20 years ago, when Craig Armstrong sat down in his Glasgow studio to compose the cues for Richard Curtis’ latest romcom, he had no idea the film would become a beloved cult classic – and his score would be a central part of the its enduring appeal.
Starring an ensemble cast, including Alan Rickman, Bill Nighy, Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth, the intertwining romances of Love Actually were beautifully punctuated and accented by Craig Armstrong’s original score.
Now, the award-winning composer has returned to his original compositions for a new project, to be released by Glasgow-based record label, CMA Records, next month.
Armstrong's new album, Love Actually – The Love Themes For Orchestra, comprises 15 songs from the film’s original score, all beautifully adapted, extended and reworked to celebrate not only the film’s 20th anniversary, but fulfil Armstrong’s long-held ambition to create fuller versions of his now classic compositions.
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Due to the very nature of film editing, Armstrong’s cues were often cut down to shorter versions within the film’s scenes, but revisiting the score has allowed the Grammy winner to write fuller versions, which have been performed by the Budapest Art Orchestra, conducted by Peter Pejtsik, for the album.
“Getting the chance to work on this film twenty years ago was an exciting and sometimes complex process as quite a few areas of the film had to be filmed to on set" explained Armstrong, who has scored many other popular films over his illustrious career, including The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge!, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Far From The Madding Crowd, Snowden and Ray, for which he has achieved many awards including a Golden Globe, Ivor Novellos and BAFTA’s including being awarded a Grammy for Best Original Score.
“Of course, I had no idea at the time that this film would go on to be so loved, and it’s a testament to all the crafts involved in filmmaking that lead to it being the success it is today.”
The tracks on the new album are updated versions of the most poignant, moving parts of the film, including Glasgow Love Theme, a piano-led piece which soundtracks the unrequited love between Mark (Andrew Lincoln) and Juliet (Keira Knightley).
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