This is a wonderful anniversary. I also rank Maurice Jarre among my favorite composers and I adore his unique, yet instantly recognizable style. I also appreciate how easily he can arrange all sorts of exotic instruments from all over the world. His rhythms are unmatchable and while I am generally not a fan of marches, those composer by Jarre usually somehow click with me.
It's been raining here since the morning so I am sitting in the office doing paperwork and playing some of the maestro's great music.
So far I've heard---
Les Yeux sans Visage + other vintage tracks (Playtime CD) Vendredi ou la vie sauvage Enemies: A Love Story I Dreamed of Africa
Dorian, I share your enthusiasm about LES YEUX SANS VISAGE and those early scores like THERESE DESQUEYROUX as well as for the superb VENDREDI OU LA VIE SAUVAGE. I've never seen this adaptation of Defoe's novel but the score is a favourite of mine. No doubt I'll play VENDREDI... as a tribute.
In order to discover music by Jarre I never heard before, I just listened on YouTube to the LP of DAVY CROCKETT, featuring narration by François Périer. It's worth a listen. Jarre composed this score especially for the purpose of this LP. We also hear the famous song Davy Crockett, possibly arranged by Jarre. And now I just launched 20000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, featuring the voice of Jean Gabin. Jarre also did the same with FANFAN LA TULIPE. It would be interesting if one label would gather on one CD such scores without the narration. It's of course unlikely to happen.
Erratum : I was wrong when mentioning Defoe's novel in my previous post. VENDREDI OU LA VIE SAUVAGE is actually based upon a book by Michel Tournier (71), a book which was itself inspired by Defoe's classic novel ROBINSON CRUSOE.
