MovieChat Forums > The Go-Between (1971) Discussion > Soundtrack album?

Soundtrack album?

posted 13 years ago by rossmclaughness
7 replies | jump to latest

Does anybody know if a soundtrack album of this movie was ever released? Michel Legrand's music is superb and incredibly evocative.

[–] DryToast 13 years ago

There has never been an actual "soundtrack album" but there have been a few quite complete versions of the score arranged into suites for piano and orchestra or harpsichord and orchestra. A brief "Theme from The Go-Between" was also released on a 45.

This webpage may interest you:

http://www.soundtrackcollector.com/catalog/soundtrackdetail.php?moviei d=21971

"If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance."

[–] rossmclaughness 13 years ago

Thanks for the pointer and the prompt reply, DryToast. Love the name, BTW.

[–] DryToast 13 years ago

Haha. I am so used to it as my screen name that I forget that a Go-Between fan will recognize where it comes from.

"If you can't get rid of the skeleton in your closet, you'd best teach it to dance."

[–] agera 13 years ago

I'm another one who recognized your username instantly.

Funny but in the novel, Dry Toast is the name of one of the horses, we're never told the name of Marcus's dog. In real life, the dog's name was Bobby.

"The night was sultry."

[–] rossmclaughness 12 years ago

Thanks a million for the pointer, DryToast. Just received a mail-order LP of the Go-Between Suite, recorded by Michel Legrand and the London Symphony Orchestra in 1979. To all intents and purposes, a soundtrack album – it sounds exactly as in the movie. Absolutely superb. Long-deleted, but in case anybody's interested, it's on the Columbia label, catalogue number M35175.

[–] mangos47 10 years ago

I also have this album which I bought soon after it was issued. However, the copy I have on the CBS label has a catalogue number 73886.

What drew me to the music was the arresting Fate motif, the cycle of fifths and the baroque fugue. The recording of The Go-Between music is as a theme and variations for two pianos and orchestra with Legrand and Robert Noble as the pianists.

Even better, on the other side is a symphonic suite of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg with the wonderful themes of Watch What Happens and I Will Wait For You.

In 2012 I was fortunate to see Michel Legrand in conversation for 80 minutes here in Bristol, U.K. He told us how Joseph Losey hated every piece of music he had composed for The Go-Between. Losey later wrote to say how wrong he was but Legrand was so angry he said he would never work with him again. But he did.

In the evening Legrand was in concert with his wife Catherine Michel, he on the piano, she on the harp. It was two hours of superb music from his films. He said it was their very first concert as a duo but you would never have known it. You can see them together on You Tube. A highlight for me was You Must Believe in Spring, a favourite of mine from Les Demoiselles De Rochefort.

"My will is strong but my won't is weak"

[–] pemory09 12 years ago

Scott Walker (yes, the Godlike Genius himself) recorded the vocals to a track from this film entitled "I Still See You." As usual with Scott, it's sublime & wonderful stuff. The tune is available on his "Classics & Collectibles" compilation.