Volker Bertelmann’s Oscar-nominated score for “All Quiet on the Western Front” features a three-note motif that came together on his grandmother’s old harmonium. It also features Led Zeppelin tones.
In a Zoom chat with Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer, Bertelmann explained his approach to creating the sound for Erich Maria Remarque’s 1928 novel by Edward Berger.
First, he augmented his orchestra with the unusual sounds of a turn-of-the-century harmonium, while stripping away most of the drum and brass war movie cliches. Reflecting on his approach to the score, Bertelmann told Zimmer that he intuitively came up with the idea of using an instrument from the period, but could give it a modern twist. “I wanted something that I could treat like a modular synthesizer that I could make very raw,” he explained.
The brass, woodwinds and woodwinds seemed too conventional for the film’s theme. Bertelmann told Zimmer, “I remembered that I had refurbished my grandmother’s harmonium, which was used in her house around 1900 to play music. And what I liked was that it had a double bass feature, so you could take a register off, and it would add an octave lower to whatever you were playing.
As for finding a balance between when to add his score throughout the history of the First World War, Bertelmann said: “There were so many gunshots that rather than soiling the music under the gunfire and the explosions, I searched [other] places to place it. He continued, “When we have the first sequence where the uniforms are washed, it reminded me of old silent movies that tell stories of machines. This is where I felt the need to add music to the rhythm of the machines.
Zimmer pointed to the symbolism of the score and the imagery, noting, “I thought of the symbol of the industrialization of warfare, the industrialization of these men. They were machines that devoured themselves… and devoured other machines. And it all sounded like Led Zeppelin.
Zimmer wasn’t the only one to spot the rock band’s influence on the score. Bertelmann revealed that when he sent 90 seconds of the score to Berger, the director said the same thing. Bertelmann said, “I got a phone call from him and he said, ‘Hey, I’m sitting here with my family and we’re listening to your play, and it sounds like Led Zeppelin. It’s fantastic and we really like it.
How exactly did the rock band influence the score? “The headbutt element,” Bertelmann said.
The two also opened up about their process, with Zimmer revealing that he doesn’t read scripts before scoring. He said: “I say to the director, ‘Tell me the story’, usually over a good glass of wine; who helps. Then I go to the DP, and find out what colors are going to be used. He added: “I get engaged very early and if I have time I try to write things from the beginning. It helps the directors to have some music that is part of the story that they try to tell.