Composer: Guy Gross
Guy Gross is a multi award winning Australian film and television composer, APRA Ambassador, recipient of the APRA/AGSC International Achievement Award, past President of the Australian Guild of Screen Composers and founding member of the composers' collective Church Street Studios. From his British Academy Award (BAFTA) nominated score to the international hit "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Dessert” to the US hit SCI-FI series “Fanscape”, his classical training has resulted in scores covering a huge variety of styles.
Head over to GGTV to hear more of Guy’s short film scores: https://www.guygross.com/ggtv
The majority of the music for Le Miroir was recorded using live players - the video gives an insight into one of the recording sessions. Listen below for a preview of the opening of the score which also became the main theme, used in different variations throughout the film. The theme was inspired by traditional/folk/carnival music - playful but with melancholic undertones.
The Opera
The opera in the film was sung by Vivienne who is a trained opera singer - the script was actually re-written to incorporate her amazing vocals. She suggested singing Saint-Saëns’s “Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Samson and Delilah which translates literally as ‘My heart opens itself to your voice” which fits the story perfectly. Guy composed a piece under the vocals to complement it beautifully and the combination really makes it one of the dramatic highlights of the film.
We recorded the vocals on set but then went into the studio to get the best sound quality - the video shows an excerpt from this session.
More of Vivienne’s singing can be heard below:
http://www.viviennepowell.com/music
We used some old footage of Vivienne singing in the film to show Madame B when she was an opera singer in her younger days.
The Band: Sal & The Mandas
It was really important to have a very different music style between Madame B’s opera and the record that Mathilde puts on to dance. Sal & The Mandas music provided the perfect contrast.
Described as "punchy, pacey and raucous" by the AU Review, Sal & the Mandas have only been playing together for two years but have covered a lot of ground. In the last 18 months, Sal & the Mandas have released three singles, two music videos and one EP. They have also taken their energetic live show on tour throughout Australia, as well as to Japan and Singapore in early 2020. The three-piece have just released their latest single, "Highway Lines" which is available now on all streaming platforms.
At the time, they were also releasing their latest song called ‘Matilda’ which seemed too much of a perfect coincidence. This is the track used in the film which Mathilde dances to and you can listen to the full version here.