JUNE 2007
L'innocence plus forte que le mal: Le Labyrinthe de Pan - Entretien avec Javier Navarette
L'innocence contre le mal. Un duel impossible, presque insoutenable. Et pourtant, l'après-guerre en Espagne a inspiré Guillermo Del Toro ( L'Echine du Diable, Blade 2, Hellboy...) et le compositeur Javier Navarette, pour aborder cette question avec sensibilité et donner une couleur sonore exceptionnelle au Labyrinthe de Pan. Le film est à la fois emprunt de violences et de cruautés (difficilement suportables visuellement), mais réalisateur et compositeur ont su nous immerger dans un monde fantastique empli de candeur et d'innocence enfantine. Et c'est grâce à la musique que ces univers qui se côtoient et s'opposent peuvent co-exister. Une musique envoûtante comme une ritournelle qui nous emmène loin dans l'imaginaire. Un peu comme un conte que l'on raconterait aux enfants pour les préserver d'une réalité trop dure.
Please,
Mister Navarrete, how would you personally
introduce yourself?
Javier NAVARETTE - I'm an art lover, and (I hope)
a loving person. I like simple, straight,
powerfull forms of art, from primitive to
contemporary avantgarde, when ahieved...
What are your sources of
inspiration when you compose film music: styles
of music, composers…
Do you have any mentor?
I belong to an eclectic generation. I'm sorry if
it doesn't sound very humble, but my main source
of inspiration is myself. I think all of us are
full of information, and we only have to look at
something, anything closer and closer, to get
inspired.
May you tell me about your
training?
Also eclectic: self-learn electric guitar, then
jazz chords, electronic music workshops, then
minimalism. And then again everything: french
impresionistic, russian avantgarde.
May you tell me about your
background?
I come from a catholic family from a very cold
side of Spain. Coming to Barcelona improved a lot
my quality of life. I might move now, somewhere
else.
Among all your scores what are the
ones you like the most?
I like 13 Campanadas and 99.9, and better at all
Pan's Labyrinth.
When and how did you come to work
in film music?
Agustin Villaronga was told about me and came to
a concert, then he looked for me for a film
called In a glass cage.
What do you feel when you’re
composing and what do you like in this process?
I try to concentrate in achieving good pieces. In
between, many things happen, of course:
conversation with the director, getting better
knowledge of the film, finding new things, even
errors can help. What I like better is the moment
in which a cue is near to be finished, but still
can be refined. The very begining is also very
nice.
How did you come on the Pan’s
Labyrinth project?
Guillermo came to Barcelona, even before he
finished the story. I was very pleased listening
the story from his voice, like from an ancient
trouvadour.
Did you know, when you started,
that the film would be presented at the Cannes
film festival ?
Not at all.
How would you describe your score
for Pan’s Labyrinth?
It is quite clasical, and straight. There is a
central theme and two or three seconday themes.
It is thematic and atmospheric, I hope. Melody has an important role, that's true.
I didn't was in a hurry, but there was a good amount of music to do, so I was busy a few months. Budget was enough, I don't know exactly. In some moment of the planning it came to be much bigger than producers thought, because we wanted choir and other extras. Guillermo insisted and that made a difference, I think.
Did you use some electronic sounds in your score or was it all live?There are no electronic at all. Orchestra was a clasical medium-large, without some woods, and more or less full brasses and percussions. Mixed choir also has a background role.
Yes. We've got Jaroslava Eliaasova playing piano, even after she had left music. She's quite an old lady, but I insisted and insisted and got this interesting lady playing again, maybe recording for the last time. I deeply admire her sound and feeling.
I worked very closely to Guillermo and Bernat Vilaplana, the editor, who is very good with music, by the way.
For a new project, if you could choose a genre, a kind of story and a filmmaker, what would they be?
