Stephen Warbeck - Love Themes Inc:

Stephen Warbeck doesn't seem to have been on the scene for a long time, but he has certainly managed to make an impression. A particular highlight has been his oscar-winning turn on the soundtrack to "Shakespeare in Love". Although there are one or two Elizbethan tunes in passing, Shakespeare in Love largely avoids the temptation for historical accuracy in the music, since this isn't really historical film but a very clever one with very modern sensibilities. Instead the music is simple, earthy and direct like the times portrayed, the style very minimalist in nature, though not as dedicated to the cause as Michael Nyman. The music is rarely resolved with finality, retaining its tension throughout the movie (just as the leads' sexual chemistry and problems with the Romeo and Juliet production extend the tension on-screen). This ongoing delicate tension also gives a feeling of timelessness, and adds to the impression that the film's narrative qualities are not limited to its historical setting.

Warbeck also scored "Mrs. Brown" another film with a historical setting. In fact it seems as though Warbeck has cornered the market in costume drama films featuring Judi Dench playing various English monarchs. "Charlotte Gray" starts off delicately enough, watching a Scottish woman in London during the Second World War, her life seeming normal in such times. Without losing its basic humanity, the music becomes more tortured as she becomes embroiled in the lives of people in occupied France, whose lives are turned upside down by the war. It ends with a certain acceptance, a realisation of the importance of those events and a love theme draws her back to that location after the war and reunites her with that community. More obviously "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" also features a love theme called "Pelagia's Song" and similarly represents bringing together people from different backgrounds in the time of war. The soundtrack quite naturally has some music for Mandolin, some Italian favourites like "La Donna e Mobile" and Russell Watson sings a version of the theme song.

Films by Stephen Warbeck:

• Shakespeare in Love - oscar-winner in 1998
• Mrs. Brown
• Billy Elliot
• Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Pelagia's Song is played on a Mandolin and sung by Russell Watson
• Charlotte Gray - a small thematic idea seems to remind us of Shakespeare in Love
• Two Brothers - a fuller orchestral sound than much of Warbeck's music
• Quills - some period music, and tracks which demonstrate a degree of insanity in the asylum where the Marquis de Sade is held

TV music by Stephen Warbeck:

• A Christmas Carol - a made for TV film version with Patrick Stewart as Scrooge
• Prime Suspect - the long-running television series
• Bramwell - a UK television series

Stephen Warbeck Recommendations:

The award winning soundtrack to "Shakespeare in Love" can be found at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com, and the piano sheet music is available at The Music Room or from di-arezzo.com. The "Charlotte Gray" soundtrack CD can be found at these links: Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.