Italian Maestro Sensini has once again written supportive, expressive, and affecting thematic music, which I know will be welcomed by so many fans of quality film scores. The film tells the story of a young and spirited woman, Zelma, who is determined to conform to the pressures of singing Mythology Sirens to be loved. From an early age, songs and fairy tales have convinced her that Love could solve all her problems if she abides by societal expectations of how a girl should act. But as she grows older, something doesn’t seem right with this concept of love: and the more she tries to conform, the more her body resists. My Love Affair with Marriage is a story of inner-female rebellion and is directed by Signe Baumane. The Movie, the score and the final song, which is performed by the amazing Storm Large, have all been submitted for Academy Award consideration.
Kristian Sensini, is a Piano and Flute player with Classical and Jazz Background studies. He is a two-time nominee at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards, eleven times nominee at the Jerry Goldsmith Awards. Plus, he won the Colonne-Sonore Award for the soundtrack of the Animated Movie “Rocks in My Pockets”. The movie and the composers score were also candidates at the 2015 Academy Awards. His passion for storytelling led him to collaborate with some of the most creative directors on a wide variety of projects including: animation movies, TV series, independent films and documentaries. He is one of the teachers at the National Film School of Cinema (Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia) in Italy. Sensini is a member of the European Film Academy (EFA), of the American Society of Composers and Lyricist, and is one of the founding members of ACMF (Italian Association of Film Music Composers) which Ennio Morricone was president of. In his career he studied with Ennio Morricone, Ludovic Bource, Nicola Piovani, Michael Giacchino, Bruno Coulais, Hans Zimmer, Dave Grusin, and composer and orchestrator Conrad Pope. The composer very kindly agreed to talk to Movie Music International about his score for My Love Affair with Marriage and its release on Movie Score Media.
How did you become involved with My love Affair with Marriage?
Nearly seven years ago, I received an email from director Signe Baumane introducing her new animation film project, which was in the pre-production phase. Collaborating with Signe on her first feature film, “Rocks in My Pockets,” was an immensely rewarding experience for both of us, as evidenced by her decision to reach out to me again for this second project. Additionally, for the director, it was a reaffirmation of her generous act of trust in me. I reside in Italy, while she is based in New York, and we have never had the opportunity to meet in person. Throughout our collaboration, we have always worked remotely. The first time I had the pleasure of meeting her and producer Sturgis Warner was at the European premiere of the film, which took place at the Annecy Animation Festival. It is worth noting that the film received the prestigious Jury Award at the festival.
Did the director have any specific ideas regarding the music, as in the style or the placing of it?
One clear thing was that the film would also be a musical, but not in the typical Disney animated film style that many people have preconceived notions about. We reflected on what tone to give to the songs, considering whether the style should be the same for all of them. We ruled out from the beginning the Broadway style that we usually associate with musicals. Both I and the producer, Sturgis Warner, have backgrounds in musical theater, and it was clear from the start that the old-style approach (although appealing to a certain audience) wouldn’t work. We began discussing a more modern approach, I would say Off-Broadway style. In the end, what worked best was to differentiate the songs according to the evolution of the story, so we have various styles ranging from what we’ve dubbed “Jazzy Folk” to music with more acoustic (almost Celtic fantasy) atmospheres, to rock, pop, and gospel.
A specific direction came up regarding the scenes involving the character of Biology, who had many interludes. We needed a distinctive and specific scoring background, and after several attempts, the director had an insight: “Why don’t we try using only percussion?” It was a brilliant idea that worked well. You can see the details of this creative process in this backstage video.
The score will be released on movie score media this Friday, did you have any input into what music from the score will be on the album?
The only doubt I had was whether to include the tracks dedicated to the character of Biology that we were talking about earlier. I wondered if listening to tracks with only percussion would be interesting for the listeners, and we discussed whether to remove them or add an additional melody to some of them. Fortunately, I listened to the director and the producer, and we left everything exactly as it is in the film. However, you can see how knowing that the listener will have the streaming experience also influences our production ideas.
How much music did you write for the movie, and is all of it included on the release.
This is a great question! When I release an album, both in physical form and streaming, I like it to be “filled” with music, primarily to give the listener the experience of the film. I remember when I was a child, once we left the movie theater, the only way to relive that experience was either to buy another ticket and watch the film again or to purchase the soundtrack and listen to the music to “replay” the film in my mind. It would take months before I could watch the film again at home on VHS (sometimes even years). Now everything is much quicker, with many films not even being released in theatres and everything being immediately available. However, the desire to relive and make others relive the film through the music is still present. Another reason why I like to include a lot of music is because when a fan purchases a product, I want to give that person the most comprehensive experience and the most music possible. I have composed a substantial amount of music for the film, songs and the overall score are quite prevalent throughout the entire picture. In the release, only a few tracks were skipped, mainly due to their brevity.
The movie is an animated feature, being animation do are you involved earlier than you would be on a live action film, and what sort of time frame did you have to score the film from the spotting to the scoring?
In our first collaboration with Signe Baumane (“Rocks in my Pockets”), I became involved when the film was practically complete. However, in this case, I had the opportunity to contribute from the script stage, as it included songs (lyrics written by the director) that needed to be recorded even before she began any drawings. It was essential to consider the lip-sync of the characters who would be singing on screen. So, in 2017, with the songs, we laid the foundation for the project, and fast forward to 2021, the first draft of the movie was completed, and we began working on the score. Creating animation, especially when it is done with love and is a project of art and storytelling rather than just marketing, takes time. This allowed me the gift of carefully considering each musical choice with the director. As the movie neared the mix stage, Signe suggested, “What if we write one more song for the end titles?” And we wrote “Lion” the ending titles song performed by the talented Storm Large.
Thus, the entire process took a total of 7 years. Just think about what you were doing 7 years ago! The world has changed significantly. On a personal note, when I wrote the first song, my son Leo was still in my wife Agnese’s womb. Now, the soundtrack has been released, and he’s already in second grade!
What size orchestra did you utilise on the score, and what percentage was electronically realised?
The music in this project has a chamber music-like quality. For the more classical cues, I aimed for an intimate sound, while the quirky ones feature small folk ensembles. To maintain authenticity, we recorded with real musicians, except for the percussion cues, where we used sampled instruments. It may seem strange that percussion, being the most acoustic instruments, were not recorded live. However, I needed a wide range of percussion sounds from different parts of the world and recording them all would have been a logistical nightmare. Additionally, using sampled instruments gave me more control over the individual instruments, especially in terms of timing and the vertical construction of the rhythm. The percussion tracks served as the scientific aspect of the storytelling and employing a somewhat mechanical approach helped convey the mechanics of the human body.
Would you say that scoring animation is any different from scoring live action?
In short: No. My goal has always been to write music that enhances the storytelling, regardless of the medium. Animation is not a genre but a medium, so the approach remains the same. The difference lies in collaborating with animators who are incredibly talented and creative individuals. They have a unique perspective and spend hours at their desks, using imagination, paper, and pencils to create new worlds, much like us composers. Working on animation projects is truly enjoyable because of the timeline and the creative freedom that comes with collaborating with imaginative and creative people. However, it’s important to note that not all animation projects follow this approach. Many are simply “products” created for repetitive consumption by children, much like toys. Toys are fun and that’s ok but art and storytelling are another thing.
Did you conduct the score or perform on it?
While I didn’t conduct the score, I performed the piano parts and programmed and played the percussion tracks. It’s worth noting that this project is an international production, involving the United States, Latvia, Luxembourg, and Italy. Due to various circumstances, including pandemic restrictions, different parts of the soundtrack were recorded and mixed remotely.
