It would be an understatement to say that we all fell in love with the cutting-edge scores for Chernobyl and Joker, by Icelandic composer Hildur Guðnadóttir, or with the Hitchcockian strings in Jung Jae-il’s Parasite. But, from Bobby Krlic’s bright compositions for Ari Aster’s slowburn horror masterpiece Midsommar to Jean-Michel Blais’s melancholic piano pieces for Xavier Dolan’s Matthias & Maxime to the protruding inclusion of The Five Satins’ ‘In the Still of the Night’ in Martin Scorsese’s latest epic The Irishman, a lot of cinematic moments, on the big screen as well as on TV, came to life through their musical dimension. Since the most wonderful time of the year is back again, we wanted to share the Score It Magazine team’s ten favourite soundtracks of 2019, and then each member of the team’s personal top ten.

Joker (Todd Phillips). Music by Hilður Guðnadóttir — Warner Bros. All rights reserved.

Score It Magazine’s 10 favourite soundtracks of 2019

  1. Joker (original score by Hildur Guðnadóttir)
  2. Parasite (original score by Jung Jae-il)
  3. For Sama (original score by Nainita Desai)
  4. Us (original score by Michael Abels)
  5. I Lost My Body (original score by Dan Levy)
  6. If Beale Street Could Talk (original score by Nicholas Britell)
  7. At Eternity’s Gate (original score by Tatiana Lisovskaya)
  8. Chernobyl (original score by Hildur Guðnadóttir)
  9. The Two Popes (original score by Bryce Dessner)
  10. Dark (original score by Ben Frost) / Too Old to Die Young (original score by Cliff Martinez)

I Lost My Body (Jérémy Clapin). Music by Dan Levy — Rézo Films. All rights reserved.

Samuel François-Steininger (Score It Magazine founder)

  1. I Lost My Body (original score by Dan Levy)
  2. Joker (original score by Hildur Guðnadóttir)
  3. If Beale Street Could Talk (original score by Nicholas Britell)
  4. Parasite (original score by Jung Jae-il)
  5. For Sama (original score by Nainita Desai)
  6. Matthias & Maxime (original score by Jean-Michel Blais)
  7. Chernobyl (original score by Hildur Guðnadóttir)
  8. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (music supervision by Mary Ramos)
  9. The Irishman (original score by Robbie Robertson, music supervision by Randall Poster and Carmen Murlaner)
  10. Russian Doll (original score by Joe Wong, music supervision by Brienne Rose)

Us (Jordan Peele). Music by Michael Abels — Universal Pictures. All rights reserved.

Marine Wong Kwok Chuen (co-editor in chief)

  1. Us (original score by Michael Abels)
  2. Joker (original score by Hildur Guðnadóttir)
  3. I Lost My Body (original score by Dan Levy)
  4. Dark (original score by Ben Frost)
  5. Parasite (original score by Jung Jae-il)
  6. Succession (original score by Nicholas Britell)
  7. Chernobyl (original score by Hildur Guðnadóttir)
  8. If Beale Street Could Talk (original score by Nicholas Britell)
  9. His Dark Materials (original score by Lorne Balfe)
  10. The Lighthouse (original score by Mark Korven)

Midsommar (Ari Aster). Music by Bobby Krlic — A24. All rights reserved.

Emily Perry (social media manager)

  1. Joker (original score by Hildur Guðnadóttir)
  2. Parasite (original score by Jung Jaeil)
  3. For Sama (original score by Nainita Desai)
  4. The Two Popes (original score by Bryce Dessner)
  5. Midsommar (original score by Bobby Krlic)
  6. Motherless Brooklyn (original score by Daniel Pemberton)
  7. Pain and Glory (original score by Alberto Iglesias)
  8. Little Women (original score by Alexandre Desplat)
  9. Knives Out (original score by Nathan Johnson)
  10. Us (original score by Michael Abels)

At Eternity’s Gate (Julian Schnabel). Music by Tatiana Lisovkaya — CBS Films. All rights reserved.

Valentin Maniglia (co-editor in chief)

  1. At Eternity’s Gate (original score by Tatiana Lisovskaya)
  2. Joker (original score by Hildur Guðnadóttir)
  3. Us (original score by Michael Abels)
  4. Too Old To Die Young (original score by Cliff Martinez)
  5. Beats (original score by Stephen Hindman & Penelope Trappes, music supervision by Phil Canning & Piers Martin)
  6. Parasite (original score by Jung Jae-il)
  7. While at War (original score by Alejandro Amenábar)
  8. Share (original score by Shlohmo)
  9. For Sama (original score by Nainita Desai)
  10. Dolemite Is My Name (original score by Scott Bomar)

Stay tuned for our top ten of the decade next week!

Written and edited by the Score It Magazine team.

Author: Valentin Maniglia