Le rouge et le noir

In collaboration with Newen, Music Box Records proudly presents the seventh volume of the collection Great Television Soundtracks dedicated to the original television soundtrack composed by Philippe Sarde: Le Rouge et le Noir (The Red and the Black, 1997).

Aired on French television, The Red and the Black was adapted by Danièle Thompson and director Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe from the novel by French writer Stendhal. The story follows an ambitious, but impoverished young man, Julien Sorel (Kim Rossi Stuart), who seduces women of high social standing in order to improve his prospects. The orchestral and choral breadth of the score composed by Philippe Sarde is quite remarkable for a TV production and seeks to echo 19th century Romanticism with inspiration from Bach, Wagner or Rossini, whom Stendhal admired. The theme associated with Louise de Rênal (Carole Bouquet) is played on the flute and accompanied by piano. The ear-catching melody plunges the listener into the throes of the burning passion that consumes Louise and Julien. The main theme, dominated by strings, develops into two movements, one quite calm, built around two chords played in tremolos and varied, the other more tumultuous, in keeping with the personality of the main character, who struggles with controlling his emotions and faces permanent conflict with others and himself. The score was recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra and the choir Metro Voices at the Abbey Road Studios.

Remastered from the original recording sessions, the program has been supervised by Philippe Sarde and Édouard Dubois. The CD comes with an 8-page booklet with liner notes by Sylvain Pfeffer, discussing the TV film and the score. The release is limited to 500 units.