Anne Chmelewsky on the Lush and Innovative ‘My Fair Lady’ Score
Sound Bites is our series of odes to the art of music in film.
Anne Chmelewsky is a multi-instrumentalist and composer whose credits include Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities (2022), Where Hands Touch (2018), and Derek (2012).
We asked Anna about her favorite movie musical soundtrack and what she loves about it.
Name: Anne Chmelewsky
Film Score: My Fair Lady
Composer: Frederick Loewe / André Prévin
First time I saw this film: I first saw the film as a child when I was living in France. I knew I was maybe moving to London, and taped it because I saw on the TV guide that it was set there. The movie just looked so beautiful to me, and for a longer time than I wish to admit, I thought that’s what life was like in England! The French version of the movie had most of the dialogue dubbed, aside from the songs which were left in English. So I didn’t really understand what they were singing about, but I loved the score.
Why I love this score: It feels a bit odd to choose a musical movie with at its root quite a misogynistic message, but I think this is an instance where one can separate the art from its concept. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t my most listened to musical soundtrack in my music library. One of the reasons I love it so much is that it has such a strong melodic thread throughout. And while every song has the perfect balance of melodic hold and harmonic variety, the underscore is just genius in the way it arranges thematic material together and flows from one idea to another.
The orchestration, while classic for its time, is absolutely gorgeous and innovative in the way at times it marries the sound design of “London streets” with its music. There is a lightness too in the orchestration, particularly under the songs sung by Rex Harrison, which I find extremely successful and interesting. Rex Harrison was not a singer and so “spoke-sung” his verse, and the orchestration does a fantastic job in supporting his vocal while retaining humor, and making its own commentary on his character. The string writing—in particular the voicing of the close harmonies—also give the entire soundtrack such a lush and colorful quality.
Stand-Out Track: It’s very difficult to choose a standout track because genuinely they’re all so great. I have a real soft spot for the very short intermission music, which is an orchestral version of “I Could Have Danced All Night”. It’s beautifully crafted in the way the orchestration swells and switches between strings and woodwind, and the melody is simply unforgettable.