CD Reviews Princess and the Warrior, Solarmax and Bride of the Wind

The Princess and the Warrior ***

PALE 3, VARIOUS

Trauma 74039

14 tracks - 69:00

The Princess and the Warrior (2000, to be released in the US in 2001) comes from the same director of the amazing Lola rennt (1998), otherwise known as Run Lola Run. The engrossing Lola featured a superb, relentless techno score composed by the group now calling themselves Pale 3. The Princess and the Warrior album features around 33 minutes of "score," opening with seven songs that feature artists like Skin, Louise Rhodes and Franka Potente (who also contributed to Lola rennt). These songs do not appear in the film but were part of the development of this concept album. And be warned that the style of music is practically the opposite of the underscore for Lola.

The "Opening" cue incorporates sustained strings with a series of overlapping ideas. It's basically a cross between Glass minimalism and David Arnold's slower paced cues for the Bond movies. There are times, especially in cues like "The Roof," or "Truck Attack" where the music's relentless pulses provide an added attraction and help move the music to several small climaxes. Some listeners will no doubt find the blend of pulsing percussion and repeating piano lines interesting. But as a listening experience, this music gets tiring after a while -- it's the kind of underscore that suffers without images to associate it with. Overall, the static, restrained tone is reminiscent of James Newton Howard's The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. But in those cases, the music eventually proved more goal-oriented than Princess. I am still, however, willing to give Pale 3 the benefit of the doubt until I've actually seen the film. My sense is that those images and connections will serve the repeated listening experience better.

Incidentally, there are some strange glitches in the recording that sound like the tape's were "bumped," causing little "hiccups" that cannot possibly intentional. They are prevalent in the final two cues on the disc.

The songs are obviously matters of personal taste. While I myself do not like them, I applaud the idea behind this album. The songs actually fit with the underscore that follows. The most attractive thing about director Tykwer is his complete approach to the filmmaking process, from writing, directing,and even composing. It presents a unity of vision that is refreshing in a day of over-produced Hollywood fare.  -- Steven A. Kennedy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Solarmax *****

NIGEL WESTLAKE

Heliograph

13 tracks - 40:06

When you're writing music to accompany a movie about the development of the sun -- and that movie is going to be projected on the huge IMAX screen -- most thoughts of subtlety are discarded. Australian Nigel Westlake was called upon to produce wall-to-wall music for John Weiley's large-format film Solarmax (launched by the new IMAX theater at the Science Museum in London) and he delivers an epic, eclectic medley. As the images map humankind's struggle to understand the sun from pre-history through to modern times, Westlake's music makes the journey through different time periods.

Westlake is best known for his score to Babe (for which he won the Australian Film Critics' Circle Award for best original Music) and its sequel Babe: Pig in the City. But he has also developed his niche in IMAX movies, having scored Antarctica and Imagine. Solarmax is his most impressive score to date, employing a virtuosic performance from the Sydney Chamber Choir. Westlake himself plays the keyboards and glass harmonica, with support from a full orchestra and speciality instrumentation (Andean panpipes, koto, shakuhachi and bone flute).

Album highlights are numerous. "Starfield" is a gorgeous new age opus that develops into a beautiful violin solo, while Solarmax culminates in chorale chanting that Philip Glass would die for. And just listen to the tribal rhythms of "Missa Solis."

You can catch Solarmax at one of 19 theaters around world, or you can wait for it to open at one of 60 more world-wide sites in the next 18 months. Incidentally, this disc has limited release, and can only be bought at the Chicago Museum for Science & Industry or from www.rimshot.com.au.

Ethnic, inspirational and grandiose, this a soundtrack fit for a sun. I wait with anticipation to see what Westlake has in line for the heavens.  -- Nick Joy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Bride of the Wind ****

STEPHEN ENDELMAN, GUSTAV MAHLER & ALMA MAHLER

Deutsche Gramophon 289 469 584-2

21 tracks - 77:52

The saying goes that "Behind every great man is a great woman," and it would appear that composer Gustav Mahler was no exception. His wife Alma, the eponymous bride of the wind, was an accomplished composer in her own right, and Bruce (Driving Miss Daisy) Beresford's tale follows her plight as she is forced to give her up her art for love.

Stephen Endelman's score for this biopic is unsurprisingly bolstered by compositions from Mr. and Mrs .Mahler. So, on the face of it, the running time of the disc is generous, but less than 25 minutes of Endelman's new score is included. The remaining tracks are culled from Deutsche Gramophon's classical archives, and while they serve as a primer on Mahler's work, you can't help but feel short-changed.

As with Shine and Hilary and Jackie, classical music forms an integral part of the movie, and it quite rightly deserves inclusion on the album release. However, the question of what the ratio of new music to old should actually be is one for debate.

I'm sure that the producers will argue the value of including every note of Mahler's 11-minute Symphony No. 5, but was it at the expense of a less well-known Endelman composition? Luckily, what we do get of Endelman is accomplished and in keeping with the film. The composer has notched up a number of impressive scores in the last five years (particularly Flirting with Disaster, Tom and Huck and The Englishman who went up a Hill but came down a mountain) and there's plenty of good writing to savor here.

Endelman's work is performed by the Czech Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and opens the disc with the wonderful "Opening Credits," a horn-driven Straussian waltz that conjures vivid images of old Vienna. It sets the tone for the rest of the album, warning the wary listener that although this is a film about Mahler, you shouldn't expect Mahleresque pastiche and imitation. "The Battle" is dominated by a strong Holst-reminiscent brass rift, and "The Lovers" is a divine string-heavy melody that could easily have come from Golden Age Hollywood.

In the liner notes, director Beresford describes the highlight of the project as being Sopranist Renee Fleming singing "Laue Sommernacht," accompanied by pianist Jean-Yves Thibadeut. Personally, the poignant "Give up your Music" is the real winner on this disc.

Ignore the fact that this is being marketed as a "Best of Mahler" composition and buy it for Endelman's exquisite compositions. "Mahler" might be the marquee name, but let's give credit where it's due.  -- Nick Joy
 
 

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