Tess - Expanded

In collaboration with Pathé Films, Music Box Records proudly presents the newly remastered and expanded edition of Philippe Sarde's score to the 1979 classic romantic drama film Tess, directed by Roman Polanski and starring Nastassja Kinski, Peter Firth and Leigh Lawson.

Tess was the second of the three Sarde/Polanski collaborations after the dark and bleak score for The Tenant (1976) and before the lush and colorful score for Pirates (1986). This sumptuous film, written by Polanski in collaboration with Gérard Brach, is an exquisite, richly layered adaptation of Thomas Hardy's Tess of the d'Urbervilles: A Pure Woman. This French co-production between Claude Berri's company Renn Productions and an English producer, Timothy Burrill revealed a nineteen-year-old German actress, Nastassja Kinski in a gorgeous breakthrough.

Philippe Sarde composed one of his most celebrated scores, orchestrated by Peter Knight, performed by the London Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Carlo Savina, giving all the musical magnitude it required. With its subtle mix of English colors and passionate melodies, Tess is an outwardly romantic score that is in fact rooted in the land of Wessex (the writer's literary Dorset) and made Philippe Sarde gain numerous admirers, notably beyond the borders of his own country. Rightfully noticed and celebrated as well as the costumes and photography of the movie, the score was nominated for both the César Awards and the Oscars in 1981. Tess remains one of the great milestones of the composer's career.

Supervised by Philippe Sarde, the whole program has been assembled by Édouard Dubois and fully remastered from the original master tapes, including previously unreleased music. This release features the original 1979 soundtrack album prepared by the composer at the time of the theatrical release and the expanded film score. The package includes a 12-page booklet featuring exclusive liner notes by writer Christian Lauliac discussing the film and the score. The CD release is limited to 1000 units.