George Adams’ documentary Touché: A Blind Fencer’s Story tells the extraordinary story of Catherine Bolton, a woman who after losing most of her vision in adulthood, became a champion blindfolded fencer.

Music for a documentary has to walk a line between romanticism and respect for its subject matter; after all, the “characters” are real people who don’t need to be defined or emotionally authenticated by music. Nonetheless I felt that it was appropriate to compose a leitmotif for Catherine, which recurs throughout the film. Instead of varying the theme musically, I changed its instrumentation to reflect the mood of the moment. This solo piano version takes on a reflective but optimistic tone.

(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	Catherine’s Theme

This week’s cue is a short tango, written for a witty moment in a romantic comedy. The high drama of the musical style clicked well with a scene about a falsified medical confession.

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	Bad News Tango

Here’s some moody underscore from a trauma scene with Erika Christensen’s character in the film Home Room. I spent a lot of time thinking about instrumentation, as too heavy-handed an approach could interfere with the film’s delicate portrayal of a tough moment. I ultimately opted for a duet between two bass flutes, which have a darker quality than the standard-sized flute. Cello harmonies provide a sense of breadth at the end, matching a shift to a wider shot in the scene.

The melody itself is a slowed-down variation of the film’s main theme, barely recognizable unless you have sharp ears. Composers love to recycle!

(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	PTSD

This week’s offering is an introspective cue for piano, strings, and harp (with a touch of clarinet at the very end).

I composed this for a short film way back in the mid-90s; if you listen carefully you can hear some noise from the analog 24-track tape. Thank goodness we’ve moved on from trusting our music to the haphazard alignment of magnetically-charged particles!

(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	Reflections

The movie-within-a-movie tradition is a time honored Hollywood self-indulgence — almost as much so as the musical-within-a-musical tradition. This celebratory music alludes to the Golden Age of cinema as young filmmakers Rod and Bill receive their cherished startup funds. (Their set will later be ransacked by an onslaught of murderous vultures and eagles, but let’s let them enjoy the moment.)

(Click on the play button to stream, or the cue title to download.)

	Making a Movie