(2011)

Priest tells the story of a… Priest, played by Paul Bettany, whose niece is kidnapped by vampires who he sets off to pursue. The film is set in a universe where humans and vampires have been at war for many centuries, and therefore the Church is where the human race has gathered. The film endured endless production delays both before and after it was finished, in the latter case presumably because the studio realized that Priest is a god-awful film. A failure both critically and commercially, the only positive aspects of the film are the excellent production design and Christopher Young’s superb score.

Young is of course the modern expert of scores for horror films. He has many different ways of scoring them, but scores always work wonderfully no matter which way that may be. It is, however, the Gothic sound of such scores as Hellraiser 2 and Drag Me To Hell that his fans seem to love most, and Priest is perhaps the best entry into that category to date.

As you’d expect, it’s a mammoth score, making great use of a full orchestra and chorus, as well as an organ and various electronic elements. The opening track is an immense piece, full of all the reasons we love Young’s horror scores. The next track, “Eclipsed Heart”, is a beautifully haunting piece and one of the score’s more tender moments.

One of the best tracks on the album is “I Have Sinned”, opening with an immense, epic performance by the chorus and orchestra. At 1:20 the chorus leaves and the piece becomes a superb percussion heavy action cue. Two particular action highlights later in the score are “Sacrosanct Delirium” and “The Vampire Train”, both of which run for over seven minutes and make the album worth buying just for them.

Whilst action music dominates the album, it’s certainly not all it has to offer. Lisa Gerrard provides vocals in several instances, which work wonderfully. There’s a lovely piano theme that’s introduced in “Never One For Love”, as well as the wonderfully majestic music of “Faith, Work, Security” and “Fanfare for a Resurrected Priest”. Gerrard’s vocals appear in both the former and latter tracks, and compliments the music beautifully.

The album’s conclusion is the track “A World Without End”, an epic eight minute long piece which saves the best until last, with Gerrard’s vocals merged with the brilliant theme from “ Cathedral City Blue”, to superb effect.

The understandable failure of the film unfortunately kills the score’s chances at any major awards. Make no mistake though, it’s probably the best score that 2011 has seen so far, and one that is highly recommend to all film music fans.

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Track Listing

1. Priest (3:26)

2. Eclipsed Heart (3:34)

3. I Have Sinned (5:07)

4. Blood Framed Hell (3:52)

5. Sacrosanct Delirium (7:44)

6. Never One for Love (2:38)

7. Faith, Work, Security (2:14)

8. The Vampire Train (7:00)

9. Fanfare for a Resurrected Priestess (2:39)

10. Cathedral City Blue (6:44)

11. Detuned Towne (2:33)

12. A World Without End (7:38)

Total Time: 55:09

Credits

Composed by Christopher Young

Orchestrations by Christopher Young, David Shephard, Peter Bateman, Richard Bronskill, Sean McMahon, Benoit Grey, & Jorgen Lauritson

Conducted by Allan Wilson

Performed by The Slovak National Symphony Orchestra, Lucnica Chorus, & Lisa Gerrard

Produced by Christopher Young & Max Blomgren

Awards

None

Insert Notes

The CD edition of the score contains a note from the film’s director about the score. The download contains no digital liner notes.

All artwork and images are Copyright © Madison Gate Records

(1965)

David Lean’s Doctor Zhivago made more money than all his other films put together.  At the time of its release however, it was thoroughly thrashed by critics, something that Lean took very personally, despite the film’s success with the public, and swore at the time to never make another film (he would ultimately make two more).  The film would ultimately win five Academy Awards, though the Oscars for Best Picture and Director went to The Sound of Music (yes, well…).  One of those five awards went to composer Maurice Jarre; his second success after winning for his masterpiece of a score to Lean’s previous film Lawrence of Arabia.  He would win his third award in 1985 for his work on Lean’s final film: A Passage to India.

MGM’s initial reaction to Lean’s desire to hire Jarre to compose the score to Doctor Zhivago was “Maurice is very good on sand, but I’m sure we have someone better on snow.”  Fortunately, he was able to get Jarre the job, and the composer wrote what remains, apart from Lawrence of Arabia, probably the best score of his career, and certainly his most successful, particularly with his “Lara’s Theme”, which became one of the most famous ever written.  It took several attempts to write, with Jarre finally coming up with the piece when Lean suggested that he go to the mountains with his girlfriend and write a piece of music for her.  Paul Francis Webster wrote lyrics to accompany the theme, which resulted in the song “Somewhere My Love”.  Though there is not actually a track on the soundtrack album titled “Lara’s Theme”, the piece appears in numerous tracks, something that Jarre was initially angered at, since he felt that over-reliance on the piece would spoil the soundtrack.  Fortunately, that couldn’t be further from being the case.

Not including the jazz, Rock ‘n’ Roll and Swing versions of Lara’s theme that appear at the end of the CD, the soundtrack album for Doctor Zhivago contains an hour of some of the best film music ever written.  The Overture opens with Jarre’s trademark percussion heavy style, and then proceeds to introduce three of the score’s main themes, including Lara’s.  The album then launches into the stunningly beautiful main title, performed by the full orchestra along with several balalaika players to give the Russian sound to the piece.

The story of the balalaika players is a somewhat amusing one.  The MGM Studio Orchestra didn’t have any, and obviously going to Russia to find them wasn’t an option.  Jarre eventually found a balalaika player at a Russian church in Hollywood, who, along with several of his friends, arrived at the recording stage one day.  The problem was, however, that they all played by ear, and weren’t able to read music, so Jarre had to mime to the players as he conducted the orchestra, the sixteen bars of the piece they had to play.

“Lara is Charming” introduces the delightful waltz theme into the score, played on strings accompanied by piano flourishes throughout.  The theme returns in a varied form in “Lara and Komarovsky Dancing Up A Storm”, and again in “Sventitsky’s Waltz”, with the same theme but different orchestration.

“Military Parade” is another of the score’s themes, and was the first to be introduced in the overture.  In this track and the next, “They Begin To Go Home”, it’s performed by a male voice choir, in the latter track with a greater orchestral accompaniment than before.  The theme also appears in the first few seconds of “After Deserters Killed The Colonel”, which also features a brief rendition of Lara’s theme towards the end.

Lara’s theme isn’t used extensively until the track “Lara Says Goodbye To Yuri”, which features a mournful version of the piece, making heavy use of balalaika and violins.  “Flags Flying Over The Train” introduces the first fully orchestral rendition of the aforementioned military theme, and is definitely one of the score’s highlights.  The theme is also heard in this way in the “Intermission”, which, though only lasting for forty five seconds, is the best treatment of the theme.

“Yuri Follows The Sound Of The Waterfall” is another brief, but beautifully ethereal piece, starting out with very light strings and balalaika accompaniment.  Towards the end, we get yet another treatment of Lara’s theme, and then, in the next track, “Tonya And Yuri Arrive At Varykino”, another theme is introduced, and the one that’s probably my favourite, a beautiful playful theme on strings as the three characters travel through the snow in a sleigh.  Later in the track, Jarre increases the orchestral palette, introducing both percussion and horns into the piece, to great effect.  The theme returns, though more subtly, in the next track, “They Didn’t Lock The Cottage”.

Lara’s theme returns again in “Yuri And The Daffodils”, a piece accompanying a truly beautiful scene of nature, and again in the next track, “On A Yuriatin Street”.  The theme is then put through some lovely variations in “Lara And Yuri Arriving At Varykino”.  The score concludes with a rendition of Lara’s theme in “Then It’s a Gift”.  Also featured are a jazz, Rock ‘n’ Roll, and swing version of Lara’s theme that were recorded between takes by the orchestra.  Whilst inferior to the original theme, they certainly aren’t as bad as some of the remixes you hear.

In a simple summary, this score is a masterpiece, brimming with wonderful themes and written for, regardless of what David Lean’s detractors may say, one of the greatest films ever made.  Likewise, the score is one of the best ever written, and stands alongside Lawrence of Arabia as Jarre’s best writing for the cinema.  It’s desirable at any price, but when it’s available on Amazon for £6 / $9, it can’t be missed.  I cannot recommend it more highly.

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Track Listing

1. Overture (2:24)

2. Main Title (2:41)

3. Kontakion/Funeral Song (3:17)

4. Lara Is Charming (1:15)

5. The Internationale (1:11)

6. Lara and Komarovsky Dancing Up A Storm (0:43)

7. Komarovsky and Lara In The Hotel (3:54)

8. Interior Student Café (outtake) (1:36)

9. Sventitsky’s Waltz/After The Shooting (2:18)

10. Military Parade (2:10)

11. They Began To Go Home (2:05)

12. After Deserters Killed The Colonel (1:04)

13. At The Hospital (0:58)

14. Lara Says Goodbye To Yuri (1:28)

15. Tonya Greets Yuri (outtake) (0:44)

16. The Stove’s Out (outtake) (1:29)

17. Yevgrav Snaps His Fingers (outtake) (3:11)

18. Evening Bells/Moscow Station (1:03)

19. Flags Flying Over The Train (1:06)

20. Yuri Gazing Through A Tiny Open Hatch (outtake) (0:36)

21. The Door Is Banged Open (1:51)

22. Intermission (0:45)

23. Yuri Follows The Sound Of The Waterfall (0:43)

24. Tonya And Yuri Arrive At Varykino (2:54)

25. They Didn’t Lock The Cottage (1:34)

26. Varykino Cottage, Winter Snow (0:56)

27. Yuri And The Daffodils (1:17)

28. On A Yuriatin Street (1:34)

29. In Lara’s Bedroom (0:32)

30. Yuri Rides To Yuriatin (0:23)

31. Yuri Is Taken Prisoner By The Red Partisans (0:48)

32. For As Long As We Need You (0:41)

33. Yuri Is Escaping (2:19)

34. Yuri Approaches Lara’s Apartment (0:50)

35. Yuri Looks Into The Mirror (0:31)

36. Lara And Yuri Arriving At Varykino (1:41)

37. Yuri Is Trying To Write (1:21)

38. Yuri Frightens The Wolves Away, part 1 (0:48)

39. Lara Reads Her Poem (0:39)

40. Yuri Frightens The Wolves Away, part 2 (1:54)

41. Yuri Works On (outtake) (0:53)

42. Then It’s A Gift (End Title) (1:46)

43. Lara’s Theme – Jazz Version (1:58)

44. Lara’s Theme – Rock ‘n’ Roll Version (2:39)

45. Lara’s Theme – Swing Version (1:15)

Credits

Music Composed and Conducted by Maurice Jarre

Orchestrated by Maurice Jarre & Leo Arnaud

Performed by The MGM Studio Orchestra

Recorded in Culver City, CA

Album Produced by Marilee Bradford & Bradley Flanagan

Awards

Academy Award for Best Original Score (Won)

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score (Won)

Grammy Award for Best Score for a Motion Picture (Won)

Insert Notes

Contains extensive information about the film and the score, as well as a lengthy note from Jarre about his experiences working on the film.

All artwork and images are Copyright © Turner Entertainment / MGM

 (1995)

Widely regarded as the worst film to ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture, Braveheart is nevertheless a film that most people seem to like, for reasons that I’ve never really been able to understand.  Fortunately, James Horner makes the film worth watching for any fan of film music with his outstanding score.  With both Apollo 13 and Legends of the Fall released the same year, the year of 1995 is easily the best of Horner’s career and one of the most impressive years for a film composer in Hollywood history.

Irish and Celtic instrumentation is a very common occurrence in Horner’s scores, whether they’re actually appropriate for the film or not, something that drives many of his fans mad at hearing such instruments in totally inappropriate situations.  Braveheart, of course, gave Horner the opportunity to make prominent use of such instrumentation, and he certainly doesn’t miss it, though you’d think for a film set in Scotland bagpipes might be more appropriate than Irish Uillean Pipes.  Ah well.  And, of course, the faithful shakuhachi crops up now and again.

The only criticism I have about the album is that it’s just too long.  At nearly eighty minutes long, with the best material nearer the end, you’re likely to get bored before you get to the good stuff.  A forty or fifty minute album containing the best music from the score would have been great, and I’d probably listen to it a lot more than I do.

Braveheart is one of those scores that you know immediately whether you’re going to love it or not.  The main title has a wonderful faraway sense to it, complimenting the beautiful scenery of Scotland.  “For the Love of a Princess” is arguably the best track on the album (though the last two give it some serious competition), featuring a fully-fledged string rendition of the main theme. “The Legend Spreads” is an immensely enjoyable Irish/Scottish jig piece, and, though brief, is one of the album’s highlights.

The harsh, violent action music in such tracks as “Revenge” and “Falkirk” is also superbly effective in the film, but not a particularly pleasant listen on album.  “The Battle of Stirling” is probably the best of them, with bagpipes, strings, percussion and electronic elements used to great effect.  The piece then becomes a lovely string and pipe performance of the main theme.

The conclusion to the album is superb, with the film’s ending accompanied by the powerful and heroic performance of the score’s most famous theme in “Bannockburn”.  Equally impressive is the end credits music, which recaps on most of the score’s major themes.

So, in the end, Braveheart is a superb score and easily amongst the best of Horner’s career.  Most Horner fans seem to feel that it was his best work of 1995 and should have won him the Oscar.  Since both Braveheart and Apollo 13 were nominated in the same category, the votes were likely split between the two scores, and Horner therefore lost to the good but far inferior score to Il Postino.  Personally, I’ve always found Apollo 13 to be a more memorable and enjoyable score.  Regardless though, Braveheart is a highly recommended purchase for any film music fan, though it must be stressed that it does not come within light years of rivalling the score to Lawrence of Arabia, despite Mel Gibson’s claim to that effect.

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Track Listing

1. Main Title (2:51)

2. A Gift of a Thistle (1:37)

3. Wallace Courts Murron (4:25)

4. The Secret Wedding (6:33)

5. Attack on Murron (3:00)

6. Revenge (6:23)

7. Murron’s Burial (2:13)

8. Making Plans/Gathering the Clans (2:05)

9. “Sons of Scotland” (6:19)

10. The Battle of Stirling (6:07)

11. For the Love of a Princess (4:07)

12. Falkirk (4:04)

13. Betrayal & Desolation (7:48)

14. Mornay’s Dream (1:18)

15. The Legend Spreads (1:09)

16. The Princess Pleads for Wallace’s Life (3:38)

17. “Freedom”/The Execution/Bannockburn (7:24)

18. End Credits (7:12)

Credits

Music Composed, Orchestrated, Conducted & Produced by James Horner

Performed by The London Symphony Orchestra & Choristers of Westminster Abbey

Awards

Academy Award for Best Original Score (nominated)

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score (nominated)

BAFTA Award for Best Music (nominated)

Insert Notes

None – purchased as MP3 Download.

All artwork and images are Copyright © Decca