the best film soundtracks by Patrick Doyle.

The career of this Scotsman, as is the case with other great composers, is especially linked to a filmmaker. Kenneth Branagh and Doyle They met more than thirty years ago and began their respective film careers at the same time, so both trajectories are not understood if we separate one from the other. But Doyle has also had the opportunity to work with other proven and top filmmakers. He always returns to Europe to compose in French and other national films. Television, theater and radio have not escaped the charms of his baton either.

Who is Patrick Doyle?

Patrick Doyle has dedicated himself to creating music for film, theater, radio and television, although he has also worked on different film projects. He graduated in 1974 from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, at a time when he was already participating as an actor in theatrical productions.

Four years later he began composing music for different stage and television productions. In 1987 he joined the Renaissance Theater Company, working as an actor and musical director in the company. His friend from that time on the stage, the aforementioned Kenneth Branagh, commissioned him to compose the music for his debut as a film director, in Henry V. From that moment and the recognition obtained for that work, Doyle dedicated himself fully to composing incidental music for audiovisual and radio productions.

Patrick Doyle's musical style

The Scot's compositional style is characterized by a strong presence of elements of British Classicism and Romanticism. Like other film music composers such as John Williams or Jerry Goldsmith, Doyle composes based on leitmotifs and defined musical themes that structure the identity of their scores. Critics have also noted that his work shows an expressiveness and a passionate and melodramatic tone close to that of the classic era of Hollywood film music.

In this sense, the culmination of Patrick Doyle's style is Non Nobis Dómine, belonging to the aforementioned film Henry V, a film adaptation that Branagh made of Shakespeare's work in 1989. The ending, on the battlefield, with Doyle's voice singing this theme, makes the scene a cinematic feat rarely achieved.

Non Nobis Dómine It means “Nothing for us, Lord, but for the glory of your name,” the lyrics of which are derived from Psalm 113:9. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a Cistercian monk who lived between 1090 and 1153, who contributed to the expansion of the Cistercian order throughout Europe and whose contributions outlined the concept of Gregorian chant and Gothic architecture, promoted it to the order of the Knights Templar as a motto, in the first decades of the 12th century.

Patrick Doyle Awards and Nominations

If we see Patrick Doyle's career from the point of view of awards and recognitions, we see a huge number of them throughout his artistic life. As for the Oscar awards, the composer has been nominated twice. The first, for the original soundtrack of Sense and Sensibility, a nomination for Best Original Score (Drama), which ultimately did not win the award. The same thing happened a year later, in 1996, with the nomination for Best Original Score (Drama) for Hamlet.

This same situation occurs with respect to the Golden Globe Awards, for which he has also been nominated twice, for best original soundtrack. It is the case of Dead Again (1991), also directed by Kenneth Branagh and, once again, Sense and Sensibility (1995), for which he was nominated and did not receive the award either.

As for the Caesar AwardsLikewise, with two nominations, he has never achieved it either. His first nomination, in 1992, was for IndoChina, by Régis Wargnier, in the category of Best Music for a Film. In that same category, he received his second nomination for these awards with another French film, The promised life, from that same director.

Another of the awards among the many for which he has opted is the Saturn Award to the best music. Likewise, he has been nominated twice. The first of them by Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, by his friend Branagh, in 1994; and in 2005 by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by Mike Newell.

But these are not the only recognitions he has received. In 1989 he won the Ivor Novello Prize for Henry V; in 1995 the Los Angeles Film Crititcs Association for The little Princess; in 2001 and 2002, the World Soundtrack Award for The diaryof Bridget Jones and composer of the year Gosford Park. Additionally, in 2005, he won the ASCAP Film and Television Music Awards, also for Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Patrick Doyle soundtrack compositions

Doyle was the composer of the soundtrack for Henry V (1999), one of his most praised and precious works and which served as his triumphant entry alongside Branagh into the world of the seventh art. This unrepeatable artistic couple was formed in this film. After his small role in Fire cars and, while participating in this work, Doyle recognized that composing the music for this film was one of the most exciting experiences of his life, and he remembers with emotion the day when the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra began recording the first bars under the baton of the prestigious director Simon Rattle.

The Scotsman is also the composer of the soundtrack of IndoChina (1992) for which he wrote one of his great works, Camile's voyage. This work was able to dramatically reinforce a film with strong sensations, a story of passions, erotic scenes and stark violence.

From the soundtrack of Big hopes (1998), they say that it enters the psyche of those who listen to it, perhaps because of its beauty, because of its structure, because of what it exudes from us every time we listen to it, because of the moments that it makes us remember. It is a magical piece created by a music wizard, capable of entering our hearts. Doyle creates a tapestry of velvety, almost divine sounds, among which we feel fooled. A perfect fusion between modern and exquisite classicism.

Another of his great successes as a film composer is the soundtrack of The diaryof Bridget Jones (2001). Their songs serve as circumstantial accompaniment, but at the same time they reinforce romanticism from a casual perspective. The original music, which is mixed with songs by other authors, is the highlight, with happy melodies and a beautiful love theme. Without a doubt, it contributed to the great public success of this comedy.

To complete the review of Patrick Doyle's best soundtracks, we must visit The Magic Sword: In Search of Camelot (1998), the animated film directed by Frederik Du Chau. It has great songs by the composer and others like On My Father's Wings, played by Andrea Corr; the topic Looking Through Your Eyes in which LeAnn Rimes does the same. But, above all, Prayer, which Celine Dion sings during the film and at the end of it, Andrea Bocelli. This song has been performed by the best duos such as Josh Groban and Charlotte Church or Andrea Bocelli himself with Helene Fischer, among others.

Thor's Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the 2011 film, thor, directed once again by Kenneth Branagh, was composed by Patrick Doyle and performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. In this blockbuster from Marvel, Doyle, tunes in the characteristic sound Media Ventures / Remote Control by Hans Zimmer, creating musical action landscapes, in full boiling with the film. But it is in the most intimate cuts like  Forgive Me, Letting Go, Can You See Jane, in which the author's usual melodic sensitivity comes to light. The last topic, Earth to Asgard displays the majestic main motif dedicated to Asgard.

The soundtrack received very positive reviews. James Christopher Monger allmusic opined that “Composer Patrick Doyle, who brought a new boldness to the franchise of Harry Potter in 2005, with its soundtrack of goblet of fire, treats Kenneth Branagh’s big-screen adaptation of Marvel Comics’ iconic Norse superhero, Thor, with appropriate weight.” On the other hand, Danny Gardon, of empire, commented that Doyle's work “successfully mixes Wagnerian Sturm und Drang with tracks that overflow nobility and dramatic richness. It also creates an appealing melodic core by opposing the themes of Thor and Loki and reaps dividends from their concerted distinction of the worlds of Asgard and Earth.

Krypton, the new FSO tour. Heroes and superheroes in concert

Some of these notable hits by Patrick Doyle, among which we can mention Thor, Henry V, Indochina, Great Expectations, Bridget Jones's Diary or The Magic Sword: The Search for Camelot, will be played on the next tour of the Film Symphony Orchestra, called Krypton. This awesome musical show inspired by the heroes and superheroes of cinema history, now has its tickets on sale.

Krypton is the superlative tribute to humanity, to the goodness of human beings. To all the people who every day, in one way or another, become invisible superheroes who save lives from anonymity and make this world a better place.

If you want to live a great adventure, you cannot miss the most emblematic musical themes from films like superman, The last Mohican, Spiderman, Conan the barbarian, Hombre de Hierro, Braveheart, The dark knight, Robin Hood, Captain America or The Incredibles, among many others.