One might first come across Jarre's name in association with the classic scores he produced in the early 60s for films like "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Doctor Zhivago", and he was also associated with many French films prior to this. It is then perhaps surprising to find that he has penned much more recent scores well into the 80s and 90s with "Fatal Attraction" and "Ghost". What is most interesting to observe is how his style has changed and adapted with the times so that his music seems to match the style of film making from the various decades.
The early success of those 60s epic tales marked the start of a fruitful association with director David Lean, and he was to work with him again on "Ryan's Daughter" and "A Passage to India". However a brief look at the composer's major films below will show a versatility which stretches across genres other than the historical epics.
The name of Jarre may also be familiar from Maurice's son Jean Michel Jarre who is the well-known composer of synthesizer albums such as Oxygene, and more recently for producing huge dramatic open-air spectacles involving music, fire-works and lasers. Maurice himself has employed synthesizers in his score for "Witness". At first glance this appears to be an unusual choice of soundscape for such a film, but it seems to enhance the otherworldliness of the Amish community. The simple thematic ideas come together in the contrapuntal barn building sequence, which weaves together subtle hints which emphasise feelings of early America, traditions and timelessness, and the way these hints are knitted into a complete tapestry seems to mirror the community work ethos where individuals contribute to a greater collective good. "Ghost" also makes effective use of synthesised sounds for many of the supernatural moments in the film. There is also Jarre's ever striving love theme in addition to the cover version of "unchained melody".
For "Jesus of Nazareth", Jarre built upon the music of earlier biblical epics but avoided the heavenly choirs and overt mysticism. Instead he created a lot of simple pastoral music for woodwind and blended this with some Middle Eastern scales and instruments. The result supports the story without drowning the viewer in religious histrionics. Certainly the scoring of the scene with the Three Kings on their camels is far removed from "Lawrence of Arabia".
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