Composers
Ángel Illarramendi
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Born: 1958
Ever since his entry into Spanish cinema in the mid-80s, facilitated by the producer, Elías Querejeta, Ángel Illarramendi (born Zarautz,1958) has been responsible for some of the most outstanding films of the last twenty years. Versatile and multifaceted, Illarramendi has worked in all genres from drama (El Hijo de la Novia – ‘Son of the Bride’, Yoyes), comedy (Sinfín, Buen Viaje Excelencia), thrillers (El Celo – ‘Presence of Mind’ ) and the biopic (Los Borgia, Teresa), to animated films (El Rey de la Granja, La Isla del Cangrejo). In all cases he has been successful in leaving his own personal and inimitable stamp. His music, deeply romantic and melancholic, is closely linked to nature and to the soul. It exudes the fragrance of damp earth, the murmur of the wind or the peace and tranquillity of green-water lakes; all elements of his homeland, the Spanish Basque country. His rich melodies flow easily, connecting intimately with the most human of emotions, with feelings like love, despair, tenderness or beauty. Illarramendi was initiated into the world of music at the age of six when he sang in local festivals. At the age of eleven he composed his first songs, and at sixteen he began studying harmony, counterpoint, fugue and composition in the San Sebastian Conservatory. On finishing his studies in 1981, he began teaching in the Escuela Vasca de Teatro Antzerti (The Basque Theatre Academy) before leaping into the world of cinema. In this area Illarramendi has worked with the Argentinean Director, Juan José Campanella, in two pieces which deal with the passage of time and the effects of modern life, evoking the past with some nostalgia (Luna de Avellaneda) or indeed succumbing to the uncertain present in order to overcome fear (Son of the Bride). His career within Spanish cinema includes collaborations with Gracia Querejeta, a director with a rather bleak vision of reality, to which the composer brings restraint and poetry (El Último Viaje de Robert Rylands). Other collaborators include: Pedro Olea, with whom he explores love and addictions in Tiempo de Tormenta; Antonio Hernández, whom he helps to shed some light on the shadows enveloping one of the most powerful and influential families of the Renaissance in Los Borgia; Helena Taberna, working in the film about the brave Basque woman, Yoyes, a story about a repentant terrorist which allows the composer to show us inside the mind and heart of someone desperately trying to escape from horror; and the highly original Ray Loriga, in whose Teresa, el Cuerpo de Cristo he penetrates the hidden demons of religious mysticism. Ángel Illarramendi has proven to be effective in his experiences with genres such as comedy, animation or thrillers as, far from sticking to the typical clichés; he creates his own sonorous universe which underlines the action by contrast. Thus Sinfín, an amusing tale abut a rock group becomes, in Ángel’s hands, the story of love and overcoming difficulties, or the irreverently satirical Buen Viaje, Excelencia about Franco, the dictator, a story of a very real and human character. When working in animated films he has shown a great respect for children by producing sombre and elegant music, shunning onomatopoeia and stunning effects, and when he has turned his attention to such complex genres as thrillers, he has gone beyond the visual with tenderness and innocence, showing us what lies hidden behind decadent moral principles in El Celo, based on Henry James’ novel, The Turn of the Screw. However, Ángel Illarramendi’s interests go far beyond cinema music. In the field of concert music, he is a leading figure in Spain. Composer of a long list of chamber and choral music, this Basque musician has composed seven symphonies since his ‘baptism’ in 1984. The last one, completed at the end of 2007, was recorded with the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra and choir and has been described by the composer as “music directed at the soul and for all audiences”. Further examples of this creative double life are the Chamber Opera commissioned by Euskal Kamara in 1999, Zapatos de Mujer, and the suite Una Historia Reciente, which addresses his need to humanise nature. Illarramendi has received numerous awards: El Último Viaje de Robert Rylands and Héctor both won the C.E.C. Prize (Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos – Film Writers’ Circle) as well as nominations for the Goya Prizes, awarded by the Spanish Film Academy. Also from C.E.C. Prizes were nominations for Cuando Vuelvas a mi Lado, Aunque Tú no lo Sepas, and La Buena Nueva, and he has twice been nominated for the Condor prize (Association of Argentinean Critics) for El Hijo de la Novia and Luna de Avellaneda. His 7th Symphony was awarded the CD Compact 2009 prize for the best Spanish music recording of the year. Miguel Ángel Ordóñez.
Updated by Unión Musical 2012
External Websites
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