The King's Speech

The King's Speech (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack to the Academy Award-winning film The King's Speech, released by Decca Records on 22 November 2010. Alexandre Desplat composed the film's original music. The score consisted of minimalistic sounds created with piano and strings, and a limited orchestra with oboe and harp being used. It was recorded using old microphones from the EMI archives, used by the royal family, in order to create a vintage and dated sound. The minimalistic use of the music is used to describe Colin Firth's character, the future King George VI. The score received critical acclaim for Desplat's composition and the use of old microphones for recording the sound of the score. The sound design also received praise from the critics. The score was nominated for several awards, including Best Original Score at the Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards, losing both awards to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross' score for The Social Network. However, it won the BAFTA Award for Best Original Music and the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. Development The score was recorded at the Abbey Road Studios in London, with Terry Davies conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. He initially used a limited chamber orchestra for the score, comparing what Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart or Ludwig van Beethoven had approached for. To create a dated sound, the score was recorded on old microphones extracted from the EMI archives which had been specially made for the royal family, suggested by the mastering engineer Peter Cobbin. Desplat said that "Recording both the score and the classical pieces with the orchestra through these microphones made it a special blend, a special color, and I think all this together, the choice of the instrumentation and the choice of the recording through these microphones made it a unique sound and a unique piece like if it was one only composer all together."