May 12, 2014

  • Elfman Does Rumsfeld

    Perhaps one of the more polarizing members of the second Bush administration was Donald Rumsfeld.  Rumsfeld began his public career as a congressman and ended it as Secretary of Defense being one of the key people behind the 2003 invasion of Iraq.  But he was also the face of some of the darker moments in modern US history that came to light at Abu Ghraib.  In Errol Morris’ (The Fog of War) new documentary, The Unknown Known (2013), he tries to get at what makes and made Rumsfeld tick.  The film takes its title from one of the more bizarre conundrums ever uttered:  “There are known knowns. There are known unknowns. There are unknown unknowns. But there are also unknown knowns—that is to say, things that you think you know that it turns out you did not.”  The film was shown at Telluride and several other festivals with a limited release in April.  The score is by Danny Elfman.

    Elfmans’s theme is cast in a 10-note idea where the first four notes are repeated.  These notes move up and back on themselves and the end of this phrase allows the thematic idea to then go in a number of directions.  Sometimes reaching upward, though often accompanied with minor harmonic backdrops.  Flashes of major harmonies are often more striking as this unfolds in the opening track of the release.  Boy soprano lines are also part of the texture (“Two Sides”) though here they have a decidedly lyrical quality.  The use of the children’s chorus lends a sort of innocence to the musical material.  A bit more experimental is the minimalist –like “Marimba Foghorn” with repeated pulses in mallet percussion and thematic material in low brass.  This is one of the most uniquely interesting tracks and feels more like a standalone concert work with interesting shape and laying out of ideas.  Also interesting is that in “Rummy’s Theme” Elfman manages to suggest some of the power, and a sense of purpose and motivation where nervous energy may suddenly explode against an often constant sense of motion.  The lyrical lines provide additional ways to perhaps get at the character of the film’s subject.  There are plenty of moments for Elfman to explore the darker side and this is often done with low strings.  The use of an organ, often against the children’s choir, lends an often eerie religious feel.  When these various elements come together, as in “Geneva”, one gets a snapshot of the film’s subject.  The disc closes with a piano solo version of the main theme.

    Elfman’s music for The Unknown Known is quite mesmerizing.  The orchestral writing is often very fascinating with moments of great beauty set against a nervous almost Hermann-esque energy.  It is certainly easily recommendable for the composer’s fans, but must be one of the better documentary scores of the year.  la-La Land's production here is more typical of a new score release with little or no booklet information.  Yet, one must still be grateful for them helping bring this less commercial score to light.