Music Research Forum | John O’Flynn - Postcolonial Scores? Maurice Jarre’s collaborations with David Lean
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Join us for the next talk in our music research series. The Museum will be open from 5:30pm with the talk starting at 6:00pm. Bookings encouraged, drop ins welcome.
'Although Maurice Jarre is widely regarded as a key figure in twentieth-century film scoring, to date his output has attracted remarkably little scholarly attention. I became drawn to his work as part of research for my monograph Empires of Sound (Palgrave Macmillan 2026, forthcoming) since Jarre was involved in a substantial number of narrative fiction feature films collectively falling under colonial or imperial themes. I begin the seminar by outlining Jarre’s’ early career in France, interpreting some continuities and discontinuities across this period and his subsequent Hollywood career. Over remaining sections I review his original music—and its relation to other soundtrack components—for four films with screenplays adapted from historical novels or memoirs and set in former imperial contexts. These encompass Jarre’s collaborations with English director David Lean for Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), Ryan’s Daughter (1970) and A Passage to India (1984). In the case of each, I critically explore the extent to which music amplifies or otherwise relates to postcolonial perspectives. I conclude with an overview of approaches adopted by the composer for Lean’s films, briefly comparing them with Jarre’s wider involvement in scoring for end-of-empire screen narratives.'
John O’Flynn is Professor of Music at Dublin City University (DCU). His research embraces film music, popular music, music in Ireland and intercultural music practice. Author of Music, the Moving Image and Ireland, 1897-2017 (Routledge 2022) his forthcoming book Empires of Sound (Palgrave Macmillan 2026) investigates music and colonial encounters in twentieth-century narrative film. He has served on a range of national committees, including as President of the Society for Musicology in Ireland (2021-2024). Among other teaching and supervision, he is programme chair for the MA in Music, Sound, Culture and Media at DCU.