Dorian Le Gallienne: The Prize: 5) Searching the Farm

Abstract

The Prize is the story of a boy, Snowy, who wins a goat at a country show, but loses it on his way home. The goat is caught by two larrikins who attempt to steal the animal, but their plot is thwarted by Snowy's persistence in pursuing his new pet. He is eventually successful. The film was shot in black and white; the strong Australian light is subtly controlled, the whole given a slightly European feeling with soft focus and an 'art house' style. Le Gallienne's music is rich, evocative and mimetic. It cleverly follows the film's action, heightening visual events and providing atmosphere and narrative support. The sections of the score have been separated on the mastertape, forming a suite of contrasting pieces. Roger Covell, in the Autumn 1994 edition of Sounds Australian, adds to his earlier opinions (1967) of Le Gallienne's music: The special claims I enter for Le Gallienne are that, more than any other resident Australian composer of his time, he provided a persuasive example of possessing the composer's equivalent of outstanding draughtsmanship in an artist working with visual materials. His melodic-thematic gift was exceptional, not less so (indeed, arguably more so) for being expressed in a conservative and recognisable idiom ... His music sounded competent within recognisable styles of composition; but it did more than this: it appeared memorable and fresh in its own right, to a remarkable extent avoiding staleness and the air of repeating whatothers had said earlierorbetter." These comments seem apposite for Le Gallienne's film music. It was skilfully draughted, its structure linked to the edited final cut, and its movement and mood adding immeasurably to the whole. It was and remains memorable and fresh.