[Chua-young's Music Box] The Music of 'Pavane' Following the Path of Love

There are some stories I want to protect. Just as Kyung-rok (Moon Sang-min) tried to protect the small and humble love between Mi-jung (Go Ah-sung) and Johan (Byun Yo-han) until the end, I still hold onto something that is no longer there. The film 「Pavane for a Dead Princess」 adapted from the novel by author Park Min-kyu depicts the nostalgia of youth that once shone and the sense of loss from losing a loved one. As you savor each piece of music quoted in the film, you can follow the path of Kyung-rok and Mi-jung's love as it blossoms purely and fades away. 〈Pavane〉 is a beautiful dual mosaic of love and loss that all art strives to resemble.

〈Pavane〉 is a story of three people who have turned away from themselves due to emotional wounds, gradually allowing light to seep into each other's lives as they face life and love. Mi-jung, who has endured uncomfortable gazes from people since childhood due to her gloomy impression, still keeps her heart tightly closed as an adult. Even after entering a department store as the top scorer in her employment test, she is pushed into the dark basement storage and mocked as a 'dinosaur.' Kyung-rok, who lives with the wounds of being abandoned by his father, meets Mi-jung while working as a parking attendant at the department store and is drawn to her. The free-spirited oddball Johan moves between the two. As the three grow closer while sharing their innermost thoughts at Kentucky Hope, they gradually become a light for each other like flashlights.

The excitement of starting love,

Emil Waldteufel's waltz 'Les Patineurs'

As Kyung-rok dances while thinking of Mi-jung on a moonlit night, the music of Emil Waldteufel's waltz 'Les Patineurs' (Skater's Waltz, Op. 183) expresses the excitement of Kyung-rok's heart, which has just begun to experience a crush, with a lively melody. This piece, inspired by the movements of skaters gliding on ice in the Bois de Boulogne in winter Paris, resembles the balanced and graceful gestures of the skaters. The slow melody of the introduction gradually transitions into a 3/4 waltz, effectively expressing Kyung-rok's love blossoming amidst the heaviness of daily life. The pure moments of entertainment during the winter festival of 19th-century Paris transform into the freedom of dancing youth and the joy of an inexperienced person in love that feels eternal.

The ripples in a tranquil lake,

Claude Debussy's 'Arabesque'

Claude Debussy's 'Arabesque' (Arabesque No.1) reveals Mi-jung's heart, which begins to move due to Kyung-rok's courtship. The radio DJ in the film introduces this piece as "like throwing a stone into a calm lake, it creates gentle ripples in the heart, feeling unfamiliar yet thrilling, anxious yet ecstatic, dreamy yet beautiful." As Mi-jung, who struggles to make up her mind, lets out a sigh, the refreshing arpeggios of 'Arabesque' flow out, stirring waves in her heart. 〈Pavane〉 reveals Mi-jung's heart, which has already fallen in love, without explanation through this sequence where 'Arabesque' flows.

Debussy's early work and first piano collection, 'Arabesque' presents the archetype of impressionistic music. He sought to project images of moving nature influenced by the arabesque patterns of Art Nouveau and the forests, seas, and winds he observed during his travels in Rome into music. The montage of images of the rising sun, moving clouds, and fruits swaying in the wind visually expresses the piece 'Arabesque,' which experimented with images of nature. The montage flows gracefully like the arpeggio patterns of the piece. Additionally, Mi-jung's figure enveloped in the smoke from the disinfectant truck effectively expresses her psychology in a dreamy state of love and the impressionism of this piece.

The loneliness of wandering youth,

Schubert's song cycle 'Der Lindenbaum'

Schubert's song 'Der Lindenbaum' (from Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911) sings of the wandering and loneliness experienced by a traveler who has suffered a heartbreak as he roams through the winter wilderness. The narrator of the music, the traveler, recalls warm memories with a past lover when he sees the linden tree in his hometown while walking along the cold winter road. He cannot leave the linden tree and remains there, carrying his wounded heart and loneliness. The rest beneath the linden tree casts a shadow of eternal rest, the essence of death. This piece, composed a year before Schubert's death, contains the loneliness and despair of his weakened state due to illness. 'Der Lindenbaum' is Schubert's farewell, foreseeing his own death.

In the film, the piece 'Der Lindenbaum' appears after Johan shares a story with the owner of his favorite place, Kentucky Hope, reflecting on his past. Behind his free-spirited personality lies a profound loneliness. While Kyung-rok and Mi-jung share their daily lives together, Johan remains at Kentucky Hope, recalling memories of his youth that shone like the traveler beneath the linden tree.

A poignant reminiscence of a light that has already vanished,

Maurice Ravel's 'Pavane pour une infante défunte'

Maurice Ravel's 'Pavane pour une infante défunte' (Pavane for a Dead Princess, M. 19) exists as the emotional core of the film, infusing the entire movie with elegant sadness and nostalgia. This piece, which serves as the catalyst for Kyung-rok and Mi-jung's love, becomes the driving force of the film, quietly advancing towards a climax with its slow tempo and solemn rhythm alongside the progression of their relationship. It also gently embraces the lives of those in the glamorous underground of the department store, which claims to be a utopia.

Ravel is said to have written this piece imagining the pavane that a young princess of the old Spanish court might have danced. This piece, which contains reminiscences of beauty that has already vanished, depicts the poignant memories of the past that have faded into oblivion, the longing for those who have left, and the transience of life in the film 〈Pavane〉. Ravel's unique impressionistic techniques, such as the parallel fifths in 'Pavane pour une infante défunte' (where two melodies maintain a fifth interval and move in the same direction), evoke memories and imaginations rather than reality, and the slow tempo and solemn rhythm make it feel like scenes from the past viewed from a distance. Furthermore, the blend of classical solemnity and impressionistic colors perfectly amplifies the sense of loss and nostalgia of youth in the film's shadowy portrayal of youth.