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•	1989 Album

•	2021 Album

•	1989 Album

Horner's approach to Glory succeeds well beyond simply the thematic core. A second crucial element to the work's success 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 element 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. The intensity of their contributions increases as the work progresses, its posture by "An Epitaph to War" particularly intense. Another primary aspect of distinction in the score is Horner's obvious use of the snare drum for both authenticity and movement. Rarely has the snare been featured in so many different ways in one score; its precise mixing and subtle changes in tapping emphasis throughout the work place it at differing depths in the ensemble depending on its role in the film. This presence relates to Horner's ability to seamlessly integrate the source material 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 54th Regiment's movements. These elements don't always need to transition directly into the original score passages to denote the same meaning; Horner will often shift the piccolo over to the oboe, the trumpet over to French horn, and the snare over to timpani for his own material, and those transitions are seamless. Together, these instruments and themes converge to form a fantastic narrative. As to be expected with any classic score, individual cues along this journey 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 troops' training, the group 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.

As mentioned before, the march in "The Year of Jubilee" is the most triumphant cue in Glory; as we see the 54th Regiment marching in front of columned, Southern mansions, the snare and piccolo lead the entire ensemble into energized performances of the main and regiment themes. 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 most often denigrated by critics of Horner as pulling several references from Orff and others, and there is some merit to these complaints. The resulting merging of styles is still frightfully effective, however. In this cue, Horner's use of the chimes is of interest, whether sliding in octaves or tolling like bells. The composer also fully expands a rolling motif explored in his unused "The Battle of Grimball's Landing" cue; his timpani-aided rendition of this idea at 1:53 into "Charging Fort Wagner" remains a highlight of the score. After the regiment is annihilated, a solitary chorus and trumpet say farewell to the film's heroes in "An Epitaph to War" as we see the white commanders rolled into mass graves alongside their black soldiers. The "Closing Credits" is famous for the spectacular, one-minute performance of the choir at the outset in a format of electronic flourish that the composer would later apply to Apollo 13 as well. The deep male voices here, aided by a resounding synthetic bassline and tolling chimes in the treble regions, are nothing less than a magnificent finish to the film. (It should be noted that the film mix of this sequence enhances the snare and drops trumpet counterpoint, making the album version the superior choice by far.) 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. In sum, Glory as a film has an overwhelming effect on your senses, and its music is key to that success. Even in its reflective cues, Horner's melodicism and grace prevail, the quiet interplay between strings and woodwinds in "Forming the Regiment" maintaining gravity without the need for much volume, subtly previewing the Charleston battle motifs, and an extended note at 2:40 for winds alone providing hints of the duality that smartly persists all over this score.

The original 1989 album for Glory contains all the score's major cues, some of which re-arrangements of the film versions or, in some cases, alternate mixes of various recordings from the sessions. Unfortunately, the sound quality of this album was nowhere near as vibrant as in 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 while other cues, such as the awkward choral editing in "Charging Fort Wagner," were slightly muffled. On the whole, however, the bootlegs that resulted widely from the isolated score track did feature superior sound, and listeners interested in a handful of key cues, such as the Darien burning cue and the end titles, were likely impressed by the improvement. The choral interlude in "The Shaw Party" remained a bizarre diversion, and much of the newly revealed material on those bootlegs was actually the multitude of source music used in the film, which consisted mostly of drum rhythms. The most notable additions were "Jefferson & Liberty " and "The Decision" at the time. These bootlegs typically featured the original album edits of all the differing cues as well. In 2021, La-La Land Records offered an expanded though not complete presentation of Glory that officially provides the work in this significantly improved sound quality. Handling the source and original material well, this limited 2-CD set presents the film versions of the score's cues and a handful of the source recordings on the first CD, including some fascinating rejected cues. The second CD offers a remastering of the original album presentation, which is important for the superior version of the "Closing Credits," and five alternate cues. These alternates are not particularly revelatory, but the variations of "Worth a Life" are of interest. The alternate take on "Charging Fort Wagner" is decidedly worse than the final version and is actually somewhat obnoxious. The rejected cues from the middle of the film presentation of the score, though, including "The Battle of Grimball's Landing" and the Apollo 13-like "Our Time," are vital. The widespread bootlegs may have spoiled the 2021 set for fans, but it is a superb product worth a spot in any film music collection. No matter which album you ultimately enjoy more, Glory will always stand among Horner's top career works, and it prevails to this day as one of the most effectively engaging and heartbreaking scores of its era.  *****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download

Bias Check:

For James Horner reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 3.15 (in 108 reviews) and the average viewer rating is 3.23 (in 203,479 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.