Herrmann's Arab Trio: Alien and Wholly Uncomfortable

Ralph Locke calls these melodies “reductive symbols of Arabness” and would argue that Herrmann’s music serves its purpose well as strict background music meant to reduce an entire culture to a few notes [11]. With the addition of a few appoggiaturas, glissandi and arpeggios, Herrmann takes a trite little melody and transforms it into an accurate musical place-holder. 

The music for his “Arab Trio,” that which accompanies the dinner scene, actually reflects much of the action on the screen.  While the violin outlines a distinctly Arab melody, the clarinet jolts about awkwardly, high and low in its tessitura.  This lack of lasting presence, or placement, serves to mimic the awkward motions being depicted on screen as Jo and Ben attempt to negotiate their places at the unfamiliar Moroccan dinner table. Jo maintains an elegant composure and remains very much within her element, mimicking the equally sublime violin. Ben, on the other hand acts out the clarinet's arpeggiation like a marionette without strings.