Award-winning composer Cho Young-wuk’s evocative soundtrack to Park Chan-wook’s 2018 6-part BBC adaptation of John le Carré’s classic 1983 spy novel is released via Silva Screen Records...

In the past I've shied away from scores of BBC adaptations of John le Carré’ novels. Firstly, because I'm not a huge fan of spy stories, but mainly because the soundtracks for his BBC adaptations from the '80s always seemed a little dry to me.

As this adaptation was released in 2018 I was keen to hear how times had changed and how soundtracks for BBC miniseries had progressed. It was interesting, and refreshing, to discover that composer Cho Young-wuk really got underneath the story in The Little Drummer Girl to deliver a rich and varied score that works wonderfully as a standalone project, just as well as it does when watching the show. Young-wuk still manages to pay homage to those old scores, as 'Fatmeh' concludes with a theme that is very reminiscent of those '80s soundtracks.

The score contains 40 tracks (1 hr, 30 min, 14 sec) with some standout themes. The obvious highlight for me was 'Gadi' which opens with a solo piano before bringing in a flute, harp and other instruments. It houses by far the most melancholically beautiful segment of music. 'Take Off Your Clothes' is another fine piece, which veers into classical music territory. And 'Charlie' has a strong central theme that is hauntingly beautiful.

In all honesty though, there isn't actually a dull piece of music here. No filler material, this is all grade a music that you'll be proud to add to your soundtrack collection.

9

Darren Rea