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Composed, Co-Orchestrated, Arranged, and Co-Produced by:
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Craig Armstrong
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Conducted by:
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Pete Anthony
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Co-Orchestrated by:
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Matt Dunkley
Kazimir Boyle
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Co-Produced by:
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Geoff Foster
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Release Date:
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August 8th, 2006
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Filmtracks Recommends:
Buy it... if you are familiar with Craig Armstrong's trademark
sounds of tragedy, from the layered strings to light synthetic rhythms,
ethereal chorus, and soft piano solos, and you've enjoyed his similar
works in the past.
Avoid it... if you expect the more transparent patriotic bravado of
John Williams' scores for Oliver Stone's films.
Filmtracks Editorial Review:
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World Trade Center: (Craig Armstrong) Oliver
Stone's potent films have, through the years, explored controversial
topics in extremely detailed and brutal fashion, often throwing a
political or historical subject directly in your face. Surprisingly
restrained, though, is World Trade Center, for which Stone leaves
behind many of his more lavish techniques and provides what has been
described as the director's most "accessible" film in two decades. It's
a human tale rather than a political one, based on the true story of two
New York Port Authority policemen who were among the last of the 20
survivors to be rescued from the wreckage of the World Trade Center on
September 11th, 2001. The 24 hours in these men's lives were
meticulously detailed, with the actors taking direction from the
survivors themselves, and while the first half of the film shows their
encounters and entrapment in the concourse of the buildings, the second
half is a series of hallucinations and flashbacks for the two men, as
well as scenes of the secondary plotlines involving their families.
Stone's tightrope here was the balance between dramatic punch and
tasteful restraint, and much of the same applied to composer Craig
Armstrong. While his assignment on World Trade Center was
somewhat of a surprise to many film score collectors, the core of his
work would argue otherwise. Armstrong's career has always been laced
with tragedy... not professionally, but in subject matter. With the
exception of the feel-good Love Actually, every one of
Armstrong's major scores has some element of sadness, whether it is
outright tragedy like Romeo and Juliet and Moulin Rouge,
or films that feature a silver lining, like The Quiet American,
Ray, or The Bone Collector. When you examine all of
Armstrong's scores for these films, you realize that they are all
tastefully restrained, melodic in structure, intimate in their solo
performances, and dark in their colors. He most often utilizes a solo
piano, subtle string layers, ethereal chorus, and light electronic
rhythms to achieve this trademark sound, and it is apparently this sound
that the filmmakers had chosen for World Trade Center.
Without missing a beat, this is exactly what Armstrong
has provided for them. In its abundant use of the four major trademarks
of Armstrong's work described above, the World Trade Center score
is absolutely saturated with the composer's style. It is unmistakable in
every cue, and it's very safe to say that if you enjoyed the music for
The Quiet American and The Bone Collector, you will
immediately relax to the consistently soft tones of World Trade
Center. Armstrong is loyal to a central theme that is performed
twice in suite format at the outset of the commercial album for the
score. His typical, clearly defined string layers dominate the score,
and they are joined by cello for the first suite and piano for the
second. The composer's own piano solos would extend to an actual solo
coda at the end of the score (which is becoming the norm for Armstrong's
albums these days). Never is New York treated to the sounds of a
bustling city before or after the attack; Armstrong doesn't try to fool
you by avoiding the soft, tragic atmosphere before the attack. The lower
string layers and piano meander effortlessly in their repeated
processions through the title theme for most of the cues in the score,
and the highlights are inevitably those cues that introduce a fuller
ensemble into the mix. Armstrong's employment of a chorus has always
been strikingly poignant, going all the way back to Plunkett and
Macleane, and its use here is no less powerful. The full chorale
performs a third suite on the album with a subdued French horn section.
It is aided by a dominant female soprano voice in a handful of cues,
injecting a great solemn elegance into the equation. Less effective is a
acoustic guitar performance by Armstrong as well, only barely making an
impact with solo voice in "Jimeno Sees Jesus." Of particular note in any
Armstrong score is his use of light electronic rhythms (another popular
Armstrong use that dates to Plunkett and Macleane), and like he
does in The Quiet American, he manages to incorporate it here
despite the situation not naturally lending itself towards that
use.
The light synthetic rhythms, which collectors will also
immediately recognize from Armstrong's library, is previewed in the
piano suite before being used as a representation of victory in "John
and Will Found" and "John Rescued." Its light percussive tingling,
building to one final cymbal roll in both cues, is a welcome emotional
release from the otherwise consistent restraint of the score. The
electronics do not contribute to the terror elements of the score
outside of "Marine Arrives at Ground Zero," in which slight synthetic
distortion is utilized to create the only dissonance in the score. One
notable element that is used only sparingly is the brass section of the
Los Angeles performing group. Despite the tendency for these films to
underscore the American tradition of solo trumpets for patriotism and
heroicism, Armstrong's only significant use of the brass section comes
in the middle of "John Rescued/Resolution," and even this is rather
muted. Still, this sequence reminds you of John Williams' strikingly
transparent brass usage in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of
July and JFK, and might --just might-- make you wonder what
kind of score Williams would have produced for World Trade
Center. For Armstrong, the trumpet is replaced by the soprano voice,
and in "Resolution," the effect is still outstanding. On the whole, not
only is the score restrained in its construct, but its use in the film
is as well. Many impact scenes in the film are left without music, and
Armstrong's work only really leaves its mark in the discovery and rescue
cues. In these moments of somber rhythms and choral beauty, Armstrong
does everything he needs to accomplish, and to have asked for anything
more during those pivotal cues (or the filler background material in
other scenes) would have defeated the purpose of the film. On album, the
score runs perhaps too long, with only 20 minutes of the hour-long album
providing a lasting memory, but you still can't help but recognize that
the score is a successful attempt at a very touchy subject. Don't be
surprised to see World Trade Center receive considerable votes
for a "best score" Oscar nomination if the film proves to have longevity
at the box office. ****
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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• 1. World Trade Center Cello Theme (3:43)
• 2. World Trade Center Piano Theme (4:00)
• 3. New York Awakes (2:29)
• 4. The Drive Downtown (3:52)
• 5. Rise Above the Towers (2:26)
• 6. World Trade Center Choral Piece (2:41)
• 7. John & Donna Talk About Their Family (1:25)
• 8. Ethereal (5:24)
• 9. John's Woodshed (1:38)
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• 10. Marine Arrives at Ground Zero (2:57)
• 11. Will and Allison in the Hospital (1:53)
• 12. Allison at the Stoplight (1:07)
• 13. Jimeno Sees Jesus (1:42)
• 14. John and Will Found/Will Ascends (5:05)
• 15. John's Apparition (2:30)
• 16. John Rescued/Resolution (7:46)
• 17. Elegy (4:39)
• 18. Ethereal Piano Coda (2:09)
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Insert includes no extra information about the score or film.
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