Fantastic Film Scores and Where to Find Them
2022 Top Ten, part deuce: my favorite film music of the year
My favorite music genre is film/TV scores (what a lot of people refer to as “soundtracks”). One of my treasured end-of-year traditions is listening to the albums that have stood out to me, and arranging them in order of my personal preference. Thus, the list below is not necessarily what I consider to be the best scores from 2022, but rather the music I liked listening to the most.
To be clear, I listen to music from many films that I end up not watching, either for personal or ethical reasons. For example, I’ve seen only three of the entries represented by the list below. Unlike the visuals they accompany, film scores are rarely morally problematic in and of themselves.
For your aural pleasure, I have linked to the albums below so you can enjoy them as well. No, there’s no need to thank me. And yes, you’re welcome.
10. Amsterdam, Daniel Pemberton
It baffles me that this score has failed to make it on most everyone’s end-of-year lists, as it’s a beautiful piece of work. It also represents one of two spots on my Top Ten list by composer Daniel Pemberton.
9. Le Temps Des Secrets, Philippe Rombi
This is one of two foreign film scores to make my list this year. Special thanks to my friend Jonathan Broxton at Movie Music UK for expanding my horizons and introducing me to so much music I would otherwise remain unaware of.
8. Immenhof: Das große Verspreche, by Hannes de Maeyer
7. Medieval, Philip Klein
Medieval is, to date, the most expensive Czech film ever made. I can’t attest to the quality of the film itself (although I do know it contains an unfortunate scene of sexual exploitation), but I definitely enjoy its music.
6. Disenchanted, Alan Menken & Stephen Schwartz
It received mixed reviews from audiences, but I, like my film critic acquaintance Scott Renshaw, appreciate how this sequel branches off from the original without simply rehashing or recycling previous plot points, even if some of its efforts don’t stick the landing. Still, the film is a worthy entry in the series, and the same goes for the delightful score and musical numbers by the dynamic duo of Menken and Schwartz. There’s only one negative: unlike the Enchanted album (which included a mixture of songs and score), the Disenchanted album includes only one score track.
5. Enola Holmes 2, Daniel Pemberton
The second Daniel Pemberton score on this year’s list. I have yet to see either Enola Holmes movie, but I have fallen in love with the music to the sequel. It is fun, exciting, and delightful.
4. Black Adam, Lorne Balfe
While not up to par with Balfe’s action-packed score for Black Widow (which was my #1 pick for last year), Black Adam nonetheless provides a rip-roaring good time. Evidently, I really like Lorne Balfe scores that start with the word “Black.”
3. Redeeming Love, Brian Tyler
There are a few praiseworthy aspects of this faith-based film, and the musical score is probably its most shining achievement.
2. The Railway Children Return, Edward Farmer & Martin Phipps
This score’s rich and memorable themes make it a standout of 2022.
1. The Rings of Power, Bear McCreary
The clear winner is the epically gorgeous (or gorgeously epic) music to the Amazon TV series The Rings of Power. The pillaging of its source material notwithstanding, I enjoyed a majority of the show (much to my Tolkien-loving wife’s chagrin), and the music played no small part in that enjoyment. The scope and depth of the musical tapestry for Middle-Earth is worthy of the accolades given to Howard Shore’s scores for Peter Jackson’s films. (It also doesn’t hurt that Shore composed the music for the Rings of Power title sequence.)
Honorable Mentions: The Banshees of Inisherin, by Carter Burwell; and Death on the Nile, by Patrick Doyle.