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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you wish to hear a valiant and competent attempt by Mark Mancina to write and record a period score without the necessary orchestral ensemble to make it credible. Avoid it... if whatever enjoyment you can receive from Mancina's harmonic structures is betrayed by their sparse, electronic rendering and short running time. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
Joining the electronics are acoustic guitar, a handful of strings and woodwinds, Irish drums, and female vocalist. With these accents, Mancina does an admirable job of breathing some life into the otherwise stale synthetic realm. The construct of his score for Moll Flanders is quite good, building concertos for each character that are, on paper, both accomplished and enjoyable. A title theme for the primary character, introduced in the mid-section of the opening cue, weaves throughout the score with easy harmonic resonance. A handful of Irish jigs feature the collection of live solo artists at their fullest, and are competently performed in "Moll's Jig" and "Sparrows." The solo female voice opens the film and introduces the jig in "Sparrows" as well, elegantly meandering with religious tones alongside synthetic deep male voices heard most prominently in "Life Begins." With its pleasant movements, Moll Flanders features no qualms outside of the abrasive "Devil Woman." The problem of the synthetics will persist with many listeners, however, especially when comparing this score's lightweight impact compared to James Newton Howard's Restoration. Being that its depth is entirely supported by rather mundane-sounding electronics, Moll Flanders suffers from the same cheapened sound as made-for-cable period productions of the era, dooming it as a listening experience for some collectors. Their difficulty enjoying the score on CD will be compounded by a short running time --less than 30 minutes of score exists on the commercial album-- and the inclusion of several classical pieces by Bach, Vivaldi, Handle, etc, that all feature full and robust orchestral performances from other sources. When comparing these pieces to Mancina's under-staffed score, the insincerity of the score is only exposed further. A light and flowing song performed by Sarah McLachlan over elements similar to Mancina's ensemble maintains strong consistency between song and score, and is probably the highlight of the album. While the score is well written, its rendering is simply too frustrating to ignore, despite all of Mancina's best efforts to emphasize the live soloists. A significantly missed opportunity. ***
The insert includes the following note from he director:
Additional arrangements and soloists:
Woodwinds: Fred Selden Violin: Ralph Morrison III Cello: Dennis Karmazan Fiddle/Mandolin: Graham Peskett Solo Vocals: Karen Harper Acoustic Guitar: Doug Smith Percussion: Michael Fisher | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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