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Posted: |
May 25, 2015 - 7:35 PM
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By: |
SBD
(Member)
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I must say I’m probably more excited about the Killing Season CD than any other music I’ve
released in a while because it marks a new approach to the way in which I’m presenting a score.
-- Christopher Young
For composer Christopher Young, the album premiere of the soundtrack to the 2013 film Killing Season represents more than a film score. It is the “realization of an obsession.” The album delivers a musical experience that transcends the film which inspired it. Having begun as a series of discrete cues, the score has been reconceived and reworked into an extended meditation on the film’s narrative threads—hard men in a remote wilderness, the memory of haunted battlefields, the pain of isolation and the catharsis of confession. Much of this music has not merely been rearranged but rewritten and newly performed. The resulting composition respects its roots as a film score, but would be at home on the concert stage:
“So many movies sort of fall by the wayside, and their scores vanish,” Young notes. “What I’m trying to do is revitalize music that I believe in. I’ve become kind of obsessed with wanting to revisit my old scores, to see if I can modify them in a manner that would make them a more exciting listen. Killing Season is really the first fully orchestral score where I’ve been able to go back and say, ‘What can I do with this score to make it more digestible in a concert performance situation?’ I’m not saying that opportunity will ever arise—but this is how I would prefer to have the music presented.”
The score features cello as the dominant color, joined by an ensemble that includes piano, bagpipes and the dulcimer-like strains of a wirestrung Irish harp. Though the score was recorded overseas, cellist Ben Sollee recorded his solos in the United States. This allowed Young to exercise precise control over the mix—and also opened the door to an ambitious reconstruction when it came time to produce the album arrangement. Young perceives the score as a concerto for cello and orchestra, divided into three movements. The end result is an album that plays as an artistic work unto itself and gives the listener a musical journey more powerful than the usual presentation of a film score.
The film stars Robert DeNiro as a U.S. veteran and John Travolta as a former Serbian soldier playing cat-and-mouse games in the remote wilderness.
1. Part One 18:25
2. Interlude 1:44
3. Part Two 17:45
4. Part Three 5:47
INTRADA Special Collection Vol. 323
Retail Price: $19.99
SHIPPING NOW
For track listing and sound samples, please visit
http://store.intrada.com/s.nl/it.A/id.9618/.f
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Wow! Christopher Young! An album concept!
Fan-Freaking-Tastic I'd say!
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Is anyone else having trouble playing the samples? I'm getting a "missing plugin" error on these (but not on the Jaws 3-d samples). I'm on a Mac.
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*In my opinion, most scores in the suspense/thriller genre would benefit from this type of thoughtful approach since their 70+ minute album presentations can sometimes be monotonous and tedious, testing the limits of my listening endurance.
Hear, hear. I would also add that such an approach could be well applied to many a type of score. I never thought it would lead to this, but I believe that Thor was - and is - on to something. Lazily slapping on tracks in sequence and in film order rarely make for a satisfying listen. Oh, you've just been awarded the first annual Thor Award. 
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Really love the way this album's being presented. Can't wait to get it!
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The 'every cue,separitists' are about to commit mass suicide
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Durn double posts.
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Can't wait to hear the score in this form. But I don't know why it's getting so much discussion -- this is not exactly a new thing for Young to do!
Perhaps not a new 'thing' per se, but considering the short attention spans around here, a reminder is helpful. Furhermore, there is a larger issue at play here, namely the optimum presentation of a score. Young has developed an interesting method which avoids the lazy - and often dull - regurgitation of the C & C form.
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