The Orginal sound track from movie Hilary and Jackie

 Amazon.com
As might be expected, the soundtrack to Hilary and Jackie plays a highly prominent role in this film about the emotionally fraught relationship between two gifted sisters, one of whom is the brilliant cellist Jacqueline Du Pré. Certainly composer Barrington Pheloung--whose credits include the Inspector Morse series and the evocative score to Truly, Madly, Deeply--faced a heady challenge in writing music to be heard alongside Du Pré's rhapsodic, signature interpretation of the Edward Elgar Cello Concerto, not to mention other classical selections. Even so, the resonantly autumnal, neo-Romantic flavor of his score aptly mirrors the narrative's flashback-oriented technique. His insistence on the cello's urgent high register (played by soloist Caroline Dale) creates a poignant musical portrait of its tragically stricken protagonist. Most of the CD, however, is given to the entire Elgar concerto--an especially effective choice as against the usual potpourri of classical snippets. This charged, elegiac, and easily accessible work--Elgar's own valedictory composition for orchestra--becomes a sort of musical metaphor for Du Pré's emotional journey and gains from being heard in its full context. While the performance featured here is conducted by husband Daniel Barenboim, you'll probably be inspired to try Du Pré's never-bettered version of the Elgar on EMI with John Barbirolli.

--Thomas May

# Cello Concerto in E minor (also arr. as Viola Concerto by F.Salmond), Op. 85 Adagio. Moderato (excerpt)
Composed by Edward Elgar
Performed by Philadelphia Orchestra
with Jacqueline du Pre
Conducted by Daniel Barenboim

# Hilary and Jackie, film score Sisters
Composed by Barrington Pheloung
Performed by London Metropolitan Orchestra
Conducted by Barrington Pheloung

# Orchestral Suite No. 2 in B minor, BWV 1067 Overture
Composed by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performed by London Metropolitan Orchestra
with David C. Heath
Conducted by Barrington Pheloung

# Hilary and Jackie, film score The Farmhouse
Composed by Barrington Pheloung
Performed by London Metropolitan Orchestra
with Sally Heath, Caroline Dale
Conducted by Barrington Pheloung

# Hilary and Jackie, film score The Holiday Song
Composed by Barrington Pheloung
with Sally Heath, Caroline Dale

# Hilary and Jackie, film score The Hospital
Composed by Barrington Pheloung
Performed by London Metropolitan Orchestra
Conducted by Barrington Pheloung

# Hilary and Jackie, film score A Day on a Beach
Composed by Barrington Pheloung
Performed by London Metropolitan Orchestra
with Caroline Dale
Conducted by Barrington Pheloung

# Cello Concerto in E minor (also arr. as Viola Concerto by F.Salmond), Op. 85
Composed by Edward Elgar
Performed by Philadelphia Orchestra
with Jacqueline du Pre
Conducted by Daniel Barenboim