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Composed, Orchestrated, Conducted, and Produced by:
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John Barry
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Performed by:
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The English Chamber Orchestra
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Release Date:
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November 21st, 1995
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release, but completely out of print as of 2000. It sells for $25 or more on the secondary market as of 2003.
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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Cry, The Beloved Country: (John Barry) The Alan Paton
novel about the relationship between culturally different fathers in South
Africa who bond after their sons are both killed in the apartheid struggle
has been adapted onto the stage and screen several times. The most recent
1995 film version offers James Earl Jones as the black minister and Richard
Harris as white father, and although the acting was well received, the film
was not. Considered too light of an adaptation, the film was disregarded as
being too easy on the evils of apartheid. Lacking the kind of political
punch necessary to provide a compelling reason to seek its message, the film
is typically shelved behind the more powerful 1951 Sidney Poitier rendition
of the story. Composer John Barry was no stranger to composing for the
cultural ills of the world, and especially for Africa. At the height of the
composer's activities, in the 1960's, speckled throughout his James Bond
scores were a handful of pieces that Barry had written specifically for
African subject matter, a few of which recognized for awards. Into the
1990's, Barry had remained a composer best known for composing to vast
scenery and glorious colors. Thus, Cry, The Beloved Country seemed
like a good fit for the composer. The year 1995 would mark Barry's last year
of major score production, with health and legal problems plaguing the
composer for the years that followed. Unfortunately, Cry, The Beloved
Country would be indicative --even more so than The Scarlet
Letter, which still showed signs of life in the composer-- of the
beginning of Barry's decline. The score for Cry, The Beloved Country
was received very much like the film, criticized as a wishy-washy treatment
of a subject that required a much sharper edge. Thus, once again, Barry's
effectiveness in the film would have to be separated from that same on
album.
The problem with Barry's work for Cry, The Beloved
Country is that he approached it with the same kind of romantic feel of
1985's Out of Africa rather than the kind of ethnic tension and
spirit of 1964's Zulu. Granted, the films are different, but Cry,
The Beloved Country is a relaxing, delicate score for a troubled,
disjointed film, raising immediate questions about the stylistic choices for
the score. The great irony of this entire situation, and bless Barry for
doing this, is the transfiguration of the original Zulu theme into
Cry, The Beloved Country. Whereas the theme was brutal (and meant for
war) in Zulu, it is translated into a beautiful, somber piano piece
for travel scenes in Cry, The Beloved Country. The theme has the
haunting feel of a remembrance for Barry personally as well, drawing from
his own glory days and performing the theme as almost a eulogy for his own
declining career. Of great importance to the score, however, are two
additional themes for Cry, The Beloved Country, both of which
maintaining the high standards of string-performing excellence in harmony
and beauty. His romantic and lush styles here are slightly subdued, but
always gracious in their presentation. Not much differs from the height of
passion to the horrors of death in his music, with the latter receiving only
a slight rhythm of rumbling timpani and single piano chords. The themes are
all extremely repetitive, almost to fault (as usual, with modern Barry). On
album, the score is as delightful as it is sleep-inducing. One of the
consistencies between Cry, The Beloved Country and The Scarlet
Letter is the recording quality. Instead of compensating for Barry's
very soft, harmonious touch by emphasizing a crisp recording, the final mix
is extremely wet and reverberating. Thus, a wishy-washy score becomes even
more abstract, which is very good if you want to relax to his music while
seemingly sitting in the back row of a concert hall. But Barry critics will
have plenty to find displeasing with Cry, The Beloved Country, from
the echoing recording quality to the repetitive nature of the writing, and
not even the source songs on the album can probable save the music for them.
Still, it remains one of Barry's last enjoyable efforts. ****
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Main Title - The Letter (3:36)
• 2. The Beginning of the Journey (2:10)
• 3. The Train to Johannesburg (2:48)
• 4. You've Been Robbed (1:28)
• 5. Emaxambeni (2:29)
• 6. I've Been a Bad Woman! (2:31)
• 7. Is It My Son? (2:32)
• 8. He Was Our Only Child (1:42)
• 9. What Sort of Life Did They Lead (1:25)
• 10. Hamba Notsokolo (2:37)
• 11. Bastards - Bloody Bastards (1:03)
• 12. Did it Seem Heavy (0:48)
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• 13. Cry, Cry The Beloved Country (1:45)
• 14. Christ, Forsake Me Not (3:19)
• 15. The Boys Club (1:36)
• 16. We Taught Him Nothing (2:05)
• 17. Amazing Grace -song (3:33)
• 18. Go Well Umfundisi (1:09)
• 19. Do Not Spoil My Pleasure (2:38)
• 20. It Is My Son - That Killed Your Son (3:53)
• 21. The Marriage (2:55)
• 22. The Shadow of Death (2:53)
• 23. The Fifteenth Day (3:17)
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(Track lengths listed only on CD)
Insert includes no extra information about the score or film. John Barry dedicated this
score to South African President Nelson Mandela.
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