The main title music, which plays a major role in creating the haunting atmosphere for which the film is remembered, comes from two traditional Romanian panpipe pieces, "Doina: Sus Pe Culmea Dealului" and "Doina Lui Petru Unc" with Romanian Gheorghe Zamfir on panpipe (or panflute) and Swiss born Marcel Cellier playing organ.
Weir first heard Zamfir's music on the album Flutes de Pan et Orgue, originally released on the French Cellier label. Although the film was instrumental in popularising Zamfir's distinctive music, Weir later revealed that Zamfir refused to contribute original music for the film, forcing Weir to obtain the licencing rights for the tracks he had originally heard on the Cellier disc.
The "ascent" theme, which plays first during the girls' climb, then during Michael's ascent of the Rock in pursuit of the missing girls, and later when Albert makes a similar climb, was one of several original compositions written for the film by Australian composer Bruce Smeaton.
There is currently no official soundtrack commercially available. In 1976, CBS released a vinyl LP titled "A Theme from Picnic at Hanging Rock" through their Epic label in the UK. This album included the two Doinas listed above, subtitled "Miranda's Theme" and "A Theme from Picnic at Hanging Rock" respectively; the remaining tracks were more Romanian folk tunes, and the artwork was unrelated to the film, or to Hanging Rock. The Doinas concerned are available on CD on the relatively obscure Disques Cellier label, and are also available as recorded live versions.
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15-05-2007, 08:13 PM
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