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Glory
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Composed, Conducted, and Co-Produced by:
Orchestrated by:
Greig McRitchie
Co-Produced by:
Shawn Murphy
Performed by:
The Boys Choir of Harlem
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LABELS & RELEASE DATES
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ALBUM AVAILABILITY
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The 1989 commercial album was a regular U.S. release. The bootlegs
based on the DVD's isolated score track began appearing in 1998, and are often
available on the secondary market in various forms. Its cover art and tracks
vary greatly from version to version.
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AWARDS
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Winner of a Grammy Award and nominated for a Golden Globe.
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ALSO SEE
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Buy it... if you're ready for one of the most effective and
engaging scores in Hollywood's modern age, and easily one of James
Horner's ultimate efforts.
Avoid it... only if you found the film offensive for some reason;
there exists no good reason to avoid learning about and appreciating
this score.
BUY IT
 | Horner |
Glory: (James Horner) Perhaps the best Civil War
film ever produced, Glory is the beautiful historical tragedy of
Colonel Robert Gould Shaw's 54th Massachusetts Voluntary Infantry unit,
the first black regiment in America. Its unlikely formation and ultimate
sacrifice gained both the soldiers and their loyal commanding officers
surprising respect from Union ranks unsure about the viability of black
regiments. The Oscar-recognized film's vivid brutality during the
opening scenes of the battle at Antietam would allow the story of the
54th Massachusetts unit to be told without actually showing the gruesome
violence that would meet them along their journey to respect. Despite
winning three Oscars and receiving nominations for other categories, the
film was shunned in major categories in which it had received due
attention from the Golden Globes. In the long career of composer James
Horner, many of his scores could be identified as his ultimate best.
From the adventures of Willow and Zorro to his remarkable
year of 1995, and not forgetting the polarizing Titanic, there
can be no doubt that of all his scores, Glory is the most
emotionally bound to its film and had the most profound effect on that
film. To imagine Ed Zwick's visuals without Horner's classical and
choral themes is unfathomable, and to hear the score apart from film
evokes the same tear-jerking emotions. If there were ever a score built
to make you weep when hearing its album, Glory would be that
score. Like other scores that occasionally sweep up a new generation of
youths and introduce them to their first film score, Glory did
just that in 1989. In one of of the most puzzling votes in recent
Academy Award history, Horner's decent, but hardly Glory-quality
Field of Dreams was the composer's only nominated score from that
year. Despite that oversight, the album was Horner's best-seller until
Braveheart and Titanic, and has remained well respected
through the years.
There are many reasons why Horner's Glory packs
such an emotional punch. First and foremost is the composer's
significant loyalty to one tragic theme for the entire length of the
score. The element of hope manifests itself in the rising structure at
the outset, while its second half sways elegantly across a wide range,
allowing Horner to maximize the dramatic variations on the chord scheme
across the countless performances. A secondary "call to arms" theme for
solo trumpet is the distant cry of the Civil War itself, while a
woodwind marching theme hails the regiment as it marches to
respectability. A second crucial element to Glory is Horner's
employment of the Boys Choir of Harlem to accent the use of a full adult
chorus throughout the score. No dramatic cue exists without a passage or
accompaniment for the voices, and it is the soothing nature of these
vocals that brings an almost religious side to the score. Their
performance at the outset of the "Closing Credits" is legendary and was
heard in commercials and live events for years following the film's
release. Another primary element in the score is Horner's obvious use of
the snare drum for both authenticity and movement. Never before has the
snare been featured in so many different ways in one score. Its precise
mixing and subtle changes in tapping emphasis throughout the score place
it at differing depths in the ensemble depending on its role in the
film. The final element of note in the score relates to just that:
Horner's ability to seamlessly integrate source music into his score.
Any regiment in the Civil War would have had drums, trumpets, and
piccolos, among other instruments, and they are shown throughout the
film as a regular part of the regiment's movements. Horner often allows
the source usage to play its course before slowly overtaking those
instruments with the full orchestra, usually with the source instruments
continuing their activities while the ensemble and choir let loose with
a performance of the title theme over the top. There is a significant
amount of source music in Glory, usually related to various drum
performances and parade marches.
As to be expected with any classic score, individual
cues stand out. The early sequences in the score are often soulful and
cautious, treating the aftermath of Antietam and the early days of the
regiment with solitary contemplation. As the regiment comes together,
and signs of progress are made with the black troops' training, it is
validated by a return to the snare-ripping opening cue that we hear as
the white troops prepare for their encounters at Antietam. The score's
two notably disturbing cues come with "The Whipping" and "Burning the
Town of Darien," the latter of which features some the same tragic
layering of strings used concurrently in the more disturbing
performances of the Americana theme in John Williams' Born on the
Fourth of July. The march in "The Year of Jubilee" is the triumphant
cue in the score; as we see the black regiment marching in front of
Southern plantation mansions, the snare and piccolo lead the entire
ensemble into energized performances of the title theme. The
"Preparations for Battle" cue will yank every one of your emotional
chains, as the unit prepares for certain death and Horner lays on every
drop of drama potion onto the mix. That cue in particular is positioned
in the film to be accentuated by the ceremonial firing of cannons as a
(pseudo) tribute to the unit. The "Charging Fort Wagner" cue is often
denigrated by critics of Horner as pulling several references from
Wagner and Orff, as this is indeed true. The resulting merging of styles
is still frightfully effective, however. In this cue, Horner's use of
the chimes is of interest, whether rolling in octaves or tolling like
bells. After the regiment is annihilated, a solitary chorus and trumpet
say farewell to the film's heroes as we see the white commanders rolled
into mass graves alongside their black soldiers. The "End Credits," as
mentioned before, are famous for the spectacular one-minute performance
of the choir at the outset. The deep male voices, aided by a resounding
synthetic bassline, and tolling chimes in the treble regions are nothing
less than a magnificent finish to the film. The score fades away the
same as it began, with noble snare tapping, just as the children's choir
had been used as the bookends of Willow the previous year.
Not much more needs to be said about the merits of this
score. In its ability to draw upon the listener's emotions (especially
for viewers of the film), Glory ranks near John Williams'
Schindler's List in its overwhelming effect on your senses. The
commercial album for Glory contains all the major cues, some of
which were re-arrangements of the film versions or, in some cases,
alternate mixes of various recordings made at the time of the score's
original performances. Unfortunately, the sound quality of this album
was nowhere near as vibrant as the film itself ( Glory won an
Oscar for "Best Sound," ironically, while being dominated in its mix by
the score); the solo instruments like the piccolo and snare were not as
prominently featured on that album presentation. A partial solution to
that problem arose when the film was provided with an isolated score
track on DVD. Some cues, like "The Year of Jubilee," were vastly
improved on that isolated track (provided that you could transfer them
to CD), while other cues, such as the awkward choral editing in
"Charging Fort Wagner," were slightly muffled. On the whole, the
bootlegs you see resulting from the isolated score track do feature
superior sound, however, and if you're interested in a handful of key
cues, such as the Darien cue and the end titles, then you'll be
impressed by the improvement. The choral interlude in "The Shaw Party"
remains a bizarre episode, however. Most of the new material on those
bootlegs that you don't hear on the commercial album is actually the
multitude of source music used in the film, consisting mostly of drum
beats. A few notable exceptions are the "How Many Are Left?" cue, in
which the title theme receives a brief, but resolute performance as most
of the regiment's volunteers decide to stay on, and "The Parade," in
which another militia snare beat is overtaken by a powerful bass string
and cello performance of the title theme. These bootlegs typically
feature the original album edits of all the differing cues as well. No
matter which album you ultimately enjoy more, Glory is indeed one
of Horner's top scores, and remains to this day one of the most
effective and engaging scores in Hollywood's modern age. @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
- Commercial Album: *****
- Bootlegs: *****
- Overall: *****
Bias Check: |
For James Horner reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.16
(in 103 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.26
(in 193,529 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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james horner--GLORY Expand >> meredith MacGreogr - November 15, 2007, at 11:37 a.m. |
2 comments (5169 views) Newest: December 16, 2009, at 11:59 a.m. by Edmund Meinerts |
Commercial Album Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 43:21 |
1. A Call to Arms (3:07)
2. After Antietam (2:39)
3. Lonely Christmas (1:54)
4. Forming the Regiment (5:26)
5. The Whipping (2:09)
6. Burning the Town of Darien (2:30)
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7. Brave Words, Braver Deeds (3:09)
8. The Year of Jubilee (2:25)
9. Preparations for Battle (7:32)
10. Charging Fort Wagner (2:51)
11. An Epitaph to War (2:32)
12. Closing Credits (6:51)
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Bootleg Albums Tracks ▼ | Total Time: 78:06 |
1. Tri-Star Logo* (0:18)
2. A Call to Arms** (4:03) (Film Version)
3. After Antietem (2:40) (Film Version)
4. The Shaw Party* (1:44)
5. Forming the Regiment** (Part 1) (3:58)
6. March of the 54th* (1:04)
7. Forming the Regiment** (Part 2) (1:57)
8. How Many Are Left* (2:03)
9. Issuing Arms* (0:18)
10. Lonely Christmas (2:16) (Film Version)
11. Drums (Part 1)* (0:45)
12. The Whipping (2:02)
13. Six Hundred Shoes* (1:08)
14. The Parade* (2:15)
15. The Year of Jubilee (2:25)
16. Military Fanfare* (1:46)
17. New Sergeant/March Into Beaufort* (2:16)
18. Burning the Town of Darien (2:20)
19. Barroque Music* (1:14)
20. Drums (Part 2)* (0:08)
21. Irish Dance* (1:07)
22. Brave Words, Braver Deeds (3:09)
23. Regiment's Gospel Party (Part 1)* (1:03)
24. Regiment's Gospel Party (Part 2)* (2:39)
25. Final Prayers/Dressing for Battle* (0:58)
26. Preparations for Battle (7:12)
27. Charging Fort Wagner (2:43)
28. An Epitaph to War (2:22)
29. Closing Credits (6:51)
30. A Call to Arms (3:07) (Commercial Release)
31. After Antietem (2:38) (Commercial Release)
32. Forming the Regiment (5:26) (Commercial Release)
33. Lonely Christmas (1:53) (Commercial Release)
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* Previously Unreleased
** Contains Previously Unreleased Material
These listings vary between the various bootlegs currently circulating.
The list provided here is for the second generation of bootlegs that contain the
complete score with all source cues. |
None of the inserts contain any extra information about the score or film.
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