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Orchestrated by:
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Nick Glennie-Smith
Fiachra Trench
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Conducted by:
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Fiachra Trench
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Additional Arrangements by:
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Nick Glennie-Smith
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Co-Produced by:
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Bille August
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Release Date:
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January 25th, 1994
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release, but completely out of print.
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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The House of the Spirits: (Hans Zimmer) The violent and
terrible tale of the trials and suffering of an aristocratic Chilean family
over the course of 45 years, The House of the Spirits is not a
pleasant film. Considering how gruesome the story is (and it is performed
with excruciating pain my a stellar cast of big name stars), it is
surprising how lyrical and darkly romantic Hans Zimmer's score emphasizes
the passion of the story. Despite the death and dismemberment on screen, the
score remains as one of Zimmer's softer and more melodic efforts, combining
his synthesizers with an orchestra and a touch of South American flavor.
The House of the Spirits, due to the threatening undertones from
beginning to end, becomes potentially depressing and almost haunting in its
music. Yet, the constant themes keep it from becoming burdensome for the
listener. The score begins with the patriotic, but subdued anthem that
serves as the only major-key theme of the album before it takes a slow,
dramatic turn in direction. By the end of the first track, it is tragic, and
every chord is marked by a minor-key. It's brooding synthesizers and
occasional orchestral solos build up hope every 7 or 8 minutes, only to be
squashed by a sudden let-down and return to the minor-key. The House of
the Spirits is an easy score to enjoy for a continuous listen, as it has
the same continuous tone of Smilla's Sense of Snow, but with more
theme and creepy personality. In many ways, it is Zimmer's equivalent in
1993 to Danny Elfman's Sommersby, with both titles offering a
melodic, but significantly troubled takes on the composers' styles.
The album for The House of the Spirits is arranged
in Zimmer's favorite format; there are but a few tracks and all are lengthy
suites. The first two tracks, combining for over 15 minutes of music, are
non-stop tension and drama with a genuine seriousness that fans of Hans
Zimmer don't often hear from the composer. At points, the score will
overwhelm you with sadness, while other parts made making you nervous enough
to believe that there was someone standing behind you with a pick-ax. It's
heavy on the bass, yet the strings keep an eerie high-pitched accompaniment
of alertness and fright. The score for The House of the Spirits
doesn't feature much of Zimmer's trademark male chorus, but it has the
trumpet solos and pulsating base together that can be heard with stylistic
similarities to the beginning of The Rock. The third track, "Coup,"
has the sound of gunshots with the rhythm, and track four adds some acoustic
guitars and other ethnic instruments of local flavor. After the scratchy
source song at the start of the final track, Nick Glennie-Smith performs
some wickedly dark piano solos and Zimmer finishes the score with one, last
failed attempt to finish the main theme as it is dying --a parallel that
stays very true to the film. Thus, in its ability to extend the emotions of
the film, it's a very effective score. The heavy and darkly dramatic tone of
this score is strangely enticing, yet foreboding at the same time.
Thematically, it has moments of pure beauty as well as a keen sense of
death. Overall, it is recommended to those who seek the more intelligent and
sophisticated Zimmer scores that better combine the orchestral and
synthesized sides of his talents. As with other Virgin Records releases of
the time, the CD has largely disappeared from stores, though it is readily
available on the secondary marketplace. A very effective and enjoyable
score. ****
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. The House of the Spirits (10:02)
• 2. Clara (6:31)
• 3. Coup (9:34)
• 4. Pedro and Blanca (9:50)
• 5. Clara's Ghost/La Paloma*/Closing
Titles (7:24)
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* Historical song -- Sebastian de Trayier
Insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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