PHILLIPE ROMBI | Angel

Few would have suspected that such a brilliant musical work would errupt out of François Ozon's Angel; certainly not because Ozon is not an acclaimed director as it's the rather opposite that happens actually and it's a well-known fact that Ozon, the man behind such excellent films as 8 femmes or Swimming Pool is particularly talented and expected to have delivered. Not because of the film's premise either 'cause a romantic drama showcasing the rise and fall of a young eccentric British writer in the early 20th century, based on an Elizabeth Taylor novel, does have the lot to back it up right from the very beginning.


The composer though, the brilliant french composer that is Philippe Rombi was in fact - and up to very recently, virtually unknown to the largest part of the film music community. Having composed the magnificent classical-oriented and heavily melodic score for Joyeux Noël in 2005, a work which got him a César nomination for Best Music Written for a Film (Meilleure musique) in 2006 and also having crafted the magnificently melodic and elegant musical accompaniments for 5x2, Jeux d'enfants (love me if you dare), Oui, mais..., Une employée modèle, Sous le sable and the brilliant Une hirondelle a fait le printemps which is probably his best score to date, still it wasn't until very recently that most people discovered Rombi's work, through Angel.


It's really fun to observe how pleasantly surprised - some even shocked, people are when coming in contact with the composer's music for the first time and with Angel this has been nothing short but a ride of pure excitement and long-forgotten feelings, for everyone out there lucky enough to have experienced it. This is one truly spectacular and nostalgic musical ride down the golden paths of our beloved genre, coming from one singularly special human being, a man gifted with the ability to express pure emotions and rare, unrestrained melody in unique ways.


It's rather obvious then that Angel is not your typical modern film score.


Whereas a strong and memorable main theme is sadly considered by many modern day film-makers as a negative and strong factor that calls-off the audience's attention from the on-going visuals and plotlines of their movies, or sadly even by composers themselves as a down point for a score to have, Rombi has composed a boldly melodic, lush and instantly lovable main theme for this, engulfed in unrestrained beauty and flowing melodic lines; melody that bonds the whole work and leads it through constant renditions and varicolored developments.


While a large part of the modern film scores bear mediocre to even childish arrangements and poor orchestrations, Rombi boosts his score up with an amazingly dense and advanced harmonic core onto which the bold melodic statements stand while simultaneously staying completely orchestral, elegant and lush. Many small factors contribute to the latter's achievement but it's mainly due to his effective and long-abandoned piano, strings and woodwind approach and rarely-heard today classical compositional techniques.


Finally, whereas the majority of modern-day film music seems to be draining itself of everything essentially musical whilst moving towards more minimalistic, ambient and technologically-enhanced directions with great emphasis on sound designs rather than on actual Music, Rombi's score is a magnificent look back to the elegance and Grandness of the Golden Age's majestic elements of such masters as Alfred Newman or Georges Delerue and at the same time passing it through an up-to-date point of view with a beautiful sound overall.


Angel is a small masterpiece. A particularly well-worked score flourished through the composer's evident passion and devotion to his music and dressed with an impressively colorful array of emotions and moods, it is also the perfect chance for the masses to get to know his brilliant work. Rombi's general output – and especially Angel – is truly some of modern film music's finest examples, easily beating a very large part of the general Hollywood outcome by far, in all aspects.


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