The piano was a popular form of entertainment in the eighteenth century. Like many ladies of the era, Austen knew how to play. In this album, pianist Karlyn Bond performs songs from Austen's times that the writer certainly would have been familiar with.
This is as close as you'll get to a private concert by Jane Austen. These songs are performed from the original copies of sheet music that Austen wrote by hand, in the room at Chawton Cottage where she used to play piano, on a piano similar to the one she owned.
Music was an important part of the Regency period, and this album is a collection of songs that evoke the era. Yes, it is all classical music, but it wasn't called classical then. Rock, pop, jazz, and R&B hadn't been invented yet, so "classical music" was just "music." Most of it was intended to be listened to it at home, in the drawing room, while a young woman in the house played on the piano.
This is the music written for the film. Judging from the comments on Amazon, many a buyer of this soundtrack has been sorely disappointed to learn that their favorite song from the movie isn't on it. Read the song list first!
Have you ever wanted to stand on an English moor in soaking rain, dying of heartbreak and pneumonia à la Marianne Dashwood? Here's your soundtrack! This is the original score for Emma Thompson's adaptation of the Dashwood sisters' drama.
If you can't stand one more piano sonata, here's something to perk up your playlist. Okay, so maybe Coolio's "Rollin' With My Homies" wasn't exactly a Regency parlor favorite, but this soundtrack still evokes the Austen-inspired movie.