CD Review of Cleopatra
Cleopatra **** 1/2
ALEX NORTH
Varèse Sarabande 302 066 224 2
Disc One: 29 tracks - 76:12 Disc Two: 24 tracks - 74:49
Alex North, along with fellow modernists like Toru Takemitsu and Leonard
Rosenman, has always been somewhat of a puzzle for film music fans. After
all, his work "sounds" like movie music with its big moments, its explicit
emotions and its primarily melodic thrust. But somehow it never lines up
as we expect it to: Rhythmic grooves overlap and exacerbate one another;
straightforward melodic lines are littered with non-harmonic tones and
antagonistic countermelodies; Romantic European orchestration practices
are undone with oddly voiced counterpoints and purely coloristic inclusions.
I think the best explanation for all of this (or at least the closest we'll
get) comes from the composer himself. In Fred Karlin and Rayburn Wright's
On the Track, North states, "It's a linear blocking of one idea
that covers the low range of the orchestra, and a middle range, and a high
range, and I put these together, and they come out either polytonal or
polychordal. The lines have their own individuality. They cause dissonances
here and there." It's often been said that melody (especially in Baroque
music) is simply a result of harmony. Perhaps then, we should also say
that the gestalt effect of Alex North's music is a result of all of his
notions, both traditional and modern, being grafted onto one another --
music as a culmination of independent ideas.
This would explain why works like Spartacus, Dragonslayer
and, of course, Cleopatra are considered some of his finest. Obviously
the films lent themselves to dramatically heightened music, but more important,
they provided backdrops where this kind of material could be thoroughly
mined and developed. It's relatively easy to develop a diatonic tune in
15 minutes of cues strewn over two hours, but in order to develop multi-tiered
textural ideas, a composer needs horizontal space. Say what you will about
the film, Cleopatra unquestionably donated ample space to the score.
And since time is of the essence, Varèse's new two-disc set covering
over two-and-a-half hours of North's work succeeds as the definitive listening
experience it's meant to be.
North's themes are ear-catching, especially his processional main theme,
which sounds as if it may have influenced John Williams' Temple of
Doom score. But it's the recurring textural building blocks that
really affix a road map to the writing. North bases much of the linear
writing on a major second interval, much the same as he based his quasi-Medieval
writing in Dragonslayer on fourths and fifths. There's also an emphasis
on high, heraldic brass writing that evokes the de rigueur epic sound of
the day, but again North twists the convention on its ear by setting multiple
trumpet lines in the same register, then often sending the writing pealing
into the extreme ranges of the instrument. Glittering metallic sounds,
including glockenspiels, high pizzicato violins and harps, harpsichord
and several sorts of lutes, pepper the score with an orchestrational opulence.
North takes these ideas, a few others, his small handful of tunes, and
bumps and grinds them into one another for a few hours, apparently never
at a loss for a new sonic combination, a new emotional evocation, or a
new intellectual stimulation. North has always been a composer whose ideas
are as good as their execution, and vice versa -- a trait too often missing
in both film and concert music.
However, while these discs showcase what I feel to be the best type
of Alex North listening experience, the listener should be aware that,
by necessity, there are a lot of cues included which don't feature "Big
Movie Music Moments." Like North's style of composing, the overall listening
experience here is a cumulative one. Don't expect to throw the disc into
the car stereo for a cross-town trip. There's something ingenious in every
cue, but the ingenuity is often only apparent in context. Be prepared to
dedicate a lot of time to this recording, if you want the full effect.
The disc's packaging is extremely complete, featuring liner notes from
Robert Townson and FSM's Jeff Bond, though I'd rather have seen
more space dedicated to the score and less to the film. All things considered
the sound is fine, with some unavoidable mag wow marring only a few tracks.
This recording is an absolute must have for North aficionados, but is
by no means light listening. Highly recommended. -- Doug Adams
MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
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