Press Release from Music Box:
Music Box Records proudly presents a 2-CD edition of two original motion picture soundtracks composed and conducted by Jean-Claude Petit for Henri Verneuil's films: Mayrig (1991) and 588, rue Paradis (1992).
Mayrig and 588, rue Paradis were Henri Verneuil’s last feature films and gave Jean-Claude Petit the opportunity to compose a powerful and poignant score for duduk, choir and orchestra. The lyrical score is built around two main themes. The theme of Délé Yaman, based on a popular Armenian melody, can be heard as early as the opening credits of Mayrig. The melody opens slowly on flute notes supported by a choir, the duduk performed by Levon Minassian and the voice of the mezzo-soprano Sonia Nigoghossian, embodying the voice of an ancestral and timeless Armenia. For the main theme, the composer wrote a great waltz theme, played by the duduk and strings, expressing Henri Verneuil’s bondless love for his family. 588, rue Paradis allows the composer to introduce new motifs, including a short and dynamic theme on the piano, associated with Astrig, Azad’s new love interest and danceable jazz pieces for piano and strings accompanying the scenes from Pierre Zakar’s new play.
Supervised by Jean-Claude Petit, the program has been remastered from the composer’s original master tapes and includes the premiere CD release of 588, rue Paradis. The CD comes with a 12-page booklet with liner notes by Sylvain Pfeffer, discussing the films and the scores including new comments by Jean-Claude Petit on his collaboration with Henri Verneuil. The release is limited to 500 units.