Spitfire Audio announces Global Release of Soundtrack to Motion Picture EMILY

Spitfire Audio has announced the global release of the official soundtrack to the motion picture, Emily. Released on Wednesday November 16th, 2022, the soundtrack has been scored by BAFTA-winning and Emmy/Golden Globe-nominated composer Abel Korzeniowski (Nocturnal Animals, A Single Man, Penny Dreadful) and marks the first of more partnerships with feature films and soundtrack production from Spitfire Audio.  More details below. 

In Frances O’Connor’s directorial debut, she imagines Emily Brontë’s own experiences and relationships that inspired Emily’s seminal novel, Wuthering Heights.

Across the soundtrack, Korzeniowski fuses neoclassical elements to depict the emotional journey that Emily embarks – full of conflict, joy, longing and love.

The soundtrack opens with ‘The Strange One’. A turbulent, improvisational solo violin, rigid orchestral ostinatos and a thundering church organ represent Emily’s conflicted personality – at the same time despising the social norm and craving acceptance.

The wistful and dark, ‘Mother’ plays alongside a game of “What Am I?,” where Emily channels the spirit of her late mother amongst her siblings and friends. By the sheer power of her story-telling, we cannot be certain if what we’ve witnessed was just a parlour game, or have we entered the realm of the supernatural?

A turning point in the film, ‘Teacher,’ reflects Emily’s failed attempt to conform to what’s expected of her by the family, and especially by her father. The desperate, violin passages amplified by a rigid, relentless movement of the lower strings, become more and more frantic and finally break into a wailing, dissonant cry.

‘Through the Sheets’ sketches the most romantic moments of the score. Connected to Emily’s relationship with her brother Branwell, their deep, emotional bond and an unconditional reliance on each other.

We reach a flurry of trembling sounds and whispers in ‘The Cottage,’ as Emily encounters a new experience – a sudden rush of blood through veins, a joyful tinkling of a song unheard before.

The stormy passage wanders into ‘I Shall Sing,’ a song about longing, desire and regret, and ‘Where’s Your Blood?,’ a heated and tragic rendition, witnessing Emily have a heated argument with her sick brother. She leaves in anger, but soon after, having a bad feeling, rushes to come back. She’s too late.

Finally, there is a moment of calm and clarity in ‘Wuthering Heights’. Emily is ready to write down her story. The sound is more peaceful, like air trembling in the branches of an autumn tree.

Throughout, Korzeniowski sonically matches the struggles faced by Emily in the film, within the confines of her family, as she yearns for artistic and personal freedom, and so begins a journey to channel her creative potential into one of the greatest novels of all time. 

If you’d like to take a listen to the soundtrack, you can check it out here.