Far from the Madding Crowd (soundtrack)

Craig Armstrong composed the musical score for Far from the Madding Crowd.^[1] Armstrong added that the music for the film accompanied folk music and hymns, from the late 19th and 20th century, something significant in Thomas Hardy's period. But instead of revisiting that period of early folk music, he built the soundscape of the score based on English composers Frederick Delius, Edward Elgar and Ralph Vaughan Williams, as he felt the Englishness would suit the film. Though despite focusing on the period music from Hardy's time, the soundscape still captured the sense of English Romanticism.^[2] The album further featured contributions from folk musicians and also songs performed by Carey Mulligan and Michael Sheen.^[3]

The soundtrack was released through Sony Classical Records and Fox Music on 28 April 2015.^[4][5]

Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK wrote "Far From the Madding Crowd is a superb score in the great classical tradition; although it has no action sequences, and maintains a generally consistent tone throughout, the emotions that come flowing from the score are effortlessly beautiful, and the violin solos are worth the price of the purchase alone."^[6] Sean Wilson of Mfiles wrote "one of the most pleasurable aspects of Armstrong's score is how it pays homage to beloved romantic composers: it's sweeping when it needs to be yet also subtle when necessary, placing just as much emphasis on the inter-personal relationships as it does on capturing the Dorset landscape. Armstrong has always been a sensitive composer, pitching his music on the fine line between sentimentality and sincerity, and Far from the Madding Crowd finds him at the top of his game. Anchored by a selection of strong central themes, the score has a clear reverence for Thomas Hardy's text whilst also being emotionally accessible enough for a 21st century audience. Like Bathsheba herself, the score is fulsome, tentative, decisive and beautiful by turns, sure to be one of the highlights of the year."^[7]

Pete Simons of Synchrotones wrote "Far From the Madding Crowd is a wonderful score with lyrical themes and pastorale orchestrations. It's almost relentless in its beauty and use of strings [...] [it] is lush, romantic, dramatic, virtuous; and yet it's suitably restraint, making you feel the heart aches. One of Armstrong's finest scores to date, and one of this year's best so far."^[8] James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "Far From the Madding Crowd is very different from anything heard from the composer before and it's just gorgeous, one of the best things he's ever done. Romantic and beautiful but much more substantial than the Rachel Portman template usually applied to these things, it's a serious work and deserves a very wide audience. Certainly one of the scores of the year."^[9]

Scott Foundas of Variety wrote "Composer Craig Armstrong's richly orchestrated but sparingly used score does its best to articulate the bottled-up emotions the characters themselves can not."^[10] A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote "the musical score (by Craig Armstrong) swells with melodramatic portent".^[11] Critic based at Classic FM wrote "All the drama and passion of the story is captured in Armstrong's warm, pastoral strings and orchestration. There are also nods to traditional British ballads, as well as the expected romantic cues."^[12] Alonso Duralde of TheWrap wrote that the film is "scored to a soaring fare-thee-well by Craig Armstrong".^[13] Dayna Papaleo of City called it a "gorgeously evocative score".^[14] Alison Rowat of The Herald said that Armstong "provides a suitably epic score".^[15]

Credits adapted from liner notes:^[16]