CD Reviews 3/7/00

We will attempt to bring you a sampling of CD reviews once a week in "Film Score Daily," as compiled by FSM Departments Editor Jonathan Z. Kaplan. These will sometimes be reprints of reviews that also appear in FSM, the hardcopy magazine, and sometimes be unique to this website.

CRAIG ARMSTRONG

Decca 289 466 804-2

16 tracks - 50:16

The Bone Collector, a slick thriller directed by Philip Noyce, is one of those movies that starts out with promise, delivers a couple of surprises along the way--and then totally screws up at the end. Craig Armstrong's main theme, entitled "New York City," is a good piece of film music with an appealing melody that doesn't sound like the usual pounding action-flick noise. It's more along the lines of Howard Shore's psychological approach to thrillers (like Silence of the Lambs). The downside is that this theme appears in the first track and basically never disappears. That makes for 15 more cuts of spooky, atmospheric music that constantly circles back to the main theme. While many composers craft monothematic scores, I minded it more this time. The theme is above average, but the heavy-handed strings, moody bells, dark choral voices and electronics don't vary much throughout the score--translation: it all sounds the same after a while. Armstrong should have varied his orchestrations. All in all, the composer has delivered a score that follows its film's pattern to a tee: it establishes itself with force, throws in a surprise or two and falls flat in conclusion. --Tony Buchsbaum

JOHN WILLIAMS

Sony Classical S2K 51333

Disc 1: 14 tracks - 66:11

Disc 2: 14 tracks - 73:46

It's the end of the millennium and time for celebrations ad nauseum--and the film music community is no exception. Several labels have issued big collections, but Sony Classical is bucking for the prize with this stocking filled with John Williams favorites. The compilation includes standards like Jaws and Raiders of the Lost Ark, along with more recent entries including Seven Years in Tibet and Rosewood. Perhaps you sense a preoccupation with Sony Classical's own releases--where are Nixon and Sleepers? This is a collection of previously released music that you've likely heard many times before--especially if you own all the original releases. This is my chief complaint with this set. Sony should have shelled out for some tracks from other labels or at least tried to surprise us in some way. They also could have produced a more informative booklet--this lame one offers up old photos, snippets from Spielberg, Lucas and Oliver Stone, and a gushing piece by David Denby. With all of Sony Classical's self-imposed limitations, this compilation came out about as well as could be expected. The bottom line is this: Buy the double-CD and you'll have the great time you expect--or don't, and you won't miss a thing. --Tony Buchsbaum

SIR ARTHUR BLISS

Naxos 8.553698

29 tracks - 67:06

First, here's the bad news. The selections from Things to Come total less than 12 minutes. The good news comes in two parts: Naxos discs are cheap and the rest of the album makes for an interesting listen. It shows Arthur Bliss to be at home in different genres, from the concert hall (Discourse) and ballet (Miracle) to film scores.

Things to Come is a huge film produced by H. G. Wells in 1936, and details of the production are quoted in the booklet notes from Bliss's diary. This gives a fascinating insight into this landmark movie, especially in the ways that Wells worked with the composer and gradually became disillusioned with the project. It is still an astonishing piece of work, albeit one that is not screened anywhere near as often as another landmark of the genre, Metropolis.

The orchestra required is large--extra woodwinds and brass, three percussionists, and organ on top of the normal forces--and the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under Christopher Lyndon-Gee provides the necessary power. "Prologue" is a stately and powerful introduction to the themes of the film: a world of machines and dictatorship which contribute to the gradual erosion of civilization. "Interlude: The World in Ruins" evokes the aftermath of war, where sparse orchestrations conjure up images of scorched earth and destroyed cities. Civilization starts again in "The Building of the New World" as roads are made by silent futuristic machines (there is an amusing note in the quoted diary extracts where Wells expects Bliss to come up with a musical sound for the noiseless objects). This segues into "Attack on the Moon Gun," a furious minute-and-a-half of triple-time violence. Finally, "Epilogue" reprises the main theme and finishes in a hopeful and noble blast.

Discourse for Orchestra was initially written in 1957, but this is the first recording of the 1965 revision. It is literally a conversation mapped out for orchestra, a fascinating 18 minutes with modernistic writing (at the time of the revision Bliss was 79 years old). Miracle in the Gorbals is a complete ballet of 18 movements, lasting 37 minutes. This is a morality play (as is another famous Bliss ballet, Adam Zero); Christ re-experiences the Passion--but translated to a Glasgow slum. Bliss's music is dignified and exciting, even if the choreography and staging in 1944­45 was said to be melodramatic.

Things to Come's 11:40 are over all too quickly, so you'll naturally play it again. Not only is this great film music but it is also great 20th-century British music, and well worth seeking out. --Iain Herries

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