Murder on the Orient Express

Development

In a BBC Radio 3 interaction with Sean Rafferty, composer Patrick Doyle, a frequent collaborator of Branagh, stated that he would be composing music for Murder on the Orient Express. Like his previous films where he would create a template of various sounds, Doyle assembled a conceptual suite inspired by oriental and occidental music and early classical music. Doyle used various indigenous flute sounds and Turkish instruments, including zither, cimbalom, ney flute, duduk and timbres.

For the main theme, Doyle used an ostinato motif to symbolize the movement of train along with rising arpeggios. For Armstrong's theme, he used delicate piano and solo cello. Doyle further wrote the song "Night Train" which was later used in the film as a piece for solo piano, that utilized 1940s harmonies and saxophones playing the "woo-woo" sounds resembling the train horn, and the "chugga" sounds of the string ostinato, which heard in "The Orient Express". These sounds helped creating the resonance of the train. Doyle further mixed the rhythm of the train with the thematic material of "Poirot's Theme" which he drew inspiration from his theme composed for Carlito's Way in the end.

Though the song "Night Train" never used, the solo piano version called "Poirot's Theme" was used when Poirot comes off the train at the end, which he considered it to be jazzy, melancholic and wistful. Doyle considered the score had a rich palette of thematic material and melodies but the music for Poirot, Orient Express and the Armstrong family were the prominent motifs heard in the film. The song "Never Forget" was conceptualized late in the process, derived from the Armstrong theme as Branagh considered it to make a beautiful song. Based on that theme, Doyle sent the melody to Branagh for which he wrote the first verse, and then composed the rest of the song, while Branagh wrote the last verse and chorus. Branagh then suggested Michelle Pfeiffer to record the song, to which Pfeiffer agreed and eventually recorded at San Francisco.

Reception

Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK considered "Murder on the Orient Express is one of the scores of the year". He added "[...] Doyle judged everything perfectly, allowing the inner workings of Poirot's mind to take center state as he quietly, methodically solves the case. This, combined with the wonderfully evocative opening sequence in the Middle East, the ebullient and sweeping Traveling sequence, the brief explosions of action, and the extraordinarily powerful finale in Cue of the Year contender “Justice,” reminds me why I have always held Patrick Doyle in such high esteem, and why his collaborations with Kenneth Branagh should always be something to be greatly anticipated."

James Southall of Movie Wave wrote "From the buzz and excitement of the opening, through the suspenseful and sometimes mysterious middle section to the grand catharsis, Patrick Doyle goes full steam ahead – never getting near to going off the rails of his carefully-plotted course. Best of all, it's supremely elegant throughout – the thematic material is exquisite, the emotional highs and lows all richly earned." Pete Simons of Synchrotones wrote "A new Doyle is (almost) always a pleasure and Murder on the Orient Express sure is a fine score. It doesn't get me all excited though."

Filmtracks wrote "All put together, Murder on the Orient Express is an encapsulating, intelligent, and effective suspense score laced with just enough romantic lyricism to suffice for the period and lavish setting." Sean Wilson of Mfiles wrote "It's the culmination of another fine score from Doyle, one that perhaps avoids ranking with his very best due to its largely unobtrusive nature". Matt Goldberg of Collider stated "Patrick Doyle provides a great score".

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes: