Intrada Soundtrack Forum

August 03, 1999

The Barber Of Siberia
Composed by Edward Artemyev
Conducted by Dimitry Atowmian and Sergey Skripka
Sony Classical SK 61802
Total Time = 66:18

A new picture, Russian locale, big set-pieces. It’s an international product of France, Italy and - big surprise - Russia. Obviously large scale too; it’s even recorded in Dolby Digital. The addition of Julia Ormond and Richard Harris certainly add star appeal.

It makes sense to look into a score as it relates to the picture - that’s the purpose. So far I haven’t seen this movie around so I’m listening to the music with little else to go by. The album packaging includes sumptuous color photographs and a nice montage for the cover. With that and the cue titles something of an image emerges anyway.

Edward Artemyev is known for musical scores to The Inner Circle as well as the Nikita Mikhalkov films Urga and Soleil Trompeur. Mikhalkov also worked on The Barber Of Siberia. Artemyev was probably a natural for this project.

There’s a lot of music here. It ranges from the broadly lyrical, classically-tinged warmth of the main themes, through dark and somber material, into aggressive and dissonant action music. Lots of territory to cover. Inspirations are broad - Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev, a dash of Stravinsky, splashes of Morton Gould, Laurence Rosenthal, others. Even a pinch of John Williams. Artemyev writes in a unique style however, evident in his other work. Ideas often flow with roots in romantic and post romantic concert music. A very tonal vocabulary. But ideas in between are more contemporary, sliding through dissonance with ease. His rhythms can be aggressive at times. All of these signatures are present in The Barber Of Siberia.

Artemyev orchestrated the score for large orchestra, recorded it in Moscow. As of this writing the album is only available imported. There are numerous highlights, colors, styles. Here’s a random sampling.

One striking voice is solo flugelhorn - an instrument played like a trumpet, sounding nearer to the cornet. Mellower in other words. The opening track ("Friendship") uses it well, in warmly lyrical fashion. When track two ("Terrorists In Moscow") arrives the score becomes agitated, exciting, emphasizing forward motion with dissonance, rhythm. Emerging from the chaos are slower strings, leading to solo flugelhorn for a warm close. A rich piece of music.

"Promenade On The Troika" uses clarinets and French horns under a soaring upper string line to great effect. It bounces to a brief close. "Jane And Andrei" shows the broadly lyrical style of Artemyev, scored largely for strings. He shifts between major and minor harmonies with ease. Near the end flute takes up an idea and the orchestra emerges momentarily. There’s a grand waltz too - "Surprise At The Ball". It’s florid, lilting. Not Straussian - much darker. Rather vivid actually.

The vocabulary changes with "Blood On The Wall". Vicious percussion figures and low piano add to a portrait of orchestral menace. Late in the cue the music draws inward with the theme for - what else - solo flugelhorn.

There’s yet more contrast with "Welcome To Russia". It’s a dance-like tune with powerful variants. Spectacular brass fanfares and swirling strings create a resounding movement of energy and activity.

And these are just random examples. Artemyev provides numerous other moments, once grand, next disturbing.

"Tolstoi Overhears" uses a moto-perpetuo figure in strings, savage bursts of percussion, and outbursts of brass to generate a terse mood, then melts into a peaceful segment for strings and woodwinds. I’d also describe "What Did You Do?" as a violent burst of orchestral fury, but Artemyev keeps the lyrical flugelhorn close at hand, the theme in dramatic contrast.

A genuine highlight - "The Prisoner’s March". It’s unrelenting, pounding, grim. Low brass make comments, the music grinds forward, the tempo increasing. Then everything is stripped bare for a brief few seconds. Nothing but a trio of percussion players hitting drums. It’s a fabulous idea! The orchestra returns, dense harmonies, an angular horn line to the fore. And a chorus. It’s an unusually well-written piece. Quite simply - it’s powerful.

Not all is chaos or power. "Jane’s Letter" is another well-written piece. Over a constant woodwind figure are lean violin and cello lines, somewhat mysterious, brooding. Yet further colors permeate "The Deserted House", including cello and keyboard solos. And for you musicians there’s even a bitonal last chord. Like being in heaven!

Artemyev finishes in a brooding manner, subdued, string colors dominating. As familiar melodic fragments emerge the score rises and falls in waves, then closes in a somber mood.

Judging by this album the images on film are probably highly visual, maybe sweeping, maybe violent, sometimes passioned. The score is certainly all of these, making for a rather impressive hour.

August 10, 1999

Mr. Skeffington
Composed by Franz Waxman
Conducted by William T. Stromberg
Moscow Symphony Orchestra
Marco Polo 8.225037
17 Tracks Total Time = 62:57

Franz Waxman was unique for me amongst film composers. He was there from the start - the "golden age" of the thirties and forties with Steiner, etc. But his late fifties and sixties music seems fresher, more inventive, more alive. Quite the opposite of Goldsmith, Bernstein, Korngold, North, Mancini, so many others. That said I now turn to an early-ish one, something from 1944. A learning experience for me. And time to rethink.

Being interested in Waxman’s late period I didn’t spend time on the early stuff. Not total ignorance though - I saw most of the pictures he did, heard his music. But limited recordings and little energy on my part add up to unfamiliarity. I’m grateful to Marco Polo. They’ve opened my ears. This is great Waxman.

It gets considerable strength from a rich minor-keyed theme. Underlining Mr. Skeffington (Claude Rains) it’s introduced in the Main Title, played by strings, reprised on trumpet. A cadence into major (a neat idea) brings the music towards more clever material, New York in 1914, suitors for Fanny Trellis (Bette Davis) and such. The story is about Fanny, selfish Fanny, pretty Fanny. Amongst many suitors she picks Skeffington. And things go down hill.

The score uses the Skeffington theme and a motif for Fanny throughout. They highlight "Skeffington Arrives" for example. They’re used during cues like "A Happy Event" and "Baby Montage". World War I plays a part and Waxman catches it in "War Declared" and "Telegram". The score has moments of humor, tenderness, moods of despair, suspense, even power. Pretty amazing repertoire for a soap opera.

I always recalled a lot of music in the movie, often long stuff under dialog. Bill Whitaker’s notes (which are superb) inform us that Waxman was asked to write a lot of music. He did. The album’s generous running time gives us quite a look at it.

Something worth noting. When you listen pay attention to the orchestral colors. Readers of this column know I like just about everything, the old stuff and the new. But I do recognize the differences. Waxman has composed music here. Real music. And he uses the large orchestra in fantastic ways. I’m drawn to the array of celeste, twin harps, glockenspiel, xylophone, pianos and organ amongst the orchestra. Combining numerous solo colors (trombone here, E-flat clarinet there) with the orchestra Waxman has painted one tremendous palette. The score opens vigorously (an exciting flourish) and closes dramatically. The music in between is melodic, haunting - and a rainbow of texture.

Certainly worth spotlighting is the production here. Stromberg shines - his Moscow players shine. John Morgan reconstructs every nuance.

And it’s a fantastic sounding album. Warm where required, crisp and punchy when needed, detailed to a fault. I’m a fan of recordings that let you hear where instruments are. Without mushy added reverb. Played by rehearsed musicians capable of tackling the music. This is a goal in our own Intrada "Excalibur Collection" recordings of Jason And The Argonauts, Ivanhoe, etc.

The standards I like in re-recordings have been met with Mr. Skeffington. I’m anxious for them to tackle goodies like Joan Of Arc and Run Silent Run Deep and Kings Of The Sun and...

August 10, 1999

The 13th Warrior
Composed and Conducted by Jerry Goldsmith
Varese Sarabande VSD-6038
16 Tracks Total Time = 55:04

An easy target. Jerry Goldsmith doing a brand new epic using a big orchestra and chorus. But that’s what this whole business sometimes just comes down to. Jerry Goldsmith. Painting on his great canvas with a huge palette of color, impeded by nothing on this earth. Sure, there are times when contemporary rhythms should rock your listening environment. Other times for warmth, intimacy. But when it’s time for the big one - you need a composer who’s really in command of the thing.

Goldsmith’s been doing this for decades. And here’s one of his grandest.

On first listen you notice the abundance of rhythm. A Goldsmith trademark. Then you notice those soaring unison French horns. Rarely harmonized - they just soar together in a single line. They’ve been doing it for him since day one - when his early Black Patch thrust horns in the lead throughout, disposing trumpets entirely. Goldsmith has challenged French horn players for many a decade. Rio Conchos, The Sand Pebbles, The Wind And The Lion, The Final Conflict, The River Wild, The Edge, The Mummy. And now The 13th Warrior.

Nightmares about the movie-making have been noted. Directing, post production, delays, name changes. But what emerges is awesome territory for film music. Vikings. An Arabic hero. Swords and costumes and ships and horses. One listen and you’ll find Goldsmith was up for it.

After introductory material establishes rhythm and texture, "Old Bagdad" presents the main theme. It’s hard to miss - listen for the French horns. Heard in a straight-forward manner, Goldsmith uses huge forces, including chorus, to anchor the remainder of his score. Most of the melodic ideas used throughout have origins within this track. The introductory material, the styles and colors, the theme, even a melodic extension on occasion. They’re all here.

Sometimes the introductory material is given prominence, becoming a secondary theme, as in "Exiled". Here the score emphasizes woodwind solos, electronic colors, the Arabic narrative of the story. At times both themes jockey for attention, as in "Semantics". And always the color and texture.

There aren’t real action cues - per se. The score instead derives excitement from simple though aggressive rhythms, march-like. Rhythms emphasizing lower percussion, tympani, bass drum. Take "Viking Heads" for example. Not busy, it’s imposing by combining slow, forceful brass figures amidst one such driving rhythm. Ditto "The Horns Of Hell", a plethora of pounding low percussion, chorus in tow, those ever faithful French horns. And for one brief stunning flourish those hard-working guys get a crack at the secondary melody for a change!

There are occasional outbursts of ferocity. That too is a Goldsmith trademark. Some appear during "The Fire Dragon". One of the busier cues, it launches a new rhythm, horns carrying the load of both melodic and sometimes rhythmic interest. Close to the finish tension is truly unleashed, albeit only for mere seconds. Unfortunate.

Another such moment hits early in "The Cave of Death" - on what else? French horns. This piece mixes a staple of the current Goldsmith repertoire - growling low brass - with a signature from his earlier days - descending open/stopped French horns. Like The Edge meeting The Prize on the Planet Of The Apes. It’s a welcome sound - I’m glad to hear it’s still in his bag of tricks. It reprises in "Mother Wendol’s Cave" (maybe a cave motif) which actually leads to one of the fiercer moments - trombones hammering an ostinato under which strings provide a separate jagged figure and horns yet another.

Highlighting the entire score is "Valhalla/Viking Victory", nearly eleven minutes of power. And in what might be my favorite moment, the main theme emerges in full (after having been abandoned as such for sometime) with a vengeance. At 4:46 in, following a crescendo and solid drum hit, this theme takes command on those ever-reliant French horns - leading to a rich chordal sequence and a winding down of the proceedings.

The album closes with "A Useful Servant", a modest coda sampling the introductory material, swelling briefly to a close. Unfortunately, after such a first class voyage, a bit too brief.

Just an idea: Replay the opening track at this point for a more satisfying finale. Brings the theme home. Provides a solid finish. Musically, it works.

The scoring was done in London. The sound is dynamic, crisp, Bruce Botnick front and center. Varese has done a nice job too. Typical with their support of Goldsmith’s work, there are notes, stills. The playing time is unusually generous for a Goldsmith album, running nearly an hour. Ample time to get into the thing, to absorb the variety of colors, to appreciate the power this album unloads. It’s absolutely an hour well spent.

Set time aside - you’ll spend that hour many times over.

August 24, 1999

The Minus Man
Composed And Conducted by Marco Beltrami
Varese Sarabande VSD-6043
17 Tracks
Time (Marco Beltrami) = 20:18
Total Time = 30:49

If you’re thinking about the newest generation of film composers this guy comes up like a shot. Most listeners took first notice while attending Scream. Back then little score appeared on the obligatory pop album. Some of the most ferocious bursts of orchestral fury came with that score. Not just agressive stuff but well-crafted music. Music with energy, with motifs rather than whole themes. Coherent music. For a horror movie! Beltrami had little representation on the obligatory pop album. And listeners were grumpy about it.

It wasn’t long before Varese Sarabande issued Mimic. Beltrami was not only here to stay but you had an album now to remember him by. I played that one for days straight. Neat movie for most of the running time too.

Eventually Varese rescued his work on Scream - though only a frustrating quarter of an hour’s worth! It’s buddied with Scream 2, also abbreviated. Still, an amazing half hour listen.

There’s also The Faculty amongst others to take note of. Probably some of the best action music of the decade. You’ll have to view the movie (easy to do with such an attractive cast) to hear Beltrami’s part. The soundtrack album? One of those pop things again.

Anyway, just when you figure Beltrami is gonna stick with the big frenzied orchestra assignments forever he goes sideways. And Varese again comes to the rescue.

The Minus Man is worth the price of admission just to follow Beltrami in new directions. It’s acoustic music, chamber proportions, smaller even. He uses strings, percussion, keyboards, glasses. Things are plucked, tapped, stroked. And, as in "Hunt For Gene", musical phrases can sometimes open into gorgeous melodic lines.

The strength of the score is, this time, not in a coherency per se. It’s in fragments of material, ideas that work into the fabric like a myriad of colors in a single large cloth. I admire scores with multiple ideas, using instrumental combinations in what seem endless ways. But not just new sounds - Beltrami ensures listeners get some of his already trademarked complexity too. Just enough to let you know he’s up for challenging music anytime, anywhere. "Hampton’s Devil" does neat things with piano, strings, electronics - especially in a brief, growing ostinato. And just a hint of his intense rhythmic gifts.

Most of all, there’s the sound of glasses. A color, when added to electronics, keyboard, wordless voice, strings and percussion, that creates a most unusual texture. It’s heard to good effect immediately in the "Main Title". A primary motif (nearly a theme), harmonized in thirds, it’s played with, moved away from, returned to. Like thoughts coming and going.

It’s also interesting to note how, as in "That Truck Is A Horse Of Death", Beltrami can refuse to change keys and still create different layers of transparent material to work in and around, over and through.

There’s a lot of stereo in the mix. Obviously a good idea - there are so many delicate moments, so many neat sounds. The dynamic range is wide, the low end clean (probably the synths) and the percussion crisp and crystal clear. Like the glasses.

Being that Beltrami is so comfortable with any size musical group, it’d be fun to give him two kazoos and a saw sometime. He’d do something worthwhile. Until then let this one work at you for awhile.

August 31, 1999

Deep Blue Sea
Composed By Trevor Rabin
Conducted By Gordon Goodwin
Varese Sarabande VSD 302 066 063 2
Total Tracks = 10 Total Time = 30:11

Trevor Rabin has extended his musical vocabulary here. A lot. Noted guitarist, member of Yes. Writer of pulsating electronic/acoustic scores for Jerry Bruckheimer (Con Air, Armageddon) in tandem with Mark Mancina and Harry Gregson-Williams. Composer of The Glimmer Man and Enemy Of The State.

Currently composer of the very symphonic Deep Blue Sea.

Certainly a new facet of his talent. This score album from Varese Sarabande (a separate song album also exists) presents musical fireworks. Not just explosive - there’s melodic depth too.

The opening is deceptively simple - open fifths on keyboard. Shifting minor and major chords. A lean French horn line. The orchestra swells. Then one of the most expressive themes of recent times. Rich, evocative, memorable.

That melody opens "Susan Softens". Shifting minor to major harmonies growing into reasonably strong chord progressions. Leading to "Journey". Here a rhythmic foundation and Rabin’s guitar influences appear, recede. The orchestra jockeys with rhythm players and a sizeable chorus to introduce the energetic face of the score.

What a face. Dramatic chord progressions, unrelenting ostinato rhythms, punctuated by hammering percussion. Action music for action music people. Jagged orchestral outbursts continue in "Main", give pause momentarily for "Hunting In Packs" and "Experiment", creep up late into "Shark Side", finally returning with a vengeance in "Anarchy" - the album highlight.

In those last five minutes, action writing, pulsating rhythms and a melodic sensibility combine with powerhouse majestic chords - then close with a brief, touching coda. It’s been a terrific half hour ride.

Action music in the nineties has relied heavily on electronic rhythms, pulsating keyboards and percussion loops, repeated figures, so forth. Rabin’s been there, done that too. With this score he manages to tap into the trend, expand it with melodic sweep, majestic harmony - and orchestral razzle dazzle to spare.