Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #215
Written 3/6/00, Revised 6/26/08
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Buy it... if you're a Mariam Stockley enthusiast and have a general
affection for the consistent quality of the fantasy scores contributed
by major composers to television mini-series during their renaissance in
the late 1990's.
Avoid it... if you anticipate hearing the kind of overwhelming
melodic lyricism that often existed in other contemporary fantasy scores
on television.
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| Dudley |
The 10th Kingdom: (Anne Dudley) The fantasy genre
flourished in television mini-series in the late 1990's and early
2000's, and The 10th Kingdom was one of the more notable
collaborations between Hallmark Entertainment and the NBC network. The
2000 miniseries of immense length was a sword and sorcery tale about a
universe of nine fantastic kingdoms that are thrown into chaos when a
wicked witch is set loose upon the land, banishing a rightful prince to
a tenth kingdom which just happens to be modern-day (well, pre-9/11) New
York. A waitress and her father in the city are enlisted to assist in
restoring balance to the fantasy worlds, and the production saved itself
some costs by setting part of its running time in the contemporary
location. The music for the aforementioned splurge of television
productions was often their highlight, with entries by composers Trevor
Jones, Mark McKenzie, Lee Holdridge, Stephen Warbeck, Brian Tyler, among
others, that are often as entertaining apart from the films. The
Varèse Sarabande label released many of this series of Hallmark
(and other studios') television films during the era, including the very
successful scores for Merlin, The Mists of Avalon, and
Children of Dune. The composer of the hour for The 10th
Kingdom was Anne Dudley, whose career was reaching its greatest
heights at the time. After her silly Oscar-winning effort for The
Full Monte, she had proven her skills in orchestral drama with the
impressive American History X. Likewise, with her concert work
"Ancient and Modern" debuting in 1999, she had established herself as
versatile in the practice of shifting between or combining classical and
contemporary tones with ease, a technique that would prove necessary for
The 10th Kingdom. While Dudley's finished result for the series
wouldn't turn as many heads as other scores to emerge from television
fantasy, it is nevertheless interesting and engaging music. Like her
contemporaries in the genre, Dudley employs an orchestra, occasional
vocals, and an array of electronics to create a mystical setting for the
film. The balance between orchestra and electronics is well handled by
Dudley, as are the wordless vocals that whimsically weave in and out of
the sound effects.
Some of Dudley's instrumental techniques are quite
inventive, including the sounds of swishing swords or shards of glass
(the effect in "A Travelling Mirror" is striking). Pronounced roles for
harp, xylophone, flute, and even zither offer colors in the treble that
are countered by pulsating electronic bass effects that occasionally
remind of a Media Ventures/Remote Control environment. Some have
compared the mix in
The 10th Kingdom to Jerry Goldsmith's
Legend, which is giving far too much credit to the still somewhat
safe overall tones of Dudley's score. The greatest weakness of
The
10th Kingdom is Dudley's disconnect between the motifs she
establishes throughout the score. Several ideas pop up (and sometimes
repeat) in the work, but her statements of these motifs aren't always
clear enough to be satisfying. The title theme is heard immediately in
"The 4 Who Saved the 9 Kingdoms" and in fragments until "These Are Dark
Days," which is easily the orchestral highlight of the score. Only in
this one cue do we hear a fully lyrical presentation of the melody for
the entire ensemble. In between are distinct motifs for the trolls and
the sense of wonder for the concept of transportation, as well as others
that don't really tie into one character or place. Part of the problem
with this identity crisis exists in the fact that a significant portion
of the music is absent from the album. The "Six Glorious Wishes" and
"Kissing Town" cues are reminiscent of Rachel Portman's blissfully
free-floating whimsy on woodwinds and strings. For viewers of the show,
the obvious highlight is "Wishing on a Star," which served as the short
opening song to the series and its promotional piece. The unique voice
of British singer Mariam Stockley is often heard primarily in wordless
form in film scores (such as Gabriel Yared's
Autumn in New York,
Patrick Doyle's
Great Expectations, and more), but her
contribution here with full ensemble is sung with lyrics. Unfortunately,
this theme isn't integrated into the score itself, which is a major flaw
in the overall picture. Ultimately, Stockley's great, 90-second vocal at
the end of the album is almost worth the price alone, especially for
fans of her "Adiemus" or solo works. Otherwise, there's really only one
truly fantastic score cue ("These Are Dark Days") surrounded by decent,
but somewhat underachieving genre sounds.
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