Pook: “Masked Ball”
Appearance:
1:11:54–1:18:22 Nick Nightingale is seen and heard playing this at the beginning of the masked ball
This piece features chords in the strings combined with a recording of a Romanian priest reciting a part of a liturgy. The priest’s recitation is played backward. There is also an insistent driving rhythm low in the mix early in the cue. This is, in fact, Pook’s “Backwards Priests,” the piece that Kubrick heard Yolande Snaith play at the rehearsal. The exoticism of both this work and “Migrations,” which follows right afterward, adds to the feeling that Bill is somewhere decidedly new and different. There is also something dreamlike about the music and Bill’s observation of this ritual.50 Pook had offered Kubrick a number of additional options instead of this piece, but in the end, nothing fit better than what he first heard.
Nick Nightingale appears to be playing this piece on a synthesizer, although it was performed with actual strings. The backward voice is “activated” by a sampler that Nick can reach to his left. In order to make sure Nick’s movements matched the music, Kubrick shot and edited the scene to the cue. During the ritual that Bill observes, women wearing cloaks and masks kneel in a circle. A red-clad figure in the center of the circle, who holds an incense censer, taps his staff on the floor, signaling the women to bow and then return to a kneeling position. Standing and shedding their robes simultaneously, they reveal that they each wear only a mask, a thong, and high-heeled shoes. They again kneel, and each masked woman “kisses” the woman to her right in the circle. At this moment, Pook’s music becomes more dramatic. A new, higher voice recites faster in a more singing manner, and the pitches of the sustained chords become higher as well. A masked man watching the proceedings from a level above nods at Bill, who nods back. The red figure, called Red Cloak in the credits, then signals individual women to leave the circle. A woman in a large feathered headdress leaves the circle and goes to Bill. As they walk away from the ritual, new music begins. There is little eroticism to this scene, as the nude women are almost like statues rather than real women; the masks further distance them from the audience. In this scene and the scenes that follow, Kubrick achieves tableaux that bring to mind Hieronymous Bosch’s triptych The Garden of Earthly Delights.
The presence of synthesizer and sampler might seem at odds with the ritualistic manner of the masked ball. Why not an organ or a grand piano? Why modern, electronic instruments? Obviously, Kubrick had to figure out how to show a source for his chosen piece and had to give Nick something to do, especially because the only reason that Bill is there is because Nick “just plays the piano” at these events. Perhaps, the party-goers care only that the music works for the situation, not necessarily that it is “authentic” in any way. One analysis put it this way: “The emphasis on modernity lends credence to the idea that this is really just a bunch of super rich white men getting their ya yas on with little interest in historical context or implications of their actions.”51
Pook: “Migrations”
Appearance:
1:18:23–1:22:45 Bill wanders around the party, watching people engaging in sexual activity
The work, newly composed for the film, begins in the film with the vocalization of a female singer. The opening of the cue features a minor second that seems to prefigure Ligeti’s Music Ricercata, II, which will soon be heard. The mysterious woman in the large feathered headdress urges Bill to leave the party. After she goes away with another person, drums enter the cue, giving it a rhythmic drive, and Manickam Yogeswaran’s vocals enter. Yogeswaran’s vocals had actually been recorded for a different piece, but Pook appropriated them for the “Migrations” cue and found that they fit rather well.52 Bill walks through various rooms in the mansion, watching couples and threesomes engaging in various sexual activities. The figures watching the couples and threesomes are quite still, almost as if they are mannequins, or figures in a painting. Unlike music that cues the audience emotionally, this piece is more part of the setting. The use of the Indian singing—which includes the shloka from the Bhagavad Gita (present only on the soundtrack)—lends a feeling of exoticism that seems to refer to the newness of the experience for Bill. Pook called it a “counter layer” to the actions on-screen.53 The woman in the headdress reappears, leading Bill away into a different room, where the music changes to “Strangers in the Night.”
Peter Hughes Orchestra: “Strangers in the Night”
Appearance:
1:22:39–1:24:11 A masked woman urges Bill to leave the masked ball; Nick is led away
The woman in the headdress again urges Bill to leave because he is in danger, but he asks her to come with him. “That’s impossible,” she says. He wants to see her face, but she refuses to show him and warns him one more time to leave before she walks away. A man in a gold mask tells Bill that his taxi driver is waiting for him and leads him away. At the same time, Nick is being led—blindfolded—through a dance floor, where couples, some of them same-sex, are dancing to the song. The song is heard the loudest where the dance floor is, but there is no visible source for the music. The song is heard as if from a distance, as Bill walks down a hallway. At the end of the hallway, the music stops, as Bill sees some sort of tribunal set up for him.
The Delvets: “I Want a Boy for Christmas”
Appearance:
1:39:18–1:41:08 Bill searches for Nick
The obscure all-girl doo-wop group the Delvets (also spelled Delvetts) recorded “I Want a Boy for Christmas” in 1961 for George Goldner’s label End Records. They issued two 45s both featuring the same A side, “Repeat after Me.” One of the B sides was “Will You Still Love Me in Heaven,” an answer to the Shirelles’ much bigger hit “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” On the other 45 release, the B side was “I Want a Boy for Christmas.”
The morning after the masked ball, as Bill searches for Nick, he returns to the Sonata Café, only to find it closed. He goes to the diner next door and orders a coffee. He asks the waitress if she knows Nick, adding, “It’s very important that I get in touch with him this morning.” She knows where he’s staying, but tells Bill only after he confides that he’s looking for Nick because of a “medical matter.” Here is a song that comments on the narrative. Bill is looking for Nick, and the music says, “I Want a Boy for Christmas.”
Some have also read into this song a veiled reference to homosexuality or gay subtext in the narrative.54 Earlier in the film, Bill is accused by a group of frat boys of playing for the “pink team,” and in the scene immediately following the scene in Gillespie’s, Bill goes to the hotel and asks the man at the hotel to ring for Nick. The desk clerk, played by Alan Cumming, appears to be flirting with Bill, peppering his conversation with innuendo. When he describes the two men who came in with Nick at 4:30 in the morning, he says they were “big guys” and holds his hands out, palms facing inward, in a gesture that is often used to illustrate the length of something.
Ziegler’s Party Music
There are two “parties” in Eyes Wide Shut. There is Ziegler’s fancy Christmas party, and there is the masked ball that Bill infiltrates. There is something parallel to these two parties. The first is polite, full of upper-class people who exchange niceties, but lust and dishonesty seethe under the surface. Ziegler—whose wife we see at the beginning of the party—appears with an unconscious naked young woman whose name he can barely remember. An older man propositions Alice, and two young women flirt with Bill, attempting to take him somewhere, but we never find out where (one of Ziegler’s assistants asks Bill to help with the unconscious woman). At the second party, lust is now overt, a central theme of this ritualistic “celebration.” So, although everyone is in masks at the second party, the partygoers’ true intention is unmasked.55
At Ziegler’s party, the music consists of instrumental versions of standards. For the film viewer who is familiar with this genre of songs, the game becomes hearing the tune well enough to identify the title and then noticing
how appropriate the title is for the situation. In all of his films, Kubrick tended not to play these kinds of games, but sometimes the choice of song is so perfect, one can’t help but think Kubrick was having a laugh. As Alice and Bill dance at the party, their amorous mood is commented on by “I’m in the Mood for Love.” (Alice and Bill are not, perhaps, amorous for each other as evidenced by their flirting with other parties in subsequent scenes.) When Alice dances with distinguished older man Sander Szavost, we hear “I Only Have Eyes for You,” and “When I Fall in Love.” Later, at the second party, the masked ball, everyone wears a mask, and “Strangers in the Night” plays in the background. Ciment calls the placement of these songs “maliciously ironic.”56
The live band at the party is represented on the soundtrack by the Victor Silvester Orchestra. They play five standards over the entire seventeen-minute party scene. Their first song is “I’m in the Mood for Love” (2:45–4:29). It plays as Alice and Bill arrive at the party and are greeted by Ziegler and his wife, Ilona. Bill and Alice then dance and exchange small talk until Bill recognizes Nick Nightingale playing piano. In between their first and second songs, the band takes a break and what we must imagine is a recording of “It Had to Be You” (played by Tommy Sanderson and the Sandmen) fills in the silence of their break time. In this span—from 4:50 to 7:11—Bill says hello to Nick, and Alice meets Sandor Szavost and the two begin to flirt. A new song begins, ostensibly played by the band (a prominent solo violin is heard, and the bandleader is seen holding a violin when he announces the break). The new song is “Chanson d’Amour” (7:15–10:13). Alice and Sandor continue to flirt while Bill talks to two younger women. As the scene switches to Bill’s conversation with Gayle and Nuala, the tune becomes “Old Fashioned Way.” During the same song, we return to Alice and Sandor, who is explaining why women get married. A man interrupts Bill’s conversation with Gayle and Nuala and leads Bill up to Zieger’s bathroom (10:16–13:21).
Shortly after Bill arrives in Ziegler’s well-appointed bathroom, “When I Fall in Love” begins to play (13:24–18:35) followed by “I Only Have Eyes for You” (18:38–19:49). During the course of these two songs, we switch back and forth between Alice and Sandor, whose flirting is becoming less hypothetical, and Bill, Ziegler, and Mandy in the bathroom. Bill has been able to wake Mandy, who was unconscious from an overdose. Ziegler is hoping to get her away from the party as soon as possible, but Bill suggests she stay a little while to recuperate. He also counsels Mandy that she should go to rehab. Before Bill leaves, Ziegler asks him to keep what’s happened “just between us,” to which Bill answers, “of course.” As Alice tries to leave Sandor, he says that he must see her again, but she says, “That’s impossible,” the same phrase Bill will hear from a mysterious woman at the masked ball. The music of the party cuts suddenly to Chris Isaak’s “Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing.”
Oscar Peterson Trio: “I Got It Bad (and That Ain’t Good)”
Appearance:
0:51:12–0:52:22 Domino kisses Bill
This music provides a sourced sonic backdrop for Bill’s encounter with the prostitute Domino. Bill has been walking and thinking about his wife’s imagined affair with the naval officer. He feels emasculated by her confession, and to add to his humiliation, he is menaced on the street by a group of frat boys who call Bill a “faggot,” and a “mary.” They knock him down and intimidate him, pretending to be disgusted by him. One of them claims that he is an “exit only” so that Bill will not be attracted to him (assuming of course that the man is talking about his anus). Later when Bill enters the Sonata Café, a large sign reads “All Exits are Final.”
It is in this mood that Bill meets Domino, who invites him to her apartment. She is very sweet, and her gentleness disarms him. Once inside her apartment, she asks him “What do you want to do?” and he responds with the question, “What do you recommend?” Domino would “rather not put it into words.” They discuss a price, and the scene cuts to Alice at home, eating cookies and milk and watching television. When we return to the scene, Domino kisses Bill, while “I Got It Bad (and That Ain’t Good)” plays. Considering that we later find out that Domino is HIV positive, this is rather an appropriate song choice. They don’t get any further than one kiss because Alice calls Bill’s cell phone and he turns off the music, ostensibly to hide his whereabouts. Bill seems startled by Alice’s call, and he tells Domino that he thinks he has to go, although he has made it clear to Alice that he might not be home for a while. He could of course stay, but the moment has passed, and Bill continues on his journey. His next stop is the Sonata Café.
“If I Had You”
Appearance:
0:54:59–0:56:17 We hear just the end of this song as Bill enters the Sonata Café at the end of Nick’s set.
“Blame It on My Youth”
Appearance:
0:56:57–1:01:22 Nick and Bill talk in the Sonata Café
This slow instrumental accompanies a conversation between Nick and Bill. They catch up on their marriages and family, and Nick confesses that he has another gig that same evening, vaguely explaining that he plays these kinds of gigs blindfolded. Bill is intrigued. While they are talking, Nick gets a phone call telling him the password for the party. Nick writes it on a napkin, aided by Bill, who reads the name, Fidelio, that Nick has written. “What is this?” Bill asks. “It’s the name of a Beethoven opera, isn’t it?” Nick says, finally admitting it’s the password. Bill insists that Nick take him to the party, but Nick is hesitant. He explains that first of all Bill would need a costume and a mask. The scene then cuts to a taxi pulling up in front of Rainbow Fashions, Millich’s shop.
Music Ricercata: Ligeti
1:24:18–1:27:33 Bill is discovered at the masked ball and Red Cloak asks for the house password
1:29:07–1:29:34 The woman in the headdress is led away, and Bill asks what will happen to her
1:48:59–1:51:56 Bill returns to the mansion the next day only to receive a typed letter
2:01:23–2:04:38 Bill notices someone following him
2:05:42–2:06:37 Bill reads about the girl who had the overdose
2:24:04–2:27:35 Bill returns home and finds the mask from the masked ball on his pillow next to Alice
Musica Ricercata was composed by Ligeti in the early 1950s. At that time, Ligeti was a professor at the Budapest Academy, where he taught harmony and analysis. Hungary was one of the Eastern Bloc countries, and as a composer, Ligeti’s developing style was at odds with the political climate of Stalinism. In order to maintain his reputation, Ligeti was compelled to create choral arrangements of folk songs.
The ricercar, from which Ligeti named the Ricercata, is a type of instrumental work dating from the sixteenth century. In the late Renaissance, the term “ricercar” was used almost interchangeably with other types of improvisatory instrumental pieces like the toccata or the prelude, but later ricercars had one trait that would become the defining characteristic of the form: imitative counterpoint. In the Baroque period, the ricercar would eventually become the fugue, a piece with strict imitative counterpoint based on a musical theme called a subject. In fact, the last movement of Ligeti’s Musica Ricercata features fugal treatment of the twelve-tone row. Ligeti called this movement “(Omaggio a Girolamo Frescobaldi) Andante misurato e tranquillo.” Here Ligeti makes reference to Frescobaldi, an important and influential keyboard composer who died in 1643. The movement is not a strict fugue because it doesn’t follow all the conventions of voice leading, but there is plenty of imitative counterpoint. The term “ricercar” also refers to a seeking out, as some ricercars explored key areas or motifs.
Musica Ricercata was born into a climate of oppression and fear. Because of the despotism of Hungary at the time, Musica Ricercata was an example of “the unexpected, unwanted music that mostly went into [Ligeti’s] desk drawer.”57 The work is made up of eleven pieces for solo piano (although versions of this piece have been arranged for wind quintet and for a Russian accordion called
a bayan). For each of the pieces, Ligeti limits the number of pitches that he can use, and as the set goes on, each new piece has one more possible pitch. The very first piece in the set uses just two tones (and their octave transpositions). The second piece—the only one heard in Eyes Wide Shut—has three pitches. The third has four, the fourth has five pitches, and so on. At the end, the eleventh piece in the set, Ligeti uses all twelve tones of the chromatic scale. In the first piece of the set, “Sostenuto—Misurato—Prestissimo,” the pitch A is used almost exclusively for the entire piece. Ligeti creates interest by concentrating on rhythmic aspects and by building a large dynamic crescendo. At the end, we finally hear the other note, D. In the second piece, the one heard in the film, the main musical gesture is just a half step from E-sharp to F-sharp. While the first piece in the set seemed almost playful in its rhythmic interest (polyrhythms, gradual acceleration of tempo), the second piece seems more serious and grave. It is marked “Mesto, rigido e ceremoniale,” emphasizing both the rigidity of the music and the ceremonial mood. There are shifting meters and a concentration on using the different ranges of the piano. The first half of the piece consists of the pianist rocking between the E-sharp and the F-sharp. About halfway through the movement, after a pause, Ligeti introduces the third pitch, G. These three pitches may represent Bill’s three problems: “temptation, sin, and retribution.”58 Once the G appears, the pianist is directed to accent the new pitch and repeat it faster and faster until the pianist repeats the pitch as quickly as he or she can (“Tone repetition as dense as possible”). The E-sharp and F-sharp return, faster, louder, in the low register. Ligeti marks this section “Intenso, agitato.” The repeated Gs eventually die away and the movement is over. In Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures, Ligeti himself comments on the piece and its personal meaning: “I was in Stalinist terroristic Hungary where this kind of music was not allowed, and I just wrote it for myself. . . . For me, when I composed it, in the year [19]50 . . . it was a knife in Stalin’s heart.” The repeated G—the knife in Stalin’s heart—often appears at the point of highest tension. Perhaps it is the hammering of Bill’s heart, or perhaps it arrives when Bill is at his most vulnerable.59
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