‘Personal History of David Copperfield’ tops International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) winners

The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) announces its list of winners for excellence in musical scoring in 2020, in the 2020 IFMCA Awards.

The International Film Music Critics Association (IFMCA) is an association of online, print and radio journalists who specialize in writing and broadcasting about original film, television and game music.

The top award, for Score of the Year, went to composer Christopher Willis, for his score for the Dickensian comedy The Personal History of David Copperfield, directed by Armando Iannucci. In describing the score, IFMCA member Florent Groult called it a “luminous neo-romantic mini symphony,” while his colleague Olivier Desbrosses called it an “inspired score that in no way seeks to hide its many nods to the great masters of classical music,” and features “sensational orchestrations and constant elegance.” Similarly, IFMCA member Jon Broxton said the score was “the music of an idealized England; the contrast between the bustling streets of London and a more languid life in the countryside, the distinct beauty of its sun-kissed fields and its rugged sea shores, the depiction of lords and ladies and gentlemen, scoundrels and thieves, high society and common folk, and the way that this most profound of literary protagonists weaves his way through it all … there is not a dull moment … there is not a moment where Willis is not taking the time to say something interesting with his music – presenting a new theme, a variation on an existing one, or painting a vivid musical picture of this specific time and place.” The score is also named Best Original Score for a Comedy Film. These are the second and third IFMCA Awards of Willis’s career, him having previously won the Comedy award in 2017 for his score for his feature debut The Death of Stalin.

Daniel Pemberton was named Composer of the Year, having written acclaimed music for four films in 2019. The most lauded of these were the literary adventure Enola Holmes, based on the popular young adult novels by Nancy Springer about the younger sister of the legendary sleuth Sherlock; the political drama The Trial of the Chicago 7, which looks at the real-life trial of a group of anti–Vietnam War protesters charged with inciting riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention; and Rising Phoenix, an acclaimed documentary following the stories of nine Paralympic athletes. All of these scores were nominated in their respective genre categories. IFMCA member James Southall called Enola Holmes “a great orchestral adventure romp, whose quirks only add to its great sense of fun … fresh and energetic and one of the year’s strongest scores.” Southall also described The Trial of the Chicago 7 as “at its peak, one of the strongest film scores of the year” while lauding the fact that “Pemberton exercises a lot of restraint, with subtle music highly respectful of the unfolding drama within the film.” This is Pemberton’s first IFMCA win in any category.

Other winners included The Queen’s Gambit, with a score by Carlos Rafael Rivera and Wolfwalkers, score by Bruno Coulais.

Here is the full list of winners.

FILM SCORE OF THE YEAR
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD, music by Christopher Willis

FILM COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
DANIEL PEMBERTON

BREAKTHROUGH COMPOSER OF THE YEAR
THOMAS CLAY

FILM MUSIC COMPOSITION OF THE YEAR
“Main Title” from THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, music by Carlos Rafael Rivera

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DRAMA FILM
FUKUSHIMA 50, music by Tarō Iwashiro

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A COMEDY FILM
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD, music by Christopher Willis

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER FILM
THE CALL OF THE WILD, music by John Powell

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A FANTASY/SCIENCE FICTION/HORROR FILM
WONDER WOMAN 1984, music by Hans Zimmer

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR AN ANIMATED FEATURE
WOLFWALKERS, music by Bruno Coulais

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A DOCUMENTARY
DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: A LIFE ON OUR PLANET, music by Steven Price

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR TELEVISION
THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, music by Carlos Rafael Rivera

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE FOR A VIDEO GAME OR INTERACTIVE MEDIA
MEDAL OF HONOR: ABOVE AND BEYOND, music by Michael Giacchino and Nami Melumad

BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE – RE-RELEASE OR RE-RECORDING
KING OF KINGS, music by Miklós Rózsa; the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Nic Raine; album produced by James Fitzpatrick; liner notes by Frank K. DeWald and James Fitzpatrick; album art direction by Nic Finch, Gareth Bevan, and James Fitzpatrick (Tadlow Music)

BEST NEW ARCHIVAL RELEASE – COMPILATION
JOHN WILLIAMS IN VIENNA, music by John Williams; the Wiener Philharmoniker and Anne-Sophie Mutter conducted by John Williams; album produced by Bernhard Güttler; liner notes by Otta Biba; album art direction by Büro Dirk Rudolph (Deutsche Grammophon)

FILM MUSIC RECORD LABEL OF THE YEAR
QUARTET RECORDS, José M. Benitez

Since its inception the IFMCA has grown to comprise over 65 members from countries such as Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America.