This past week we lost one of the most prolific and influential French film composers, Francis Lai. Best known for his collaborations with director Claude Lelouch, as well as his Academy Award winning score for Love Story (1970), Lai scored over 130 films in his lifetime — between 1966 and 2015.
Among the many maestros to hail from France-Jean Claude Varnier, François de Roubaix, Michel Legrand to name a few-Lai stands out from his contemporaries for his ability to capture a specific emotion and explore it to its furthest depths, both light and dark. This is perhaps most evident with his score for the 1967 film Vivre pour Vivre (Live for Life), where Francis Lai creates an atmosphere of both romance and regret, reflecting and complimenting the tone of the film while also creating pieces that can stand on their own. The film’s main theme is a clear example of this talent — it begins with a simple organ motif, quickly developing into a breezy, kinetic waltz. The descending key changes imply both the excitement of new love as well as the uncertainty that follows.
Such was the gift of Francis Lai, an incredibly important and dynamic figure of 20th century film music. words / maston
Francis Lai :: Vivre Pour Vivre
Francis Lai :: Un Homme Et Une Femme
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