One listen to the opening titles for
Band of Brothers will
explain exactly why Kamen fled
Tomb Raider for this project. Many film score
collectors believed at the time that Kamen's best recent work had existed for HBO
films, with his feature film scores like
X-Men failing to stimulate much of a
widespread (or positive) response. The composer spent much of his time writing
classical pieces (which he had always been interested in exploring in addition to
film scoring) for concert performances and album recordings, and this experience
would prove important to his approach to
Band of Brothers. With such a mass
of music to write for the series, Kamen had the opportunity to compose miniature
classical movements for each episode. Both the structural style and orchestration,
as well as (to an extent) the handling of themes, will likely prove to be popular
with collectors of contemporary classical music. The title theme for the show is
nothing short of spectacular, combining the very best of Kamen's classical and
concert style with the adventuresome brass and percussion of
Robin Hood: Prince
of Thieves, which endures as his most popular score. Some listeners maybe
bothered by a few blatant similarities in progression between this theme and that of
Robin Hood, though this recording doesn't suffer from any of the vibrancy or
performance errors that plagued the 1991 presentation. A slight hint of the early
swashbuckling spirit of Bruce Broughton and James Horner can be heard in the title
theme here as well, exploding with exuberance in its primary and secondary variants
in the album's first three tracks. In its ability to capture both the danger and
historical proportion of the epic story, the show's main theme is superior to even
that of
From the Earth to the Moon. Kamen managed to pull it off with a sense
of class and significance that served to accompany the stunning visuals without
glorifying the heroics of the men. The use of voices throughout, ranging from the
heavy adult chorus in "Main Theme" to the lighter, more contemporary female vocals
in "Band of Brothers Requiem," are a stunning highlight. The merging of the vocal
tones with a few familiar progressions have created understandable comparisons
between the final track on this album and Horner's equally noble
Apollo
13.
Comparisons were also inevitably drawn between this production and
Saving Private Ryan, for which John Williams wrote a score that was
ultimately respected by all but loved on album by only some. The
Band of Brothers
score's album presentation is very similar to that of
Saving Private Ryan,
with the solemn, but inspiring spirit of a hymn built into a thematic performances
at the beginning and end. Both scores feature a somber and introverted underscore
extending for the mass of the albums and films' time. From "Swamp" to "Austria,"
essentially making up the entirety of the actual episodic material in
Band of
Brothers, Kamen maintains an extremely restrained and melancholy atmosphere of
small ensemble grace, informed obviously by the composer's classical sensibilities.
Engaging solo performances on woodwinds and strings are common in these sections,
but compared to the momentous title theme, the two lengthy suites, the opening cue
of the mission, and the closing requiem, the underscore will potentially pass most
listeners with little notice.
Band of Brothers easily features a more rounded
and complete balance of honorable theme and subdued underscore than
Saving
Private Ryan, however. The instrumentation and tone employed by Kamen is very
restrained, closer to Williams' approach than Michael Giacchino's for the video game
adaptation of
Saving Private Ryan from 1999,
Medal of Honor.
Ironically, both
Medal of Honor and
Band of Brothers have turned out
to be more dynamic and exciting scores than
Saving Private Ryan, though a
true fan of the World War II fighting genre will likely be able to appreciate all
three for what they are and how they represent their composers. Kamen's work for
Band of Brothers, even with its less inspiring moments of extended underscore
at minimal volumes (and marginal thematic extension), is an outstanding achievement.
Not only does it impress in length, but its title theme and choral elements feature
the rare quality of scope in the television film genre. Kamen's music for
Band of
Brothers has proven to maintain its popularity throughout the years, living up
to the expectations that were forced upon it by the prominent use of Horner's
Legends of the Fall in the initial trailers for the show. If you don't own a
Kamen score, then this is a safe place to start.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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