This music from Lady Usher accompanies a reflective moment in the shower which becomes visceral with the arrival of an unwelcome plus one.

The hair-raising effects at the end are entirely acoustic, with no processing other than reverb. One of the reasons I love working with live strings is because they’re capable of creating these kinds of alien sounds for moments of tension.

This mid-film cue from Lady Usher accompanies a complex scene where tenderness turns to passion, and then… something disturbing.

Thematically, this cue introduces a melody for the main couple’s relationship. This theme will recur as the tension mounts, and Morgan and Roderick start to face tough decisions about their future.

One reason I selected a string quartet for the score of Lady Usher is because strings are particularly capable of producing hair-raising acoustic effects.

This atmospheric cue uses unusual playing techniques to accompany a nightmare sequence, followed by a hesitant trip down Usher’s disturbing hallways.

This week’s music from the score for Lady Usher accompanies a classic “plot thickens” scene. We hear a reprise of the Lady’s theme, then a dark dance which underscores the increasingly-creepy dialogue about the Usher family.

Sorry… I meant to say the award-winning score for Lady Usher. I’m pleased to share that the music won Best Original Score at the New York Cinematography Awards competition. Read the details here!

The centerpiece of the score for Lady Usher is the theme for the film’s titular antagonist, the domineering and manipulative Lady. This cue heralds her arrival with a lyrical but edgy melody, which will serve as her leitmotif for the rest of the story.

In short order the music shifts to an impish tango, echoing the back-and-forth verbal sparring between Morgan and her new prospective mother-in-law.

This week’s music from Lady Usher is short but sweet. Well, short but macabre. Once the heroine has entered the Usher domain, the visuals become dark and oppressive, and the music shifts accordingly.

One great thing about a string quartet is the ability to convey agitation in a very intimate, almost claustrophobic way. (Whereas a full string section sounds both richer and more distanced, by nature.) We’ll hear more of this sound as we continue into the creepier parts of the score.