Iris (2001 film)  (Audio CD) 
by James Horner

James Horner was faced with an unusual challenge when he composed the score for Iris, a film about Iris Murdoch's descent into Alzheimer's disease. In the movie, two actresses play the role of Murdoch, and scenes constantly shift between those showing the novelist as a young woman, played by Kate Winslet, and as an old, dying woman, played by Judi Dench. Horner solves the musical continuity problem of jumping backward and forward in time by writing solo violin parts that echo Murdoch's emotions and tie the past and future together. Joshua Bell does an exquisite job playing the vitally important violin solos, particularly in the selections from the last part of the movie, when the music must speak for someone who has lost the ability to use words. Horner has wisely opted to use understated orchestration, which gives Bell's playing an emotional clarity that would have been swamped by a larger ensemble. By toning down the bombast, and trusting in his gift for melody, Horner has produced one of his finest and most subtle scores to date. --Michael Simmons