For the conclusion of Thicker Than Blood, I chose to reintroduce the opening line with the same MIDI Celeste of the traditional Italian folk song and nursery rhyme, La Bella Lavanderina—a motif that also featured at the beginning of the dramatised adaptation. This recurrence served to bookend the narrative, providing thematic cohesion and musical symmetry.
However, unlike in the introduction, where the melody concludes on an E one octave below the tonic—suggesting unresolved tension or unfinished business—I deliberately structured the closing phrase to end on the same note with which it began: B. This compositional decision created a sense of closure, both musically and narratively. By returning to the tonic in the final cadence, the underscore signals resolution and finality, subtly affirming that the story has reached its conclusion.
Such use of tonal resolution to reflect narrative closure aligns with established practices in film and media scoring, where cadence and melodic contour are often employed to mirror emotional and structural arcs (Chion, 1994). In this case, the shift from an open-ended tonal departure to a full-circle return not only reinforces the completion of the protagonist’s emotional journey but also provides the listener with a psychological sense of narrative finality.
Bibliography
Chion, Michel. Audio-Vision: Sound on Screen. Columbia University Press, 1994, monoskop.org/images/6/6d/Chion_Michel_Audio-Vision.pdf. Accessed 11 Apr. 2025.
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