Conclave (soundtrack)

German composer Volker Bertelmann composed the original score to Conclave, in his fifth film collaboration with Berger.^[1] During the 95th Academy Awards press tour, where Bertelmann was nominated for All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) at the Best Original Score category (and eventually winning that award), Berger discussed about the script to Bertelmann and wanted him to avoid the renaissance and baroque musical style in the Vatican—the soundscape which Bertelmann asked to develop was neither "too ecclesiastical [nor] classical", which led to him experimenting with lesser-known instruments.^[2]

While Bertelmann used a century-old harmonium to play in lower notes, for the score of All Quiet on the Western Front, he needed to employ a similar approach for the Conclave to set the religious tone. In search of an acoustic instrument that "sounds like a synthesizer or something electronic",^[3] Bertelmann chose the Cristal Baschet,^[a] a crystallophone played using wet hands, as the predominant sound for the film score.^[2] The instrument was thematically fitting for the film's score, as it produces a feel of an "otherwordly space" and its handmade playing, helped him to produce "strange and divine" sounds.^[2] Bertelmann added that "The Cristal Baschet theme is celebrating a religious feeling and inner strength and belief as something that is important for humans. But at the same time, I can also use it to go nasty in certain areas."^[3]

"I’m working with electronic elements, and I’m using experimental sounds a lot that [appear] in a lot of modern classical music or in quite arty music because I really like the texture. I like sounds that you can touch, somehow, where you hear the viscerality."

In addition, Bertelmann had string players use a ricochet bowing technique.^[2] The sounds were layered in a tactical and animalistic manner, which Bertelmann felt that "we are watching a ritual that has [a very] tribal quality to it" and wanted to enhance it a little more and "make it raw".^[2] He wanted to add an uncertainty to the score, "by creating music that isn't always exact or precise" and added cracks in the Sistine Chapel into the score, so that he can produce "random, weird sounds". In order to mirror the film's conflicting factions within the cardinals, Bertelmann sometimes incorporated polyrhythms, such as triplets against eighth or sixteenth notes.^[2]

Due to many characters sharing scenes in the film, Bertelmann chose to create themes for specific situations as opposed to themes for individual characters.^[4] He also included more music in dialogue without losing connections with each other.^[3]

The musical cue "Seal the Room" was a late addition to the score. Bertelmann, Berger and producer Tessa Ross wanted a cue which was contrast to the end credits music, "which would be a deep breath of relief, light filtering back in after the end of the conclave."^[2] After three tries, Bertelmann developed a revised version which they liked, and with this idea, they replaced cues later in the film and changing certain cues.^[2]

Jonathan Broxton, in his review for Movie Music UK, described the score as "outstanding in the film, adding weight and seriousness to the underlying themes and its central mystery, while also subliminally acknowledging many of the issues affecting the church today in terms of its relevance to the modern world. When you combine this with the immensely positive effect of its brilliant end credits piece, its overall impact is undeniable."^[5] Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent described the score as "sparse but methodical",^[6] while Wendy Ide of The Guardian called it as "forceful, emphatic score".^[7] Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair called the score "turgid".^[8]

Tim Grierson of Screen International wrote "Volker Bertelmann's thundering score sometimes creates the mistaken impression that we are watching a monumental drama".^[9] Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter wrote "Composer Volker Bertelmann, who won an Oscar for his score for All Quiet on the Western Front, demonstrates his expertise as well as his versatility with his work here."^[10] Katie Walsh of Los Angeles Times wrote "The slashing strings of composer Volker Bertelmann's score ably convey the stakes of the situation."^[11] Pete Hammond of Deadline Hollywood wrote "Oscar winner Volker Bertelmann's towering score never overwhelms the actions but immeasurably adds to the pace."^[12]

Justin Chang in his review for NPR summarized "Volker Bertelmann's score is as bombastic as an exorcism."^[13] Nick Schager of The Daily Beast wrote "Volker Bertelmann's string-heavy orchestral score goes so incredibly hard during these early passages that the film feels as if it's straining for enormity."^[14]

Credits adapted from Film Music Reporter:^[15]