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| • | Newest Major Reviews: | . | • | This Week's Most Popular Reviews: | • | Best-Selling Albums: | ||
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1. Nim's Island 2. The Life Before Her Eyes 3. Horton Hears a Who! 4. Leatherheads 5. The Spiderwick Chronicles | . | . |
1. Moulin Rouge 2. Gladiator 3. POTC: Curse of the Black Pearl 4. Star Wars: A New Hope 5. Edward Scissorhands |
6. Pearl Harbor 7. Schindler's List 8. Titanic 9. Braveheart 10. Home Alone | . | . |
1. Varèse Sarabande 25th 2. The Last of the Mohicans 3. Legends of the Fall 4. Schindler's List 5. LOTR: Return of the King (Set) |
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you succumb to the power of dark, mystical, and thematically gripping choral music in even its most solemn and deliberate forms. Avoid it... if you expect either of the two concerts on the album to convey the same power that they undoubtedly do when heard in person on location. Filmtracks Editorial Review:
The emotional impact of "Requiem," interestingly, isn't as pronounced as that of the "Life" performances later on the album. Some of the gothic and epic power of "Requiem" would have been welcomed in "Life," though it does stand well enough on its own to easily overshadow its preceding sadness. The second half of the album is slightly longer; it is also in nine movements and was composed for soprano, voice, countertenor, recorder, alto saxophone, piano, as well as a sixty-piece orchestra and forty-person choir. Although it was partly recorded in a studio instead of on location, its sound quality is equally impressive (especially in the voices and sax). The recording features the Polish soprano Elzbieta Towarnicka, whose singing is a trademark of many of Preisner's scores for the films by Krzysztof Kieslowski listed above. Both illuminating and enjoyable, "Life" is a breath of exactly that after "Requiem," tackling some basic subjects of life with a sense of extreme elegance not often heard in even Preisner's own scores, let alone many others. He continues weaving his multilayered vocals in and out of this second section as well, and Towarnicka continues to provide sharp performances. The addition of the orchestral players and chorus makes for the perfect combination on this album, heard best in the suite titled "Beginning" that occupies tracks ten through twelve. Eerie saxophone solos and singular female vocals are accompanied by swelling performances by the full orchestra, providing for gripping romantic sounds. The piece "Love" in particular is the all-too-short highlight of the entire production. Between that cue and the massive title theme presented in the latter half of "Meeting" (truly a full ensemble piece), there's a touch of Ennio Morricone in this music, especially in the handling of the chorus and solo voices. Although the requiem was the primary performance of this dedicational album, the following concert section is the highlight. The "Life" concert arrangement has several moments of grand choral and orchestral style, and these final thirty-seven minutes will most likely satisfy any enthusiast of dark, mystical, and thematically gripping choral music. The release by Erato Records, a division of Warner and Atlantic Records, is beautifully produced, with notes about Preisner and the music, as well as lyrics to the vocal performances.
Life: **** Album: ***
The insert includes notes from Zbigniew Preisner about the concerts. An excerpt is included below:
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