Context

Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence by Ryuichi Sakamoto

This is the music composed for the film ‘Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence’ which is a film about the experiences of a Japanese prisoner of war during World War II.

Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence by Sakamoto

Listen For…

  • The left hand plays static chords whilst the right hand plays the lyrical melody
  • Open 4ths and 5ths in the melody – this gives the music an oriental feel.
  • At 00:25 the melody is played an octave higher.
  • At 00:34 there are spread or ‘arpeggiated’ right hand chords
  • The music modulates (changes key) at 00:48 and a new theme enters.
  • At 01:39 the left hand starts to play repeated chords, building up the momentum of the music.
  • The staccato repeated chords at 01:59 give a sense of urgency to the music before the main theme returns, now faster and with the repeated chords underneath.

Things To Consider

  • Listen again at 03:16 – what happens?
  • What do you think of the ending?