Ethnomusicology Informed Jarre’s Film Scores

“[U]nlike so many of today’s thundering but essentially interchangeable big-orchestra-plus-electronics scores, the voice of a Maurice Jarre film was always uniquely his own. Jarre, who died Saturday at age 84, suggested exotic locales with instruments unique to the region being portrayed. He subtly conveyed changes in tone, depending on the story being told — and, yes, he often came up with a memorable melody that kept people humming as they left the theater. “