With all of the reviews I’ve written (almost 3400!) and the artists I’ve written about (more than 1300!), I’m always thrilled when an exciting artist I haven’t encountered before drops into my email inbox. Such is the case with French pianist/composer Sofiane Pamart, a Gold Medal graduate of the Conservatoire de Lille who has become one of the world’s most-streamed pianists with more than one billion streams, and thirty-two Gold, eleven Platinum, and two Diamond certifications. Sofiane studied piano and classical music for sixteen years at the Conservatoire and yet he is best-known for contributing to the French and Belgian rap scene and collaborating with race car driver, Charles Leclerc, on the 2024 album Dreamers. I was asked to review the songbook for Pamart’s album, Movie, and have continued to be more curious as well as impressed by this amazing artist.

Quoting the preface to the songbook:

“The story of ‘Movie’ lives within a single day, from sunrise to sunset. I imagined a day that would contain the emotional experience of an entire life. A day in which we would move, in miniature, through what a lifetime carries in full. I wanted this day to feel complete and overwhelming. Love at the heart of every image, love as the raw material, from the first piece to the last.”

Sheet music books that go with albums are nothing new, but this one is something very special. The 2026 album was conceived for orchestra, piano and vocals, so rather than having a music transcriber reduce the scores to piano solos, Pamart recreated each piece for solo piano the way he would play them himself. In addition, eleven of the twenty pieces are notated as lead sheets with the melodies, lyrics and chord charts, allowing pianists to simplify the music and/or improvise their own versions.

It is worth noting that the Movie songbook is a work of art in itself, from the distinctive pink cover (inspired by old movie scripts) to the photos of Pamart as a child and the sketches by designer and illustrator Adrien Beaujeant.

Given Parmart’s background and incredible playing ability, it isn’t surprising that most of these pieces are not simple. A few are in more challenging keys and some have some very wide reaches (well-beyond an octave), but all are very playable and well-worth the time to learn them as written. When I played through them, I found many that I want to go back a really learn instead of just sight-reading. There is a wide variety of emotions expressed in the music and I found them all to be very beautiful. Listening to the album itself also brings a lot of insight into the music and is well-worth the time.

Right now, it appears that the Movie sheet music book is only available from Sofiane Pamart’s website (https://www.sofianepamart.com/). I will update this review as the songbook becomes available elsewhere. I very highly recommend it!

The titles of the pieces, the key(s) they are in, and the number of pages are:

Sunrise In Your Eyes - Key of E (4 sharps) - 3 pages
There’ll Be A Day - Key of E minor (1 sharp)/ F# minor (3 sharps) - 5 pages
Watching You - Key of D minor (1 flat) - 5 pages
The Knight Ceremony - Key of E (4 sharps) - 5 pages
I Am What I Am - Kay of G# minor (5 sharps) - 3 pages
Midnight In California - Key of B minor (2 sharps) - 2 pages
Moviestar - Key of B (5 sharps) - 5 pages
Beauty - Key of C# minor (4 sharps) - 3 pages
Piano Sonata - Key of C minor (3 flats) - 5 pages
Director’s Cut - Key of D minor (1 flat) - 2 pages
Your Inner World - Key of C minor (3 flats) - 4 pages
Cinema - Key of B (5 sharps) - 7 pages
You’ve Been Away - Key of A minor (0 sharps or flats) - 3 pages
Gimme Love Orchestra - Key of B (5 sharps) - 4 pages
How To Love - Key of D minor (1 flat) - 4 pages
Come With Me Tonight - Key of C# minor (4 sharps) - 5 pages
A Kiss A Kill - Key of F# minor (3 sharps) - 5 pages
Butterfly Butterfly - Key of E minor (1 sharp) - 3 pages
Like An Angel - Key of B minor (2 sharps) - 4 pages
Your Eyes On Sunset - Key of G minor (2 flats) - 4 pages