"Lara's Theme" is the name given to a
leitmotif
A leitmotif or () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is a partial angliciz ...
written for the 1965 film ''
Doctor Zhivago'' by composer
Maurice Jarre. Soon afterward, the leitmotif became the basis of the song "Somewhere, My Love". Numerous versions, both orchestral and vocal, have been recorded, among the most popular was the version by
Ray Conniff Singers.
Composition and recording
Maurice Jarre was asked by director
David Lean
Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor, widely considered one of the most important figures of Cinema of the United Kingdom, British cinema. He directed the large-scale epi ...
to write the score for ''
Doctor Zhivago'', including a theme for the character of Lara, played by
Julie Christie. Initially Lean had desired to use a well-known Russian song but could not locate the rights to it, and delegated responsibility to Jarre. Lean informed Jarre he was working under time constraint and that the score needed to be composed and recorded in around ten weeks.
Jarre wrote a number of themes for the film, however, Lean was dissatisfied with the theme for Lara. Lean suggested to Jarre that, rather than thinking about ''Zhivago'' or Russia, he should go to the mountains with his girlfriend and write a love theme for her. Lean said the theme should not be specifically about Russia, rather it should be a universal theme. Jarre spent the weekend in the mountains above Los Angeles, and by Monday, he found "Lara's Theme" when composing on the piano in an hour.
In editing ''Zhivago'', Lean and producer
Carlo Ponti reduced or outright deleted many of the themes composed by Jarre; Jarre was unhappy because he felt that an over-reliance on "Lara's Theme" would ruin the soundtrack.
Use of theme in film
On the
''Doctor Zhivago'' soundtrack album, there is no track listed as "Lara's Theme". A variation of the piece appears in numerous sections, however. Some tracks briefly include it, while others are composed entirely from the motif. The orchestration is varied, most notably with
balalaika
The balalaika (, ) is a Russian string instrument, stringed musical instrument with a characteristic triangular wooden, hollow body, fretted neck, and three strings. Two strings are usually tuned to the same note and the third string is a perf ...
and orchestra.
One of the main reasons the theme is featured in so many tracks is that an impromptu balalaika orchestra was hired from several
Russian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...
es in Los Angeles; the musicians could only learn 16 bars of music at a time and could not read written music. Edgar Stanistreet, a street musician from Philadelphia, claimed that he was asked to play the song over the telephone to an MGM executive and was later taken into the studio to record. He was not credited, however.
Tracks which feature it include (from the 1995 Extended Soundtrack release):
*1) Overture – a fast-paced march version of it plays during part of the pre-credits overture
*2) Main Title – a significant portion of the Main Theme is devoted to "Lara's Theme" arranged with balalaika, strings and accordion.
*3) Kontakion/Funeral Song – briefly cited at the end of the piece
*12) After Deserters Killed The Colonel – again, a brief "quote" from it appears at the end of the song
*14) Lara Says Goodbye To Yuri – The first extensive use of "Lara's Theme" is a sad version played with heavy balalaika and violin sections
*23) Yuri Follows the Sound of the Waterfall
*24) Tonya and Yuri Arrive At Varykino – briefly cited in the middle of the track
*27) Yuri and the Daffodils – plays during the "changing of seasons" part of the film, the monotonous winter theme builds into a full-fledged rendition of "Lara's Theme"
*28) On A Yuriatin Street – a complete rendition with full orchestral backing
*29) In Lara's Bedroom
*30) Yuri Rides To Yuriatin
*33) Yuri Is Escaping – a gloomy military march is punctuated by a quote from "Lara's Theme" which ultimately turns into a climax
*37) Yuri Is Trying To Write
*39) Lara Reads Her Poem
*42) Then It's A Gift (End Title) – very similar to "On A Yuriatin Street", a complete, triumphant final rendition of the song
This soundtrack also includes jazz, rock 'n' roll, and swing versions of "Lara's Theme" which were performed by the
MGM Studio Orchestra between takes.
Early vocal recordings
Jarre's aesthetic fears notwithstanding, the theme became an instant success and gained fame throughout the world.
Paul Webster took the theme and added lyrics to it to create "Somewhere, My Love".
Connie Francis
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...
was initially interested in recording the song, but withdrew from the project when the lyrics were presented to her because she thought of them as too "corny". A few weeks later, Francis reconsidered her position and recorded the song nonetheless, but by then
Ray Conniff
Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.
Biography
Conniff was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United S ...
had also recorded a version of his own, and his version reached No. 9 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
. Conniff's version of the song also topped the "
Easy listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...
" chart in the U.S. for four weeks. Despite Conniff's success, Francis also had her version released as a single, and although it failed to chart in the US, it became one of her biggest successes internationally, reaching "Top 5" in territories such as
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
and
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
. In the UK
Mike Sammes
Michael William Sammes (19 February 1928 – 19 May 2001) was an English musician and vocal session arranger, performing backing vocals on pop music recorded in the UK from 1955 to the 1970s.
Career
Born in Reigate, Surrey, Sammes was the so ...
Singers released a vocal version in 1966, which peaked at number 14 on the British chart in 1967.
Various other versions of the song have since been released, including many in different languages. Six different French language versions (and 16 French orchestral versions) of "La Chanson de Lara" were released in France and Belgium in 1966–1967, with the best-selling ones by Ivorian-French singer
John William (over 260,000 copies) and the French group
Les Compagnons de la chanson (nearly 300,000 sold), and all versions sold a total of over a million copies in France. In Italy, 44 different versions were released, among them were vocal versions titled "Dove non so" recorded by
Orietta Berti,
Rita Pavone and Connie Francis. Other languages included German, "Schiwago Melodie (Weißt du wohin?)" by
Karel Gott; Swedish, "Nå'nstans, nå'ngång" ("Somewhere Sometime") by
Country Four and
Marianne Kock; and Danish, "Et Sted Min Ven" ("Somewhere My Friend") by
Poul Bundgaard.
Charting versions
*
Ray Conniff
Joseph Raymond Conniff (November 6, 1916 – October 12, 2002) was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.
Biography
Conniff was born November 6, 1916, in Attleboro, Massachusetts, United S ...
had a hit around the world with "Somewhere My Love" in 1966. It reached No, 9 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart. and No. 1 in Australia and South Africa, No. 7 in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
, as well as No. 15 in Netherlands and No 25 in West Germany.
* Maurice Jarre's version was also very successful, reaching No. 1 in Austria, No. 3 in Belgium, and No. 4 in West Germany.
*
Roger Williams
Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...
instrumental version of "Lara's Theme" reached No. 65 on the
Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
, and No. 5 on the
Easy Listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...
chart in 1966 (US).
*
The Brass Ring's instrumental version reached No. 36 on the Easy Listening chart, and No. 126 on the Bubbling under Hot 100 chart.
*''MGM Strings'' reached No. 19 on Canada's
AC charts, January 24, 1966.
*
Mike Sammes
Michael William Sammes (19 February 1928 – 19 May 2001) was an English musician and vocal session arranger, performing backing vocals on pop music recorded in the UK from 1955 to the 1970s.
Career
Born in Reigate, Surrey, Sammes was the so ...
Singers' vocal version of "Somewhere My Love" was released in 1966 and peaked at No. 14 in 1967 in the UK.
*
Manuel & the Music of the Mountains' orchestral version reached No. 42 in the UK in 1966.
*Charlie Matthews & The Royal Showband had a No. 1 hit with "Somewhere My Love" in Ireland in 1966.
*
Les Compagnons de la chanson and
John William (Ernest Armand Huss) both released a French version as "La Chanson de Lara". Les Compagnons charted in top 3 in France, and both Les Compagnons and William reached No. 3 in Belgium in 1966.
*
Karel Gott released a German version as "Schiwago Melodie (Weißt du wohin?)" in 1967 which reached No. 9 in Germany.
*
Red Steagall had a US Top 40 Country hit with "Somewhere My Love" in 1973. It reached No. 65 in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.
Other recordings
Vocal versions include recordings by:
*
Connie Francis
Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...
(in English as ''Somewhere, My Love'', in Spanish as ''Sueño de Amor'', and in Italian as ''Dove non so''.
*
Ivan Rebroff in Russian and English
*
Peter Alexander in German as ''Weißt du, wohin''.
*
Tereza Kesovija
Tereza Ana Kesovija (; born 3 October 1938) is an internationally acclaimed Croatian recording artist. She was one of the most recognizable figures on the music scene in the former Yugoslavia and is renowned for her wide vocal range and operati ...
, Nada Knežević and
Marjana Deržaj also recorded ''Lara's Theme'' in
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
as ''Larina pjesma'' (in Croatian), ''Larina pesma'' (in Serbian) and ''Larina pesem'' (in Slovenian) respectively.
*
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...
released a version in 1967 on his album, ''
Born Free''.
*In
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
Mrs. Miller covered the song in her second
Capitol Records
Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
album ''Will Success Spoil Mrs. Miller?''
*
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
covered the song with an
Ernie Freeman
Ernest Aaron Freeman (August 16, 1922 – May 16, 1981) was an American pianist, organist, bandleader, and arranger. He was responsible for arranging many successful rhythm and blues and pop music, pop records from the 1950s to the 1970s.
B ...
arrangement for his "
That's Life" album in 1966.
*Italio-American tenor,
Sergio Franchi
Sergio Franchi ( , ; born Sergio Franci Galli; April 6, 1926 – May 1, 1990) was an Italian-American tenor and actor who enjoyed success in the United States and internationally after gaining notice in Britain in the early 1960s. In 1962, RCA ...
covered the song as "Somewhere, My Love" in his 1967 RCA Victor album ''From Sergio – With Love''.
Instrumental versions include:
*
Ronnie Aldrich covered the song in Ronnie Aldrich And His Two Pianos for his 1967
Decca LP "Two Pianos In Hollywood" under the title Lara's Theme (From "Dr. Zhivago").
*
Harry James
Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...
recorded a jazz version on his album ''The King James Version'' (Sheffield Lab LAB 3, 1976).
* A music box plays "Lara's Theme" at the beginning of the film ''
The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977).
Accolades
In 1967, "Somewhere, My Love" won
Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus The Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus was awarded from 1961 to 1968. In its first year, the award specified that a "chorus" contains seven or more artists. This award was presented alongside the award for Grammy Award for Best Performa ...
, and was nominated for the
Grammy Award for Song of the Year
The Grammy Award for Song of the Year is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. The Song of the Year award is one of the four most prestigious categories at ...
. It lost to "
Michelle" by
John Lennon and Paul McCartney of
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
.
References
External links
Main Title of "Doctor Zhivago" (Rhapsody)Only available to United States Internet users.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lara's Theme
Compositions by Maurice Jarre
Film music compositions
1965 compositions
Songs with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Chorus
1960s instrumentals