Murder By Decree… a question.

This is something of a reverse, but would anyone with better classical knowledge than myself know the Irish folk tune (I believe that is what the director said it was on the DVD commentary) that plays at the end of the film? It is lovely and in all these years I have never ever heard it anywhere else.

Thank you in advance for any insight.

Hi Phideas1,
Not Irish, but Scottish (and I think that’s what Bob Clarke called it in his commentary – "a Scottish lullaby").

I’m pretty sure the tune is "The Flowers of the Forest", a lament written for the pipes over the Battle of Flodden Field in 1513. It’s most commonly played at funerals; I’d have to go back and check, but there’s a funeral with a piper playing in the film, and I suspect that’s what the pipes are playing there as well. Like most pipe tunes (and most Gaelic tunes generally) it’s in a modal scale, and the tune at the end of the film varies a little bit from the pipe tune because it’s adjusted into the musical scale more common to our "western" ears.

I found a version on Youtube (YouTube – Dick Gaughan – Flooers o’ the Forest (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJIrAkJnS1I)) that kinda de-wails it [;-) !!] and might make the melody more accessible if you’re not used to listening to the pipes.

Hi,

you can find the tune (I think so) in this Suite! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_MeHU7uO0c – at the end of the Suite. It is original Score material!

Also you can find a list of the used music in imdb.com.

Shran

After all these years…. an answer at last. When I think of this film I think of the montage at the end accompanied by this soulful piece of music which seems to sum up the complete story.

Thank you!

Now to find a recording… but not with bagpipes.

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Does not sound exactly on the spot. Reportedly only the first few notes of this folk song were used and the rest is the film composer’s work…. and no soundtrack for this movie was released.

I would really like to get a complete "murder by decree" – score! I wrote this to Paul Zaza before a few minutes. 🙂