(The following donated review by Christian Lauliac was moved by Filmtracks to this comment section in September, 2008)
The Red Violin: (John Corigliano) Composer John Corigliano does not have
a lenghty track record as far as film scores are concerned. Just like Aaron
Copland, Corigliano's forays into film scoring have been few and far between.
His two previous scores were composed
for Ken Russell's Altered States (1980) followed a few years later by a
gorgeous score for Hugh Hudson's critically lambasted Revolution (1985).
Although his pioneering Altered States score is currently available on
CD, Revolution remains a sadly unreleased masterpiece. Fortunately, John
Corigliano's third film score, written for François Girard's The Red
Violin is probably his finest and most complex effort to date.
Starring Samuel L. Jackson, the movie depicts a violin's journey through several
centuries, an instrument mysteriously haunted by the soul of its maker's
deceased wife. The plot begins in 17th century Cremona, ending in 20th century
Montreal. It is a strange and very exciting premise, grandly supported by John
Corigliano's haunting, complex, lyrical and innovative
score. I have not yet seen the movie, but I suppose this is one of those film
scores that play a key role during the movie. Although nowadays too many film
scores are generic and unimaginative wall to wall accompaniement, John
Corigliano's scoring is refreshing: individual, accessible and particularly
striking. Fans of Elliot Goldenthal's gothic approach will undoubtedly enjoy
this CD, because Corigliano has played a major influence on Goldenthal's musical
development. In a nutshell, if you love those brooding, lyrical and
darkly romantic soundscapes, then The Red Violin soundtrack will not leave your
CD player.
Stylistically, Corigliano goes for a strong elegiac tone. Unlike Goldenthal, the
composer does not rely on brass so much, selecting instead a more transparent
orchestral texture, with an emphasis on strings. "Anna's theme" opens the CD
with a plaintive theme sung by soprano, soon joined by Joshua Bell's solo
violin. as unisson strings enter, the piece develops seguing into
the "Main Title". Its reflective mood gains in intensity and the listener is
quietly drawn into a musical tapestry of infinite power and delicacy. Following
the violin's journey through centuries, Anna's theme is further developped,
enhanced by varied and sometimes colorful orchstrations and motives, running the
gamut from pseudo-baroque writing to gypsy cadenzas, to virtuoso cues displaying
the full range of Joshua Bell's playing. The music also has a very organic
quality: the main material springs from the simple, seductive child-like melody
heard at the start of the album. A very strong idea indeed. The CD climaxes with
"The Red Violin Chaconne", a 17 minutes virtuoso concert piece created by
Corigliano whilst composing the actual film score. This lyrical and savage opus
remains coherent with the rest of the score and makes for a very nice conclusion.
This is superb and accessible music.
Yet, this is not The Piano! While both scores showcase a solo instrument
performing a main character in the narrative, John Corigliano's style is not yet
as popular as Michael Nyman's easy listening cum classical approach!
Nevertheless, let us hope this soundtrack will shed a little more light than
usual upon this most gifted musical voice. In my humble opinion, Mr. Corigliano
ranks among the most important American composers of the last thirty years.
The performance by the Philharmonia Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen's
conducting is faultless and inspired. So is the sound quality: the beautiful,
sharp and spacious recording captured in Abbey Road's studio 1 is on a par with
the best classical recordings. As a final note, Sony Classical's packaging and
booklet are classy as usual, featuring sessions photos and informative notes by
the composer and director François Girard. Here is one of the best
soundtrack albums of 1999. *****
