Frida (soundtrack)

Frida
Soundtrack album by
Elliot Goldenthal
ReleasedOctober 22, 2002
Recorded2002
GenreLatin
Avant-garde
Modernist
Progressive
Length50:26
LabelUniversal
289 474 150-2
ProducerMatthias Gohl
Elliot Goldenthal chronology
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
(2001) 		Frida
(2002) 		The Good Thief
(2002)

Frida is the original soundtrack album, on the Universal label, of the 2002 Academy Award- and Golden Globe Award-winning film Frida starring Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, Mía Maestro and Ashley Judd. The original score was composed by Elliot Goldenthal. The soundtrack features songs by various artists.

The score

The album won both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score. At the World Soundtrack Awards it won two awards: "Best Original Soundtrack of the Year" and "Soundtrack Composer of the Year".

In Frida, the approach I took scoring the music is that of melodic intimacy (scoring with melodies or tunes as opposed to motific fragments). To achieve additional intimacy I choose a small ensemble of acoustic instruments: the small Mexican guitar (Vihuela), standard classical guitar, Mexican bass guitar (guitarron), accordion, Mexican harp, marimba, and glass armonica (a Benjamin Franklin invention). I found that the guitars provided the full range of lyricism and percussion I needed.

Mexican music cannot be generalized, it varies greatly from one region to the next, but in its folkloric music there is a certain harmonic fingerprint, the use of consecutive thirds and a proud avoidance of over-complex harmonies. I found that if I adhered to this essential harmonic signature, and stayed very honest with my melodies, the movie invited me in. - Elliot Goldenthal

[1]

Track listing

  1. Benediction and Dream - Performed by Lila Downs (2:31)
  2. The Floating Bed (1:29)
  3. El Conejo - Performed by Cojolites (2:29)
  4. Paloma Negra - Performed by Chavela Vargas (3:17)
  5. Self-Portrait With Hair Down (1:09)
  6. Alcoba Azul - Performed by Lila Downs (1:36)
  7. Carabina 30/30 - Performed by El Poder Del Norte (2:43)
  8. Solo Tú (1:22)
  9. El Gusto - Performed by Trio Huasteco Caimanes de Tamuin (2:18)
  10. The Journey (2:56)
  11. El Antifaz - Performed by Liberacion, Miguel Galindo, Alejandro Matehuala, Gerardo Garcia (2:28)
  12. The Suicide of Dorothy Hale (0:48)
  13. La Calavera (1:40)
  14. La Bruja - Performed by Salma Hayek and Los Vega (1:57)
  15. Portrait of Lupe (2:13)
  16. La Llorona - Performed by Chavela Vargas (2:22)
  17. Estrella Oscura - Performed by Lila Downs (1:48)
  18. Still Life (1:31)
  19. Viva la Vida - Performed by Trio / Marimberos (2:16)
  20. The Departure (2:13)
  21. Coyoacán and Variations (2:34)
  22. La Llorona - Performed by Lila Downs & Mariachi Juvenil de Tecalitián (2:20)
  23. Burning Bed (1:08)
  24. Burn It Blue - Performed by Caetano Veloso and Lila Downs (7:58)

Crew/Credit

  • Music Composed by Elliot Goldenthal
  • Music Produced by Teese Gohl and Elliot Goldenthal
  • Orchestrated by Elliot Goldenthal and Robert Elhai
  • Orchestra Conducted by Stephen Mercurio
  • Recorded and Mixed by Joel Iwataki
  • Electronic Music Produced by Richard Martinez
  • Music Editor: Curtis Roush

Certifications and sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Greece (IFPI Greece)[2] Gold 15,000^
United States — 223,000[3]

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Elliot Goldenthal Discography: Frida (2002)". Archived from the original on 2007-08-16. Retrieved 2007-08-26.
  2. ^ "Ελληνικό Chart – Top 50 Ξένων Aλμπουμ" (in Greek). IFPI Greece. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  3. ^ "World's greatest". Billboard. 16 June 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2019.