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Composed, Conducted, and Produced by:
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George Fenton
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Orchestrated by:
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Geoffrey Alexander
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Performed by:
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BBC Concert Orchestra
The Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford
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Release Date:
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November 7th, 2001
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Availability:
Regular U.K. Release, available
originally in Great Britain and Australia, the BBC album was filtered to some of
the American soundtrack specialty outlets. It will cost Americans $22 or more to
acquire it in 2001 or 2002.
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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| | Fenton | |
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The Blue Planet: (George Fenton) Wildly popular in the United Kingdom,
this eight hour long series of shows by the BBC Natural History Unit aired in
2001 after years of collecting breathtaking original footage to create one of
the most comprehensive ocean wildlife films of all time. The ambitious project
offers a look into nearly every element of marine life, and its spectacular
cinematography has earned it both respect and popular success on the BBC. Three
years ago, as the film was being assembled, the producers approached one of the
foremost British composers of television and film, George Fenton, to compose the
lengthy mass of music required for the shows. The event allowed Fenton the same
opportunity to write for such a magnificent scope as he would for an IMAX
project, leaving no instrument unused in an effort to adequately compliment the
expansive elements of the sea. After the completion of the score, the BBC
Concert Orchestra and the Choir of Magdalen College in Oxford were so impressed
and enthusiastic about their own performances of the score that a live concert
of music from the show was arranged. On October 13th, 2001, both performing
groups assembled with Fenton in the Royal Festival Hall to present highlights
from the score while David Attenborough narrated passages to the giant screen in
the hall with scenes from the programs. The spectacle was followed, naturally,
by a CD album of the music.
It's often been the case that large scale nature shows, whether it be on IMAX
screens or television screens, offer composers a chance to write explosive
themes and action passages of considerable length that they would otherwise not
be able to do for a quick-cue film. What Fenton has produced for The Blue
Planet is really little different from what you'd expect from the usual
large-ensemble, massive score for an IMAX film. And for fans of his work who
enjoy his occasional outbursts of immense themes and orchestral power, The
Blue Planet is your opportunity to hear the five-time Academy Award
nominated composer let it all out. Like all nature programs, there are extremes
between cues of large vistas and microscopic organisms. In this case, the
difference between styles in Fenton's score exist between the jelly fish/surfing
snail kind of silly animals and the serious shark and whale variety. Whereas the
impressive species are accompanied by ripping, large cues of epic Star
Wars action size, the smaller, "cuter" species are presented with a
Mediterranean pop-like lounge sound, and your ability to sift out the program
sequences that interest you will determine how much you enjoy this album. The
modern accoustical rhythms are tolerable, though weak compared to the power of
the orchestral material. The slightly ethnic flavour in the third track stands
apart from the otherwise lounge-like, electronic rhythms that provide a bubbly
underscore for the less intimidating species. It's likely that the film music
fans will quickly skip these parts in favor of the orchestral and choral cues,
and rightfully so. The only failing of these sections on the CD is their odd
mixing; the sound quality begins rather muted and picks up in clarity near the
end of the album.
The title theme for The Blue Planet is what has everybody excited and
seeking the CD. As it graces the opening of each program, viewers are treated to
a symphonically superb set of themes presented by Fenton in the form of the full
orchestra and choir. Being the choir's only performance on the album, the track
stands alone as not only highlight of the show and album, but the collective
mass of film and television music for the entire year. The composition may be
simple in its construction, but what it lacks in outlandish originality is more
than compensated by its overwhelming size. Two other tracks, sans choir, exhibit
the same powerful performances from the full orchestral ensemble. The second and
fourth tracks, representing the sardines and whales, also offer some of the best
action sequences of the year on CD, with explosive brass performances that will
knock you out of your seat. Together with several impressive orchestral cues
later in the album (including the ethereal "Frozen Oceans" cue late on the
album), there are fifteen to twenty minutes of momentous orchestral material to
be enjoyed on this album. The orchestral underscore is more than listenable, and
although the accoustic and synthetic rhythm cues may be tougher to enjoy, those
fifteen to twenty minutes of orchestral majesty more than compensate for the
price of the album. For Americans, that price will be a bit higher than normal.
The album is being pressed by the BBC itself, and cannot be found in many
American stores. Some online stores may have it as an import from the U.K. or
Australia, and soundtrack specialty outlets will carry it for a reasonable
price. Just in case the CD never makes it to full press in America, and it
disappears from the overseas markets, I recommend quickly finding a copy if you
want to hear one (or two or three) of the best cues of the year on CD. This is
the over-the-top George Fenton style that a lot of film music fans have been
waiting to hear. ****
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. The Blue Planet (2:49)
• 2. Sardine Run (3:29)
• 3. Spinning Dolphins (2:38)
• 4. Bluewhale (4:45)
• 5. Thimble Jelly Fish (2:09)
• 6. Surfing Snails (1:49)
• 7. Emperors (4:19)
• 8. Turtles (2:15)
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• 9. Sharks (3:43)
• 10. Stingray (2:02)
• 11. Baitball (4:26)
• 12. The Deep Ocean (6:27)
• 13. Elephant Seal March (2:36)
• 14. Frozen Oceans (1:23)
• 15. Coral Wonder (2:25)
• 16. Killer Whales (7:49)
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The insert includes a note from George
Fenton and a handul of performing and recording credits. From both the notes and
a BBC interview:
"Three years ago when I was asked to write the music, I imagined footage which
would be awesome, terrifying and magnificent. It is all of these things, but my
lasting impression and for me the greatest achievement is that the remarkable
films Alastair Fothergill, Martha Holmes and Andy Byatt have made, actually
manage to make the oceans feel as natural a habitat as the land. They have
achieved this by a spectacular mix of scientific knowledge and dramatic flair.
They love what they do and it shows. The same is true of David Attenborough. His
commentaries are distinguished in their understanding, love of the subject and
luckily for me, their musicality.
Because the visual image isn't rich, because there's nothing out there, on the
screen you see one thing, there's nothing behind it, or in front of it, or
around it. You can't write around the back of anything, as it were because
there's nothing there. I kind of became unstuck with this peculiar world, it's a
strange world the deep. From a musical point of view you tend to write music
that is about what it would feel like to be in that submarine going down that
deep. It would feel dangerous, it would feel dark, it would feel courageous. You
need it and want it to feel specific to the film it's for.
I never would have imagined using an orchestra to play in The Deep. And I
suppose its because the curious thing about the deep is it's a film made in the
part of the ocean where no-one can get out with a camera. That precludes hearing
any sound out there which to me felt like it should also preclude hearing
anybody actually playing. If you heard anybody actually blowing a trumpet or
sawing away at a cello it would almost seem like it was impinging on the
atmosphere of the deep. There is no available way to explain to anybody what 300
times surface pressure sounds like because no-one has ever heard it. It needs to
be explained and David Attenborough explains it very well, but I think that even
he should feel like a visitor. Less people have been down there than have walked
on the moon."
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