MovieChat Forums > Silence (2017) Discussion > Portuguese folk music in the soundtrack?

Portuguese folk music in the soundtrack?

posted 8 years ago by Universalist777
2 replies | jump to latest

I was surprised when I read this. I guess Martin Scorsese wanted to have a portuguese musical element in the soundtrack, probably. Do you remember when this is played?

"For The Souls in Purgatory/ Traditional song Performed by Women from Beira Baxa with adufe accompaniment/ Courtesy of Smithsonian Folkways Recordings/UNESCO"

I`m from Portugal, I haven`t seen the film yet but I think that it would be great if they made a film about St. Francis Xavier preaching in Japan. It would be like a prequel to "Silence". He was spanish but was under the portuguese crown and always used portuguese as a language of preaching in Asia.

[–] The_Baba 8 years ago

There's no ''music'' in the film though. The film's score is mostly made up of atmospheric sounds of nature and also very subtle percussion and chiming bells.

However there's an instance in the film where some Japanese Christians are being crucified and they sing a hymn. Perhaps it is this folk song that the Portuguese missionaries taught them.

http://www.imdb.com/list/_OaGg-zdQKo/

[–] Universalist777 8 years ago

Thank you for explaining that. I guess that must be the song mentioned in the soundtrack. I think that would explain why its a religious song, "For the Souls of Purgatory". I searched for that song in YouTube but I wasn`t able to find it.