Hildur Guðnadóttir – TÁR (2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Hildur Gudnadóttir’s first and exciting new film project after her Golden Globe, Grammy and Academy Award-winning ‘Joker’ score and Emmy and Grammy-winning soundtrack for the HBO hit-mini-series ‘Chernobyl’. The film, set in the international world of classical music, centers on the fictional character Lydia Tar (Cate Blanchett), widely considered one of the greatest living composers/conductors and first-ever female chief conductor of a major German orchestra. ‘TAR’ marks a reemergence for director Todd Field, who made his directorial debut in 2001 with the critically acclaimed ‘In My Bedroom’, which earned five Oscar nominations, including best picture. The ‘TAR’ soundtrack is a concept album with music from and inspired by the motion picture including works by Mahler, Elgar, Gudnadóttir and more. Alongside Hildur Gudnadóttir the soundtrack will also feature Cate Blanchett conducting a rehearsal of Mahler’s 5th symphony and 20 year old British-German cellist Sophie Kauer.

Ever since she won an Oscar for Best Film Score (Joker) in 2019, Hildur Guðnadóttir has become one of the most sought-after film composers of our time, though her career began years before that. Now the Iceland-born cellist and composer has been commissioned for another soundtrack: TÀR – the story of the successful conductor Lydia Tàr, played by none other than Cate Blanchett.

This album is neither wholly a soundtrack nor a ‘classic’ Deutsche Grammophon recording. It is more so a concept album – one that offers deep insights into the music, rehearsals and film clips of TÁR. It is interpreted by numerous actors and produced by the crème de la crème: Guðnadóttir, Hollywood producer Todd Field as well as Universal Music and Deutsche Grammaphon’s creative team. The album opens with Guðnadóttir herself singing the film’s main theme (which is composed by Lydia Tàr in the film), followed by the ‘real’ score – a short symphony in three movements, interpreted by the London Symphony Orchestra. This is followed by excerpts from rehearsals of Mahler’s 5th Symphony with Cate Blanchett conducting, and Elgar’s Cello Concerto, Op. 85, conducted by Natalie Murray Beale and featuring Sophie Kauer as a soloist. The album concludes with pieces by Johnny Burke & Jimmy van Heusen, J.S. Bach and Elisa Vargas, some of which were composed for the album and some of which merely appear in the film. This compilation may seem very unusual and off-kilter, but as Todd Field sums it up in his own words: ‘the songs, like the film, are meant to invite the listener to experience the messiness involved in the making of music.’

Hearing and absorbing the music alongside images from the film (set to be released in spring 2023) is undoubtedly a more profound experience. However, it is also a unique opportunity for us to be able to celebrate extraordinary concept albums like we would a premiere, and equally rare that a German classical music label and orchestra be pinned as the subject of a Hollywood blockbuster. We are excited, to say the least! © Lena Germann

Tracklist:
1-1. Hildur Guðnadóttir – Guðnadóttir: For Petra (Vocal Version) (01:11)
1-2. Hildur Guðnadóttir – Guðnadóttir: Mortar (03:36)
1-3. Hildur Guðnadóttir – Introductory Words by Hildur Guðnadóttir (00:19)
1-4. London Contemporary Orchestra – Guðnadóttir: For Petra (Recording Session) (08:18)
1-5. Hildur Guðnadóttir – Hildur’s Impressions (00:14)
1-6. London Contemporary Orchestra – I. Largo (05:44)
1-7. London Contemporary Orchestra – II. Allegro (04:14)
1-8. London Contemporary Orchestra – III. Moderato (04:56)
1-9. Cate Blanchett – I. Trauermarsch & II. Stürmisch bewegt (Rehearsals) (03:19)
1-10. Cate Blanchett – IV. Adagietto (Rehearsals) (04:24)
1-11. Rachel Smith – Introductory Words (Recording Session) (00:21)
1-12. Sophie Kauer – IV. Allegro (Recording Session / First Take / Excerpt) (01:32)
1-13. Rachel Smith – Control Room Talk (Recording Session) (01:19)
1-14. Sophie Kauer – IV. Allegro (Recording Session) (12:08)
1-15. Rachel Smith – Applause (Recording Session) (00:20)
1-16. Sophie Kauer – I. Adagio – Moderato (Recording Session / Excerpt) (03:44)
1-17. Al Kay – Here’s That Rainy Day (02:41)
1-18. Cate Blanchett – Prelude in C Major, BWV 846 (Lesson / Excerpt) (01:27)
1-19. Cate Blanchett – Lydia Tár Field Recording (00:30)
1-20. Elisa Vargas Fernandez – Fernandez: Cura Mente (03:14)