MPO serves up a buffet of music from Ratatouille

IT WAS a one-of-a-kind movie ­experience at Dewan Filharmonik Petronas (DFP) on March 12, where audiences were enthralled by a live performance of the music from the Academy Award-winning film ­Ratatouille, while scenes from the film played on a screen.
The Ratatouille music score by Michael Giacchino was performed to a full house by the Malaysian ­Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO), under the baton of multi-award-winning musical director, conductor and arranger Gerard Salonga.
Ratatouille, released in 2007 and winner of the best animated feature Oscar, follows the inspiring story of a rat named Remy (voiced by Patton Oswalt), who dreams of becoming a chef in Paris.
Along the way, the 'little chef' forms an unlikely friendship with hapless kitchen helper Alfredo ­Linguini (Lou Romano), and ­together, they embark on a journey of ­ambition, friendship, self-belief, and perseverance.
However, it was MPO's live ­symphonic orchestra performance of Giacchino's music score, astutely timed and reverberating wondrously against the walls of the majestic auditorium that was the best part of this movie experience.
The score was also nominated for best original score at the 2007 Academy Awards, and went on to win best score soundtrack album for a motion picture, television or other visual media at the 50th Grammy Awards.
Giacchino, who also created the music score for The ­Incredibles (2004), wrote two themes to describe the two sides of Remy's personalities – an inquisitive 'chef', and a mischievous rat who, by ­nature, is a 'thief'.
Its theme song, Le Festin, paints an optimistic picture of a blossoming romance and dreams coming true while the bright, uplifting Ratatouille Main Theme is a tuneful ode to friendship.
There are also elements of music inspired by European romanticism, quasi-classical music, folk, pop, and traditional Parisian café tunes, ­peppered throughout the frenetic and delectable music score.
Besides that, Giacchino also ­brilliantly depicts the taste of food through his great scoring, alongside clever use of visuals especially in one scene where the music perfectly accompanies Remy savouring the taste of cheese and a strawberry, as well as in another scene where the terrifying food critic Anton Ego (Peter O'Toole) is transported back to a childhood memory upon taking a bite of ­Remy's ratatouille dish.
Being in the same room where the sounds of a live symphony were bouncing off the walls made the whole experience even more magnificent. It was ­possibly the best way to enjoy ­Giacchino's attempt to "­capture food in music".