Oscar' Excuse

With the Oscar Ceremony coming this weekend as an excuse, here is to the music of a non-winner that certainly deserved more than one of those golden statues. For those who don't know him, here is Michel Colombier, French composer and conductor (1939-2004). Colombier composed more than a hundred scores for films and TV shows, won multiple awards in Europe and the US, and worked with some of the biggest names of the cinema in Europe, like Claude Lelouch and Vitorio de Sica, to mention only some of his credits in music for films. The reason for his success is the quality of his music. Exhibit number One is Emmanuel, a beautiful piece that was not related to movies. It is so beautiful! This piece alone puts him at the level of the great Michel Legrand, who, by the way, won three Oscars. Mr. Colombier's version uses an oboe to drive the melody in a way that showed the way to Ennio Morricone's wonderful Gabriel's Oboe, from The Mission, and it is great. However, I am not using it here. Instead, there is this version by Kristina Cooper on the cello, arranged by Yasumasa Satoh that, as a cherry on top, has exceptional photography and sound:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcMaxo0OaZo

So, on Sunday, when my favorites for the Oscar don't win, I will remember that quite often, those who don't win are as good as the ones going home with an Oscar under their arm. Like Michel Colombier. Enjoy!