Almost everyone who writes about Impressions de France credits beloved Disney composer Buddy Baker with the concept for the music. In fact, the decision to score the film using all French music from the late French Romantic to early Impressionistic Eras, including almost all of the specific choices, was completely director Rick Harper's and it was conceived that way months before the start of production.
Long before anything was filmed, the film's director, Rick Harper, combed through music from the late French Romantic to early Impressionistic Eras and matched specific passages of music to each proposed location. While shooting, Harper and writer/co-producer Bob Rogers sometimes used a stop watch or even playback from a simple consumer level cassette recorder, to make sure the camera movement or the action would fit Harper's preselected music. One example of this was the dramatic tilt up on the Eiffel Tower. Later, after shooting, these same pieces of music were matched to the film in the editing room. It is pretty normal in film editing for editors and directors to assemble temporary or "temp" music to illustrate what they have in mind. But this temp track was far more detailed and thought-out than normal. Of course there were some bumpy transitions because this "temp" music had been stitched together from many different recordings in different keys and tempos. And there were a couple of places (less than 20% of the film) where Harper had not yet found the perfect music.
Normally composers are not fond of "temp" scores because composers want to be free to do their own creating. But Buddy Baker was a total gentleman and professional. He immediately saw and loved what Harper was trying to do and he fully embraced it. Buddy used all of Harper's selections but re-orchestrated these classics so as to smooth the transitions, create bridges and fill in the 20% where Harper was still not happy with what he had found. The score was recorded in London's Abby Road Studios. Buddy Baker conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra while Rick supervised from the control booth. If the musicians had misgivings about playing those beloved classics in unfamiliar keys and with strange transitions, they never mentioned it. The collaboration between Buddy Baker and Rick Harper resulted in a great and enduring score. - Bob Rogers, Writer and Co-Producer of Impressions de France
