The Danish Girl (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album composed by Alexandre Desplat for the 2015 film The Danish Girl. It was released by Decca Records on 27 November 2015, the same day as the film’s theatrical release in the United States.
Finding the correct tone for his score proved to be challenging for Desplat. He didn't want the score to veer too dark or too simple; it had to be romantic, but also needed to convey something deeper than a simple love story in film.[1] Desplat also didn't want to patronize or stereotype Lili Elbe with his score.[2]
It took a long time to find the right tone. It was difficult to convey what Einar has inside his own self, which is [Lili], and how to bring it out. I knew we should feel an undercurrent of happiness, something that is irrepressible, that you can’t stop, and to feel the emerging of [Lili]. But that was not so easy. The music had to mix something beautiful and moving, but with a little spice of anxiety and danger; it’s tricky.
Desplat had a breakthrough when he realized that the score had to emulate Lili through the eyes of Gerda. Thus, Desplat scored a duet that gave both characters a voice.[1] With the help of his wife and artistic director, violinist Dominique Lemonnier, Desplat veered away from his usual "restrained and fragile” writing for strings, and instead captured a warmer sound that would emulate the love Gerda had for Lili.[2]
As The Danish Girl had been invited to the 72nd Venice International Film Festival, the post-production process had to be expedited. The film was still being editedб as Desplat wrote his score, and the score underwent several last-minute changes and adjustments during this time. The soundtrack was recorded one week before the film's premiere[1] at AIR Studios, and it was mixed and mastered at Abbey Road Studios.[3]
