Soul-stirring and eerily beautiful
The French producer, DJ and composer Thomas Bangalter has recently released his first orchestral composition titled Mythologies. The soundtrack consists solely of instrumental arrangements that evoke a variety of emotions from listeners–one moment they are running away from captors with fear and anxiety then the track abruptly transitions to a magical fairytale world where they are dancing in a forest catching graceful butterflies. Bangalter originally made a name for himself in the electronic music industry by co-founding the world-renowned group Daft Punk, but his journey into the realms of orchestral composition will leave his audience spellbound.
Bangalter launched into his career in the 90s, venturing into the house, dance and disco electronic sphere, and crushing it. He was and always will be a musical legend for his work in Daft Punk, but ended his journey in 2021. Nonetheless, the producer continued on his musical endeavors by composing a twenty-three piece arrangement performed by Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine. The album was titled after the ballet Mythologies and is a 90 minute showpiece that demonstrates Bangalter’s distinguished compositional skills.
The opening track, “Premiers Mouvements” kicks off the album with a soft yet contemplating atmosphere. The song begins with an elegant, light strumming of violins for the first minute and a half before introducing an angelic harp being plucked precisely. As the track progresses, sounds of twinkles and sparkles are layered into the harp’s progression, which are sparse but consistent throughout the track. The violins are brought front and center around the two and a half minute mark, mimicking the harp’s melody more clearly and confrontationally. The application of cellos are presented in a similar fashion–incorporating a brooding tone–but as soon as its solo ends, all the previous instrumental solos are spliced together, almost like they are competing to be heard. As “Premiers Mouvements” comes to a close, it leaves the audience in a suspenseful limbo in anticipation of what’s to come next.
Bangalter then transitions to “Le Catch” with a more crescendoing energy, like a race to evade palace guards. The track starts off by briefly introducing a raspy, brassy orchestral instrument–maybe a clarinet–before the wave of violins develop into sounds of a back-and-forth conversation. As the harmony becomes more intense, the chase commences with rapid and chaotic violin arrangements. The composition goes from a sly tip-toe to fast-paced running to a close capture that keeps getting away–all conveyed by the instrumentation. As “Le Catch” winds down, it feels as though the composition was left on a cliffhanger–like listeners will have to wait for the next act to see what happens–nonetheless, keeping the audience thoroughly invested. All of the tracks have their own thought-provoking, captivating concepts; however, songs like “L’Accouchement” and “Circonvolutions,” are matchless in comparison with the other orchestral tracks.
The tenth song on the album, “L’Accouchement” is the definition of eerily beautiful and its instrumentation is nothing short of soul-stirring. Bangalter opens this nearly six minute composition with a melody that almost sounds like a siren, but eventually mellows out to crestfallen violins strumming in an escalating way. The harmony evokes feelings of apprehension, sounding like a tale of a tragic love story. As “L’Accouchement” advances, the audience can sense the sorrow and demise that is illustrated throughout the track. There is a short-lived silence that envelops the room prior to a lighter arrangement that has dark and devastating undertones. This track will leave listeners speechless and watery-eyed on account of the melancholic instrumentals and the heart-rending atmosphere that Bangalter has constructed.
“Circonvolutions,” is one of the shorter tracks on Mythologies, but it is nothing short of a compositional triumph. The nineteenth song begins with an individual violin playing a shrill, upbeat melody, which layers another set of violin strings to add to the crescendo. As the third loop commences, a deeper strumming is layered on top of the proceeding harmony, which is deconstructed and built back up before the climax of the track. When the brass instrument is introduced, that is when the audience needs to prepare for rapid escalation of clashing harmonies. “Circonvolutions” is a whirlwind of melodies that incite feelings of fretfulness with its constant crescendos and sequencing of expeditious violins.
All of the twenty-three compositions on this heart-clutching, mesmerizing showpiece of a soundtrack is in a whole different domain in comparison to Bangalter’s usual arrangements, but effortlessly grasped each of the concepts and emotions he wanted the audience to deeply experience. Mythologies takes listeners through an otherworldly storyline from start to finish, never missing a single detail and bestowing them an experience that is once in a lifetime.
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