Released 30 years ago
The English Patient
Gabriel Yared · 1996
75 min · 28 tracks
A lush, cinematic score intertwines orchestral elegance with haunting melodies, evoking the emotional depth of love and loss.
Top tracks — play these first
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The English Patient — The title track encapsulates the film's essence with its sweeping strings and poignant themes, setting the emotional tone for the entire soundtrack.
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Hana's Curse — This track features a delicate piano melody that reflects Hana's complex emotional landscape, illustrating the intertwining of personal trauma and beauty.
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I'll Always Go Back to That Church — With its serene yet melancholic arrangement, this piece evokes a sense of yearning and nostalgia, perfectly mirroring the film's themes of love and memory.
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Convento di Sant'Anna — This lengthy piece builds from muted tones to a grand orchestral climax, representing the emotional journey throughout the film and showcasing Yared's mastery of tension and release.
Elevation
Our rating, out of 100 — and why.
AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.
InstrumentalThe score's emotional depth and thematic consistency make it a notable work in film music.
What we noticed
- Several tracks utilize recurring motifs that evoke specific emotions, creating a cohesive thematic experience.
- Composition 25% of the score
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8/10
- Craft 20% of the score
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7/10
- Durability 25% of the score
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8/10
- Distinctiveness 18% of the score
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7/10
- Sequencing 12% of the score
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6/10
the writing — melody, harmony, structure, lyrics
production, performance, arrangement
whether it rewards returning to it
whether it sounds like itself
running order, pacing, length
Significant within its genre. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.
Is this for you?
Good fit if you like
- evocative soundscapes for reflection
- haunting melodies for late nights
- short tracks for focused listening
- orchestral elegance during solitude
Maybe skip if you
- seekers of high-energy tracks
- fans of long, sprawling pieces
Where this album fits
- Career context
- When Gabriel Yared released The English Patient in 1996, he was already an established composer known for his work on films like The Talented Mr. Ripley. This soundtrack marked a significant career milestone, as it not only garnered critical acclaim but also won the Academy Award for Best Original Score.
- Stylistic neighbors
- Max Richter· Ludovico Einaudi· Philip Glass
Tracklist
Best experienced from track one — press play and let it unfold.
- 1 The English Patient 3:37
- 2 A Retreat 1:26
- 3 Rupert Bear 1:27
- 4 What Else Do You Love? 1:05
- 5 Why Picton? 1:09
- 6 Cheek to Cheek 3:20
- 7 Kip's Lights 1:29
- 8 Hana's Curse 2:11
- 9 I'll Always Go Back to That Church 1:53
- 10 Black Nights 1:57
- 11 Swoon, I'll Catch You 1:52
- 12 Am I K. in Your Book? 1:00
- 13 Let Me Come In! 2:40
- 14 Wang Wang Blues 2:53
- 15 Convento di Sant'Anna 9:12
- 16 Herodotus 1:11
- 17 Szerelem, szerelem 4:36
- 18 Ask Your Saint Who He's Killed 1:09
- 19 One O'Clock Jump 3:15
- 20 I'll Be Back 4:03
- 21 Let Me Tell You About Winds 1:00
- 22 Read Me to Sleep 5:01
- 23 The Cave of Swimmers 2:00
- 24 Where or When 2:19
- 25 Aria from the Goldberg Variations 3:04
- 26 Cheek to Cheek 3:47
- 27 As Far as Florence 5:12
- 28 Én csak azt csodálom (Lullaby for Katharine) 1:10
Reference: Wikipedia · MusicBrainz · Wikidata
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