Danny Elfman’s Music From The Films Of Tim Burton

Throughout the history of cinema, certain filmmakers have developed such close working relationships with the composers who provide the underscore for their movies that the work of one becomes intrinsically associated with the other – Alfred Hitchcock & Bernard Herrmann; Sergio Leone & Ennio Morricone; David Lean & Maurice Jarre; Steven Spielberg & John Williams; to name just a few of the most famous.

Danny Elfman first achieved notoriety as the lead singer of quirky new wave band Oingo Boingo, before turning his hand to film scoring. Over the last thirty years he has provided the soundtracks to over 90 films, across a wide variety of different genres - from period romance (Sommersby), to children’s tales (Black Beauty), courtroom drama (A Civil Action), futuristic action flicks (Terminator Salvation), grotesque horror (Clive Barker’s Nightbreed) and Oscar-bait biopics (Milk) – as well as writing the themes for various TV shows (The Simpsons) and video games (Fable).

Yet it is Elfman’s work with eccentric auteur Tim Burton for which he is most widely recognised. Their most commercially successful collaborations (such as Beetlejuice, Batman, Edward Scissorhands and Alice In Wonderland) combine gothic aesthetics with a childlike sense of wonder and an offbeat sense of humour. But as this concert program of Elfman’s music for Burton’s films demonstrates, there is a much wider range to their talents, both stylistically and emotionally, than they are usually given credit for.

Under the deft baton of John Mauceri, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra & Adelaide Festival Chorus deliver enthusiastic performances of highlights from all but one (Big Eyes) of the scores Elfman has composed for Burton. The most iconic themes from each soundtrack are usually combined together in the form of a highlights medley rather than played out in their entirety, and these suites are sequenced in such a way as to ensure smooth flow in the transition from one piece to the next, instead of being presented as a chronologically ordered career retrospective.

Even so, it is a sometimes dizzyingly eclectic set - act one concludes with the psychedelic, theremin-infused soundscapes of Mars Attacks giving way to the gentle, folksy Americana of Big Fish, followed by the strident, militaristic sound of Batman’s action cues. Act two opens with thunderous African percussion underlying the orchestral fanfare for Planet Of The Apes, and is followed immediately by some Gilbert & Sullivan influenced numbers from The Corpse Bride.

The overall atmosphere is enhanced by the use of projected imagery which edits together storyboard sketches and conceptual diagrams with finished scenes from Burton’s films. When combined with the work of some impressive featured soloists, the results are simply magical - Sandy Cameron’s frenzied, wildly uninhibited violin solos play off the languid orchestral textures of the Edward Scissorhands score well, perfectly complimenting the projected imagery of fairytale romance imprisoned within the confines of kitsch American suburbia. Another standout in this regard is boy soprano Charlie Wells’ rendition of the main theme from Alice In Wonderland, his technically refined but emotionally reserved voice perfectly complimenting the mixture of dread and awe conveyed in the visuals chosen from Burton’s dark reimagining of Lewis Carroll’s world.

Benjamin Orchard

Images: Danny Elfman & tim Burton and Danny Elfman. Credit: Paul Sanders. Adelaide Festival of Arts.