CD Reviews: Pavilion of Women and The Tailor of Panama
Pavilion of Women *** 1/2
CONRAD POPE
Varèse Sarabande 302 066 245 2
22 tracks - 52:29
Conrad Pope is perhaps best known as an orchestrator for high-profile
composers including John Williams and Danny Elfman, but he's quietly eked
out a few scoring opportunities for himself. Pavilion of Women is
certainly his highest-profile solo score yet, unless anyone thinks Project:
Metalbeast is a high-water mark of some kind. The opening cue, "Pavilion
of Women," sets Pope's grandiose main theme amongst colors provided by
Chinese instrumentation. One hears the crispness of John Williams' most
recent works in Pope's compositions, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing.
"The Library" has a pensive and organic feel, and the score as a whole
has a cohesion and focus that's welcome. "The Rape" is a standout cue,
moving through several shifts of tone and instrumentation before climaxing
with a melancholy dirge for the strings.
Pope approaches the score from both a symphonic and operatic standpoint,
which accounts for the strengths and weaknesses of the album; it's overlong,
and at times a little disconcerting. It's all eminently tasteful and meticulously
composed, but at the same time homogenized; the ethnic effects get lost
amidst all the operatic writing, and sometimes come across a trifle gimmicky,
rather than organic. The operatic approach unfortunately results in a lot
of repetition as the album goes on, and one can only hear so many grandiose
orchestral crescendos before they too become invasive. But there are standout
cues: "Secrets and Wages of Sin," a swirling, seductive cue setting yearning
string chords against the plaintive call of the ehru (a traditional Chinese
instrument) and some ethereal choral effects; "The Embrace," a stirring
cue that builds slowly but surely into an explosion of Pope's primary theme;
and "Together Forever," the score's emotional climax, a choral introduction
leading into a movingly emotional crescendo for full orchestra. The album
is a lengthy one, but there are enough moments here and there to make it
worthwhile. Pope himself contributes liner notes to the booklet.
-- Jason Comerford
The Tailor of Panama ***
SHAUN DAVEY
Varèse Sarabande 302 066 243 2
16 tracks - 48:48
Shaun Davey's score for John Boorman's The Tailor of Panama is
a leisurely stroll through a handful of musical styles, most of which mesh
together. "Harry Pendel, The Tailor of Panama" leads off the album, and
bridges atmospheric effects for guitar and bongo rhythms with full-orchestra
writing. The richer orchestral passages merge smoothly with the ensemble
players, and the tone is admirably consistent. The occasional piccolo flourish
might remind you of Davey's earlier Irish scores (in particular Waking
Ned Devine), but for the most part, the music is low-key and unobtrusive,
with the percussion and guitars providing a quasi-Hispanic feel. The mock-march
of "The Tailor at the Palace" and the upbeat jig of "The Vibrating Bed"
break up the more monotonous cues; Davey sustains a constant tone throughout,
but after a while they start to run together. The tone darkens with "Harry,
A Thief in His Own Home," a brief cue with some standard-issue low-end
suspense chords sawing away. "Ten Million" builds to a brief-but-grand
crescendo for full orchestra, Davey's main theme floating through the cue
in clever permutations.
As the album goes on, it becomes clear that Davey doesn't have much
else up his sleeve besides the ethnic colors and the standard-issue suspense
writing (i.e., "Panic and the Pentagon"). The score plays better in the
film than it does on disc; there are a lot of good moments but it's repetitive,
and there's not a whole lot to hang your hat on for 48 minutes. "Harry's
Drive Through the Carnival" echoes the more grandiose strains of "Ten Million,"
except on a larger scale, and "Louisa's Confrontation and the Death of
Micky Abraxis" starts out with a nicely mournful cello solo that coalesces
into a driving, punchy section for full orchestra. It's basically a warm-up
for the climactic cue, "The Ambassador, The Chase, and The Helicopters,"
which sets Davey's main theme in an escalating tempo before finally exploding
into some admittedly entertaining, albeit familiar, action material. The
shift from lounge-music rhythms to Zimmer-esque attack patterns is a little
jarring, but it's over before it wears out its welcome. The album closes
out nicely with "Harry's Confession/End Titles/'Todavia Cantamos'," a melancholy
restatement of Davey's primary thematic material. -- JC
Editorial Note:
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