Reprinted from Washingtonian Magazine — Read online HERE

Frédéric Yonnet; Credit: Ronald Parker

This article contains spoilers for Killers of the Flower Moon.

If you saw The Irishman or Killers of the Flower Moon, there may be a melody you cannot get out of your head. As Martin Scorsese’s epic stories of corruption unfold, one instrument resonates clearer than the rest: a harmonica. These are not blues songs or the soundtrack for a  spaghetti Western like The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. The music is mournful and piercing, less wobbly than you typically hear from the instrument. That melody, from both films, is not performed by Scorsese’s longtime musical collaborator and composer Robbie Robertson, the frontperson for the Band who died in August. Robertson recruited Frédéric Yonnet, a harmonica virtuoso who was born in France but today calls Capitol Hill home.

In an interview, Yonnet explains how he impressed Robertson and Scorsese with his musical approach. “They needed a chromatic harmonica player, but I also sent samples of what I do with a diatonic harmonica, which is a more dumbed down version of what you normally hear,” Yonnet says. “It only has half the notes, and by sending them that demo, they were able to hear how I torture the harmonica to create the missing notes.”

After hearing these demos, Robertson and Scorsese gave Yonnet the freedom to play the pre-written score for 2019’s The Irishman the way he wanted. He was given the same freedom this year with Killers of the Flower Moon, which was released nationwide on Oct. 20.

What’s remarkable about Yonnet’s contribution to Scorsese’s latest film is how, unlike many other composers or session players who can interpret early footage, he and Robertson started with even less background for Killers of the Flower Moon. “[Robertson] never shared any images with me. We spoke about the story, some feelings and emotions about it. From there, he targeted the emotions he wanted to convey through the harmonica. [The harmonica] was attributed a role, almost a spirit.”

The idea of his instrument as a character is potent, and well-deserved. Throughout both films, Yonnet’s harmonica complements feelings of greed or loss. But Killers is a quieter film—especially by Scorsese’s often bombastic standards—and therefore the role of an instrument is a careful guide for our feelings, offering a sonic way to process how we relate to the film.

Set in the 1920s, Killers of the Flower Moon follows the Osage people of Fairfax, Oklahoma, during a period when the tribe experienced extreme wealth before White people infiltrated the community, murdering roughly two dozen tribe members to seize their fortune. There are many Osage characters in Killers of the Flower Moon, but the audience entry point is Mollie (Lily Gladstone). Over the course of the film, we watch Mollie fall in love with and marry Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio); they have children together, but all the while he betrays her. Ernest’s backstabbing is so visceral that the audience can’t help but feel betrayed as well, so it’s no surprise that Yonnet’s favorite scene from the film, and his most meaningful contribution, involves Gladstone’s character. “The most poignant moment for me was when Mollie is walking onto the crime scene to find the body of her sister. You can see all her emotions being drained from her body the moment she sees the body. The way Lily Gladstone is performing, combined with the way the harmonica is weaved in, was absolutely gut-wrenching.”

When Yonnet talks about the harmonica and his approach to the instrument, it is easy to understand why Scorsese chose it for such emotional extremes. “In that scene, [my notes] are an exhale. I am pushing a lot of air, compressing a lot of air, on a tiny little reed that is maybe half an inch long. I am compressing the air so I can bend the note up and down slowly. You can still feel the grittiness of the air being pushed through the harmonica. There is a little subtle rattle, sounding almost like a scream, that is supporting all of that.” That rattle deepens the scene, and provides a kind of outlet for Mollie’s character while she experiences total loss. She cannot move or speak, so Yonnet (along with Scorsese and Robertson) interpret the anguish for her via the score.

Between this film and The Irishman, Yonnet hopes his musical sensitivity and mastery of his instrument help people expand their idea of the harmonica. “I hope that people perceive the harmonica as something greater than what it’s typically associated with. They see it as a real instrument, as another character in the film, a lingering spirit that brings a dark influence on all the characters.”

Based on his ability to channel the story through music, Yonnet is not exaggerating when he says, “[The harmonica] has the ability to make the soul part of the music itself.” Channeling profound grief, as Killers of the Flower Moon draws to its breathtaking conclusion, the harmonica provides a unique, skillful breath of control, embracing a major part of the film’s cinematic power.