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Cosmic Voyage: (David Michael Frank) It's hard not to be a
fan of IMAX films and their scores. There's something magnificent about a screen
six stories high and an equally expansive score being pumped through a seemingly
infinite number of speakers surrounding that huge screen. Of all the IMAX film
genres that require the biggest of the big, those showing the vastness of space
often require the grandest of all production scales. One such IMAX project in the
mid-1990's was
Cosmic Voyage, a computer-generated film that takes the
audience on a trip around the universe with spectacular colors, vast special
effects, and resounding narration by Morgan Freeman. At the time, its digital
effects were top notch, and with wall to wall visuals and a similarly minded
sound, the film continues to impress critics and audiences several years later. To
match Freeman's always deep, intoxicating voice, director Bayley Silleck required
a fully orchestral score that would assist in forming a soundscape for every
single moment of the film. David Michael Frank was hired to provide 30 minutes of
large-scale organic music that ranges from massive epic proportions to softer,
intimate passages. Frank was already a veteran of conducting Broadway productions
and scoring for mostly television series, although a few of his film projects
included top grossing action flicks that receive most of their attention after
midnight on cable channels. His additional material (contributed on top of that of
the primary composers on the assignment) has been heard in films like
Forrest
Gump and
The Mask, and his versatility lends him well to nearly any
genre. Undeniably,
Cosmic Voyage would be Frank's opportunity to do what
all composers love the most: write a monumental score for an IMAX film. With
exploding stars, the birth of galaxies, and the tiny positioning of a single human
in all of this activity, the film served up quite the inspiration for Frank, whose
score meets your expectations with great success.
The style with which Frank tackles
Cosmic Voyage is
classical by nature, and, in a lyrical sense, could be most accurately compared to
James Horner's heavily dramatic styles of the same decade. It is similar to
Horner's music in the use of strings, while also exhibiting similarities to Rachel
Portman's tendencies in the use of woodwinds. Together, Frank's own emerging style
makes for a very easy listening experience. It is a nonstop parade of thematic
sensibility, with a touch of wonderment added for the vastness of the journey's
scope. The music is rarely interrupted by loud action sequences, with the only
notable exception being the exploding "42 Rings" track (a cue that lasts for
only 54 seconds). There are, however, several magnificent crescendos to Frank's
lengthier sequences, with the final moments of "Mysteries of the Universe"
standing out as a highlight. More than anything, Frank's music achieves its goal
in conveying the endless, romantically vast feeling of the cosmos. The fluid
construction of the film allowed Frank's music to take on a suite-like format, so
on album the score has little to disrupt its nonstop beauty. The final track on
the album is a sampling of Frank's music for a multimedia presentation that
accompanied the rollout of the 777 airplane at Boeing's headquarters in Seattle.
Frank's composition here is more heroic (as you might expect) than the material
from
Cosmic Voyage. Along with the fact that the track is titled "Working
Together," you can immediately discern that a feel-good theme of teamwork is
presented to present the company and its planes in the best of light. It has a
snare and brass theme that is noble in every sense of the word, almost to a fault.
This track is similar enough in basic, orchestral style to
Cosmic Voyage to
meld nicely together on album and preserve the listening experience. The album
exists only as a promotional release from Frank himself. It was available
initially at only online soundtrack specialty outlets and has become a difficult
find. Overall, it is superb IMAX-appropriate music, and is a safe purchase for
those who value conservative orchestral integrity.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
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The insert includes information about both the score and film, as well as
recording session photography.
