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Eidelman's composition is rich with theme and texture, both seaworthy and religious. Its ability cover both necessary bases is admirable, and while he relies upon a robust orchestral performance for the representation of the high seas, he employs a male choir for the Catholic element. The latter's influence on the score is one of the more interesting aspects of Eidelman's work here. Two hymnal cues, "Come O Come Emanuel" and "The Discovery (Gloria)," are merged with Eidelman's own original themes. While the Latin choral performances in these cues may sound familiar to the hymns you would hear in a church, Eidelman has altered their underlying structure to fit his themes for the film. It could be possible that the hymnal inspiration guided all of Eidelman's score in some fashion, but most score fans won't care enough to notice. The title theme is the highlight of Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, heard in "The Great Sea," "The Voyage," and with victorious spirit in "A Hero's Welcome (Epilogue)." That last cue is a powerhouse worthy of any compilation, not only emulating the grand posture of the final cues from Star Trek VI, but throwing in a singular pan pipe or recorder for one gorgeous statement of the theme. Several of the cues handle scenes with a light hand, curiously underplaying the music's role; most of these portions are for the first "Spain" act of the film, and these moments are easily the score's greatest weakness on paper. Far more disruptive is a sparse performance by Seattle Symphony Orchestra, used likely in a cost-saving gesture and unfortunately contributing solely to the diminished scope of performance that haunts this recording. This composition is very deserving of a more meaty performance, though the two choral recordings (the latter of which will remind of Patrick Doyle's famous Henry V choral piece) are well enunciated with truncated lyrics from the traditional hymns. If this score had been recorded in a cathedral, as John Ottman has done in Seattle, perhaps a more vibrant and spiritual effect would have been achieved. In any case, Christopher Columbus: The Discovery is a fine effort by Eidelman, who often wrote strong scores at the time, only to have many of them thwarted by undersized ensembles. A relatively obscure release by the Varèse Sarabande label offers 43 minutes of music that would turn out to be Eidelman's last boisterous adventure score before fading into obscurity himself.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For Cliff Eidelman reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.29 (in 17 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.2 (in 8,876 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 42:47