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Composed, Orchestrated, and Produced by:
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Stephen Warbeck
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Conducted by:
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Nick Ingman
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Release Date:
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December 9th, 2003
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you are interested in hearing Native American chants and
solo instruments performed with skill alongside a large orchestral
ensemble.
Avoid it... if you prefer your orchestral bombast to carry its rhythms
without the highly distinct, Native American chants and contemporary country
rhythms.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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| | Warbeck | |
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Dreamkeeper: (Stephen Warbeck) Debuting on ABC in late
December 2003, Dreamkeeper is a Hallmark Entertainment film with all
the makings of a family-friendly story. It is a tale of generational
conflict and understanding, revolving around a trek made by a Native
American elder and his grandson from South Dakota to New Mexico for the All
Nations ceremony. The rebellious grandson, only making the journey at first
because he is evading his local gang (to whom he owes money), listens to the
elder's fantastic stories of adventure, humor, and love from the history of
their tribe as they travel. The format of the story is similar in ways to
Secondhand Lions (released earlier in the same year), which also
shifted between locations and times to tell about the days of high adventure
from one generation to another. The film was brought to life as a project by
Robert Halmi Sr., whose Merlin series on NBC was a spectacular
success five years prior, and Dreamkeeper was conceived with the same
values of production. Composer Stephen Warbeck, best known for his Academy
Award recognized work for Shakespeare in Love, is no stranger to the
feel-good genre of storytelling. While his mainstream output has been
minimal for most collectors, Warbeck maintains a high orchestral standard of
composition that many film music collectors appreciate. That appreciation
will be extended with Dreamkeeper, a lofty, diverse, and
well-constructed score that blends the best of his orchestral writing with
the instrumental and vocal sounds of Native American culture. Often
associated with British productions, the choice of Warbeck to evoke the
history of Native American heritage through authentic music was a surprising
choice. But the composer manages to pull off a very impressive score for
Dreamkeeper that has already been mentioned as an integral factor in
the film's projected success.
With the story divided between the contemporary settings
and those contained within the tales, Warbeck balances between the two eras
well by keeping the modern cues very light in instrumentation. In "The
Journey" and "Riding to the Rainbow," as well as during the final scenes of
the family before and during the grandfather's passing, Warbeck presents an
acoustic guitar over familiar country rhythms. The small band effect is
effective in offering a taste of the youngest generation's sensibilities
without interfering with the more authentic historical music for the stories
of adventure. The youngest boy's journey culminates with a more
sophisticated performance of this country theme (with a slight touch of big
Western strings) at the very end of the mini-series. Contemporary rhythms
aside, though, the multitude of unhindered orchestral action music is an
outstanding achievement for the television genre. Early on the album for the
series, Warbeck presents authentic percussion and chanting recorded in
America and featuring all of the historical accuracy that the project could
ever dream of. At the same time, listeners attached to their favorite
orchestral styles will be appeased by Warbeck's ability to tastefully
integrate the full orchestra into every level of the chanting and solo
woodwind performances of ethnicity. The dancing chants occasionally build
into an enormous orchestral crescendo, as in the opening cue, or are
sustained for lengthy cues together. Warbeck uses the dramatic effect of
alternating strings in moments of chase and activity ("high Horse Captures
the Ponies") that listeners will recognize from Shakespeare in Love,
but other than these few stylistic resemblances, Dreamkeeper is a
powerful effort that stands on its own. Highlights of the score include
momentous, timpani-pounding action in "Killing the Buffalo" and "The
Serpent," with the latter containing a creative bird cry at the outset. The
"Resurrection of the Dun Pony" cue contains a heroic performance for the
trumpet that shines with dignity, as much of the score does to a lesser
degree. The focused choral chants in "The Elk," as well as the women's choir
in "Quillwork Girl's Journey" are vocal highlights. Overall, only some
suspect sound muffling in larger orchestral sections can pull this score
down from five stars, and collectors weary of television scores should not
balk at this most impressive splash of ethnic diversity. ****
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. Eagle Boy - featuring David Midthunder & Maza Kute (3:23)
• 2. The Journey (1:42)
• 3. Bluebird Woman - featuring Tokala Clifford (0:30)
• 4. High Horse Captures the Ponies - featuring Tokala Clifford (4:40)
• 5. She Crosses the Water - featuring Iris Stacey & The Sweetgrass Singers (2:24)
• 6. Plea for Brother (1:37)
• 7. Tehan (1:41)
• 8. The Elk (2:16)
• 9. The Serpent (3:50)
• 10. Riding to the Rainbow (0:54)
• 11. The Dun Pony (3:51)
• 12. Killing the Buffalo (3:07)
• 13. Resurrection of the Dun Pony (2:35)
• 14. Quillwork Girl's Journey - featuring The Dorene Day Singers (2:24)
• 15. Buffalo to the Stars (0:48)
• 16. Birth of the Falls (2:01)
• 17. Daughter Climbs the Mountain (2:16)
• 18. Father's Ghost (1:51)
• 19. Three Generations (1:04)
• 20. Death of Grandfather (2:16)
• 21. Shane's Journey (1:58)
• 22. Powwow Chant - featuring Maza Kute (2:22)
• 23. The End of the Story (1:32)
• 24. Straight Round Dance Song - featuring The Boyz (1:47)
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The insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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