MOVIE MUSIC UK

Original Review by Jonathan Broxton

El Tiempo Entre Costuras, “The Time Between Seams”, is an epic Spanish TV series based on the novel by María Dueñas. Broadcast on the Antena 3 network in October 2013, it stars Adriana Ugarte as Sira Quiroga, a seamstress in Madrid in the 1930s, who is forced to flee her home when the Spanish Civil War breaks out. The score for El Tiempo Entre Costuras is by Los Angeles-based Andalusian composer César Benito, and it’s absolutely sensational. There’s something captivating, emotional, entrancing about César Benito’s work here. Epic, yet intimate, sweeping, yet personal, it’s one of the best scores for television you are ever likely to here. Beginning with the rhapsodic “Tema de Sira”, written for solo piano, the score opens up into the sparkling, busy “Madrid, 1922”, which captures the life and energy of pre-war Madrid through central theme which effortlessly moves around all sections of the orchestra, and features an especially gorgeous sequence for various solo woodwinds.

The fluid, flowing theme for Sira appears constantly throughout the score, keeping her life and fate the center of attention. In “Una Máquina de Escribir” it recieves its first performance accompanied by the orchestra; in “Mi Madre y Yo, Dos Extrañas” it is taken over by a haunting cello; in “Entre Costuras” it has a slightly faraway aspect, through its tinkling cimbalom countermelody and dreamy-sounding orchestrations; in “Amor Entre Guerras” it has a much more passionate, vigorous feeling, while “Agente Agoriuq” and “Modista, Espía, Amanta y Mujer” are straightforward re-statements for those wonderful, rolling pianos, although the latter of the two does have a slightly melancholy air. The conclusive “Final Abierto” restates the theme with its cimbalom orchestration, ending the score on a reflective note.

In a score full of highlights, it’s difficult to pick out especially notable cues, as all of them are so supremely good. Pieces like “Sus Pupilas Clavadas en las Mías” just overflow with emotion, gorgeous harmonies, and lyrical orchestrations, while pieces like “Nas Ruas de Lisboa” have a touch of Alexandre Desplat about them with their deft glockenspiel tinkles, pizzicato rhythms and soft vocal cadences. Elsewhere, the moody, mysterious female vocal element and ethnic percussion and woodwinds in “En Marruecos” lends an ethereal quality to the series’s depiction of North Africa, while the later “Trapicheos y Contrabando” twists those orchestrations into a more strident, urgent action sequence with an impressive, bassy piano beat.

“Al Borde del Abismo” has a sense of despair and anticipation that is palpable; “La Sombra del Tercer Reich” is all dissonant brass wails and martial snare drum rhythms that break the peace and tranquility harshly. This carries over into the five-minute “Misión: Escapar”, a nervous, insistent action and suspense cue that eschews all melody and romance for harsh rhythms, percussion, and a general sense of unease and tension. However, I must stress that this is a score with no weak tracks, no moments of “down-time”, no moments where it starts to drag. Benito’s beautiful classical elegance shines through virtually the entirety of the work, with each section getting its chance to bask in the glow of the composer’s luscious melodies. It’s masterful.

Buy the El Tiempo Entre Costuras soundtrack from the Movie Music UK Store

Track Listing:

• Tema de Sira (2:59)
• Madrid, 1922 (5:28)
• Una Máquina de Escribir (0:55)
• Sus Pupilas Clavadas en las Mías (4:40)
• Mi Madre y Yo, Dos Extrañas (3:17)
• En Marruecos (4:01)
• Al Borde del Abismo (4:03)
• Candelaria “La Matutera” (1:46)
• Trapicheos y Contrabando (2:57)
• L’Atelier (1:48)
• Entre Costuras (1:38)
• La Distinguida y Elegante Rosalinda Fox (2:49)
• El Falso Delphos (1:22)
• La Sombra del Tercer Reich (2:32)
• Amor Entre Guerras (1:54)
• Tensión en el Protectorado Español (2:39)
• Agente Agoriuq (1:29)
• Conspiración Británica (2:06)
• Nas Ruas de Lisboa (2:49)
• Misión: Escapar (5:34)
• Modista, Espía, Amanta y Mujer (2:10)
• La Muerte en Cada Esquina (2:02)
• Los Ecos de la Guerra (2:38)
• Lección de Vida (4:01)
• Final Abierto (Tema de Sira) (2:14)

Running Time: 69 minutes 54 seconds

Moviescore Media/Kronos MMS13023 (2013)