Maurice-Alexis Jarre (French pronunciation:[mɔʁisalɛksiʒaʁ]; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) was a French composer and conductor, mainly offilm scores. He was particularly known for his collaborations with film directorDavid Lean, composing the scores to all of his films from 1962 to 1984. He received numerous accolades over the course of his career, including threeAcademy Awards, threeBAFTA Awards, fourGolden Globes, and aGrammy Award.
Three of his compositions spent a total of 42 weeks on the UK singles chart. The biggest hit was "Somewhere My Love" (to his tune "Lara's Theme", with lyrics byPaul Francis Webster) performed by theMike Sammes Singers, which reached Number 14 in 1966 and spent 38 weeks on the chart.
Maurice-Alexis Jarre was born on 13 September 1924 inLyon, France,[1][2][3] the son of Gabrielle Renée (née Boullu) and André Jarre, a radio technical director.[citation needed]
He first enrolled in the engineering school at theSorbonne, but decided to pursue music courses instead. He left the Sorbonne against his father's will and enrolled at theConservatoire de Paris to studycomposition andharmony and chosepercussion as his major instrument.[3]
In 1961, Jarre's music career experienced a major change when American film producerSam Spiegel asked him to write the score for the 1962 epicLawrence of Arabia, directed byDavid Lean. The acclaimed score won Jarre his firstAcademy Award and he would go on to compose the scores to all of Lean's subsequent films. He followed withThe Train (1964) andGrand Prix (1966), both for directorJohn Frankenheimer, and in between had another great success in David Lean'sDoctor Zhivago, which included the lyricless tune "Lara's Theme" (later the tune for the song "Somewhere My Love"), and which earned him his secondOscar. He worked withAlfred Hitchcock onTopaz (1969): although Hitchcock's experiences with the film were unhappy, he was satisfied with Jarre's score, telling him, "I have not given you a great film, but you have given me a great score."[citation needed]
Jarre's score forDavid Lean'sRyan's Daughter (1970), set in Ireland, completely eschews traditional Irish music styles, according to Lean's preferences. The song "It Was a Good Time," fromRyan's Daughter went on to be recorded by musical stars such asLiza Minnelli who used it in her critically acclaimed television specialLiza with a Z as well as by others during the 1970s. He contributed the music forLuchino Visconti'sThe Damned (1969), andJohn Huston'sThe Man Who Would Be King (1975).
In 1990, Jarre was again nominated for an Academy Award scoring the supernatural love story/thrillerGhost. His music for the final scene of the film is based on "Unchained Melody" composed by fellow film composerAlex North.[3] Other films for which he provided the music includeA Walk in the Clouds (1995), for which he wrote the score and all of the songs, including the romantic "Mariachi Serenade". Also to his credit is the passionate love theme fromFatal Attraction (1987), and the moody electronic soundscapes ofAfter Dark, My Sweet (1990). He was well respected by other composers including John Williams, who stated, on Jarre's death, "(He) is to be well remembered for his lasting contribution to film music ... we all have been enriched by his legacy."[7]
Jarre scored his last project in 2001, a television mini-series about theHolocaust titledUprising.[3]
He was "one of the giants of 20th-century film music"[8] who was "among the most sought-after composers in the movie industry" and "a creator of both subtle underscoring and grand, sweeping themes, not only writing for conventional orchestras ... but also experimenting with electronic sounds later in his career".[9]
Jarre was married four times, the first three marriages ending in divorce. In the 1940s, his marriage to Francette Pejot, aFrench Resistance member and concentration camp survivor, produced a son,Jean-Michel Jarre, a French composer, performer, and music producer, who is one of the pioneers inelectronic music. When Jean-Michel was five years old, Maurice split up with his wife and moved to the United States, leaving Jean-Michel with his mother in France.[10]
In 1965, Jarre married French actressDany Saval; together they had a daughter, Stephanie Jarre. He next married American actressLaura Devon (1967–1984), resulting in his adopting her son,Kevin Jarre, ascreenwriter, with credits on such films asTombstone andGlory (1989). From 1984 to his death, he was married to Fui Fong Khong.[11]
Jarre received three Academy Awards and received a total of nine nominations, eight for Best Original Score and one for Best Original Song. He also won four Golden Globes and was nominated for ten. The American Film Institute ranked Jarre's score forLawrence of Arabia number three ontheir list of the greatest film scores. His scores for the following films were also nominated for the list:Doctor Zhivago (1965),A Passage to India (1984), andRyan's Daughter (1970). Numerous additional awards includeASCAP'sLifetime Achievement Award in 1993.[13] He received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.[14]
