Behind the Music interview: Guernsey’s Alexandra Harwood
By Wesley Lara
As The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society gears up for a Netflix release this Friday, the film’s composer, Alexandra Harwood, felt compelled to stop by for an interview here at Hidden Remote.
Behind the Music is an ongoing series that seeks to interview and gain an introspective on both established and up-and-coming composers. These composers, who have worked for everything from television to film to commercials, share their experiences, work ethic, and more. For this edition, we interview the composer behind the music for the upcoming Netflix film, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Alexandra Harwood.
Alexandra Harwood has had prior film composing experience before, having scored the Netflix/Disney documentary, Growing Up Wild, as well as the Dominic Cooper feature, The Escape. But this story, adapted from the 2008 book of the same name, takes a rather different approach to the previous films she’s worked on.
The story of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society follows author, Juliet Ashton, traveling across England on a tour to promote her latest book during the aftermath of World War II. During all of this, she encounters the aforementioned society and the true nature behind its existence intrigues her to the point where she feels it is necessary to begin sharing a correspondence with members of the society, opening her eyes to a new world in the process.
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Despite its grim setting, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society fashions itself as a story of hope and optimism even during the darkest of hours, something which Alexandra Harwood communicates with her official score for the film. In the wake of its upcoming release to Netflix, I was lucky enough to coordinate an interview on Hidden Remote with Harwood to promote the film, as well as her work within the film itself.
Hidden Remote: It’s an honor to have you featured on Hidden Remote! The work done on the score for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is like a work of magic, with the music flowing so cleanly between each track. For starters, I have to ask: are you a fan of the book?
Alexandra Harwood: Thanks so much for inviting me to interview with Hidden Remote and for such kind words about my score!
I love the book! I love that Juliet is such a modern and strong woman, especially for when it was set. I love that it is not the quest for romance that defines her character, but the search to find herself again through her writing. I love how the story slowly unfolds through the letters. The book has such brightness, amidst such dark times, which I feel the film embraced perfectly.
HR: What do you feel inspired you the most to tackle the project?
Harwood: The story’s depth and richness of characters along with the incredible gift to work with director Mike Newell, editor Paul Tothill and the producers Paula Mazur and Graham Broadbent, which was an inspirational dream come true!
HR: For this question, let us go back in time a little. Would you consider yourself to be a lifelong music fan or was it a love acquired later in life?
Harwood: Well, when I was 3 years old (which I don’t remember) I would watch television and go to the piano and pick out the tunes that I’d heard. I started composing when I was 4 yearrs old and would put my picture books on the piano and make up accompaniments. So my mum found a piano teacher for me, who taught me to read and write music before I could read and write words. I was very lucky to have parents and teachers who encouraged and supported me right from the start.
I went to Bedales School, which was and still is, a school that embraces the individual and the arts. I threw myself into every aspect possible there. My parents loved music too and there were always records playing at home, from classical to Jazz. I have no memory of life without music in it, which is a wonderful thing!
HR: Well, your love of music is strongly demonstrated in the music for the film, which has a whimsical quality to it, almost akin to something out of a classic Disney feature. Would you say that Disney music is a major influence in your style or is it just a wild coincidence?
Harwood: I love this question ad am flattered by it! Disney has been part of my life since I can remember. Along with my early musical start, I was also obsessed with art. I had a subscription to the Disney magazine and would endlessly draw and copy the pictures. I was generally glued to the TV – all the old Disney animations and the Mickey Mouse Club were amongst my daily viewing. My ear is like a sponge, so all of it must’ve gone in and influenced me, even if I’m not aware of it. And to this day I still adore Disney and Pixar movies and had the excuse to watch them all over again with my kids. I was very excited and lucky to score my first Disney documentary film, Growing Up Wild, a couple of years ago and it will continue to be my dream to work with them again.
HR: One of the themes of the original story was strength in the face of adversity. How did you try to emulate that feeling over to film with your musical score?
Harwood: The music in this film was to mostly help us understand and connect with the inner emotions of the characters and to help tell the story. The incredible cast’s flawless performances gave me exactly what I needed to help support the theme of strength in the face of adversity. The script and Mike Newell’s direction treated the darker moments of the story with great care and sensitivity, so it was very clear to me where I needed to reflect the same shades of light and dark in the score.
HR: What would you say is among your favorite pieces of music you created for the film? Whether they be ones you felt added the most emotion to a scene or just a personal favorite of yours.
Harwood: I have a few cues (pieces of music) from the film that I really loved creating and because of the scenes being some of my favourites. ‘Goodbye to their Children’ was the music that accompanies the evacuation scene in the harbour. I wrote this piece when I was pitching for the film and hadn’t yet seen the picture, but had only read the book. It was a cue that was used in a very early edit and stayed all the way through to the final locked picture. The scene was so vivid in the book and so heart wrenching.
When Dawsey writes a letter to Juliet and we flash back to how they stole the pig and dined on it, is another favourite of mine. The scene has such warmth, camaraderie and humour. It was another cue that was written early on in the edit, and even though it changed as the edit changed, it was a cue that ended up providing some of the main themes that eventually emerged in the rest of the score.
And purely for Penelope Wilton’s incredibly moving performance, I am very fond of the music that supports her when she tells Juliet how her husband died at sea.
The orchestra, recorded at Air Studios in London, played with such sensitivity and brought out the emotion so beautifully.
HR: What did you feel was the most rewarding aspect of working on this film? It isn’t your first venture into film composing, so what do you feel made this experience unique?
Harwood: What made this the most unique experience for me, other than being my first feature drama, was also that it was my first cinema/theatre release. To work with Mike Newell and the producers, who were so extraordinarily trusting and respectful of my work, considering I was unknown, was really amazing for me and I am forever grateful to them. With this trust, Mike gives enormous space for creativity and as a composer that’s a real gift.
HR: Reading your biography, it caught my eye that you are currently a member of the Alliance for Women Film Composers, dedicating time to spreading the work and usefulness of women in the field of composing. While the issue still needs to be worked on, do you think that 2018 has seen an increase of women composers in the mainstream at all?
Harwood: I am definitely more aware of how many female film composers there are in general, having joined the AWFC and the work they do is really wonderful to try raise awareness that there is still a great imbalance of how many female composers are used on mainstream films. Even though there has been a small increase, the percentage is still tiny. I am not sure what the answers are, but as awareness is now much greater for female directors and other crew, I hope this becomes equally addressed for composers.
Even today, I discovered Dr. Heather Roche in the UK, who is holding an ‘edit-o-thon’ to add more women composers to Wikipedia’s database. Incredible that such an event is necessary in this day and age, but how fantastic there are women like this making the difference. I think this was an extra reason I was so grateful for the leap of faith that Studio Canal and the filmmakers made in choosing me as their composer for The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and for giving me that chance.
I am a composer and I wish for the day that the label of being a female or male composer is no longer relevant or necessary. If no name were attached to a composer’s music, I’d be fascinated if anyone could tell if a man or a woman had composed it… I’d guess not!
HR: It feels rather poetic, in a sense, to think that the themes of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society involving strength opposing adversity seem to coincide with the purpose of the Alliance for Women Film Composers. At least that’s what I believe. Do you feel the same?
Harwood: Yes! Isn’t that wonderful?! Not only in the strength opposing adversity, but also for the fact that the female protagonist Juliet, is a writer who finds herself through her writing.
HR: Before this is wrapped up, I’d like to ask a few more personal questions! First off, what is your favorite musical score. To be specific, what’s a score, whether it be for film or another medium, that has had the most profound effect on you with what it tried to communicate?
Harwood: There have been so many pieces of music that have made a great impact on my life, so to single out one is impossible. But of the many, the adagio movement of Ravel’s piano concerto in G, which I discovered through its use in the film, The Disappearance, with Donald Sutherland, made a massive impact on me. I’ll never forget hearing it for the first time and going to the piano and transcribing it. I would play it over and over again and still do. Its beauty touches the soul and lifts the spirit.
HR: Are there any film directors that you would like to collaborate with in the future? Filmmakers whose films you’ve had an itching for in terms of participation?
Harwood: Delving into my dreams: Spielberg; David Yates; Anything for Disney and Pixar; the Coen brothers; Sam Mendes; a film produced by Reese Witherspoon; my recent and wonderful discovery of Taika Waititi; and last but by no means least, to work with Mike Newell again!
HR: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society has already came out in the U.K., but it is set to be released on American Netflix on August 10th. For the readers who have and/or are considering Netflix as a streaming option, tell us why this film should have a prominent spot on our Netflix queue come the 10th.
Harwood: Simply, the film has charm, warmth and wit, but at its heart is a tale of courage and friendship in the face of adversity. It tells a proper story with incredible performances. Whenever I’ve watched it with friends in the cinema, the audience has wept tears of sadness and happiness. Oh, and I’ve heard there’s a nice score too!
HR: I’ve heard that too! Lastly, do you have any advice for the up-and-comers in the music industry? Words of wisdom for the future?
Harwood: Number, perseverance. Second, my father gave me the best advice – “Give yourself permission to put it down badly! You can always come back to it later.” And third, another my Dad has always said in challenging times, ‘Keep a still center!”
First, think. Second, dream. Third, believe. And finally, dare. – Walt Disney.
Next. Behind the Music interview: DeVotchKa's Nick Urata. dark
Alexandra Harwood‘s musical score can be heard in the upcoming Netflix film, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, which will be released on August 10.