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| Horner |
For Greater Glory (Cristiada): (James Horner) While
Mexico's dominant Catholicism is accepted by today's society as a basic
facet of that country's society, relatively few realize that the
Christians of Mexico fought in a popular uprising during the 1920's to
preserve their faith. An atheistic Mexican president acted upon
anti-Catholic provisions in the 1917 Mexican Constitution to quell the
influence of the Church in Mexico, his armed forces killing Catholic
officials and destroying churches at will. In 1927, a rebellion of the
people resulted, with nearly 100,000 killed in the resulting war. A
peace brokered in part by Americans brought the conflict to an official
end in 1929, but rural persecution continued throughout the 1930's. The
2012 film
Cristiada, shot in English and recognized instead as
For Greater Glory internationally, dramatized several individual
stories against the backdrop of the conflict to teach about its events
through an unambiguously pro-Catholic lens. The directorial debut of
special effects master Dean Wright,
For Greater Glory is inspired
by Jean Meyer's 1976 book "The Cristero Rebellion" and took three years
to produce in Mexico, luring a few international stars in the process
(including Andy Garcia, Eva Longoria, and Peter O'Toole). The narrative
follows several rebels in their efforts to fight federal forces, most of
them meeting unfortunate ends. The movie received only mixed reviews,
partly because of its rather overwhelming Catholicism for some (one
reviewer twisted this focus into a positive by suggesting the film as a
potential antidote for American President Barack Obama's
"anti-religious" efforts regarding contraception in 2012), and it failed
to recoup its budget despite performing well in Mexico upon its debut.
For composer James Horner, the project represented yet another
opportunity to write music for an obscure docudrama, a habit of his
personal choice since shunning most blockbuster movie opportunities in
the 2000's. His music for projects such as
Black Gold and
For
Greater Glory offer lushly romanticized London recordings to these
historical ethnic struggles, likely representing a fair portion of the
production budgets for their respective films. Horner's stylistic
approach to these occasions isn't radically different from his normal
output; in fact, they tend to recycle from his previous scores more
often than not. Still, it remains a pleasure to hear one of the
industry's "old guard" composers expanding upon the sound of orchestral
traditions in this day and age.
As applicable to most Horner scores since the 1990's,
there is a sense of familiarity to his work that will guide nearly all
opinions about it. No exception is
For Greater Glory, which
churns through countless Horner techniques and motifs from the past
thirty years without shame or restraint. Remarkably little in this work
is fresh, and even those portions that are seem reminiscent of other
composers' achievements. To a Horner detractor,
For Greater Glory
is yet another chapter in a continuing nightmare worthy of ridicule for
its fundamental stagnation of substance. Conversely, those who
appreciate the composer's lush romanticism and propulsive action styles
will find the score a very worthy addition to their Horner collections.
All will recognize the players involved. The full London orchestra is
accented by the composer's typical exotic woodwinds and, in this case,
the acoustic guitars from his "Zorro" scores. Chimes denote both the
bells of Catholic churches when tolling and his more typical sense of
gravity when rolling. Snare drums rip away with
Glory in the
rearview mirror. The children's ensemble voices have moved away from the
cooing of Horner's early days and lightly chant in a
Titanic-like
processed way. A Paraguayan harp has less of an impact than hoped. The
most notable textural element of
For Greater Glory is the
application of solo voices. In
The Amazing Spider-Man shortly
following this score, Horner utilized a boy soprano and operatic female
with the emphasis on the former; in
For Greater Glory, that
formula is switched, with two notable boy soprano performances but a
plethora of very alluring contributions by Clara Sanabras that dominate
score's identity. Her tone is reminiscent of that heard in the
concluding "Todavia Cantamos" performance in Shaun Davey's
The Tailor
of Panama. These performers tackle structures that will recall a
wide range of other Horner scores in every part of the work. The three
major themes are stock manipulations, one of which obnoxiously identical
to a previous score. The battle music in "Ambush," "A Bullet on the
Floor," and "Cristeros" remains effective despite their derivative and
generic nature. Snippets ranging from
Star Trek II: The Wrath of
Khan to
Glory,
The Mask of Zorro to
Avatar, and
beyond are littered throughout
For Greater Glory. There's even a
foreshadowing nod to the main theme of
The Amazing Spider-Man at
5:26 into "General Gorostieta." Distracting as these references may be,
it's remarkable that
For Greater Glory still stands in the end as
a satisfying reprise.
As mentioned previously, there exist three major themes in
For Greater Glory, as well as two motifs of danger that
intertwine frequently. It's difficult to label any one of the frequently
recurring themes as the "main" identity, for Horner alternates their
usage in nearly equal quantities. All three are clearly delineated in
succession in "Just Another Chapter of History (Closing Credits)."
Arguably the heart of the score is the religious theme of hope that
brackets the score and features the melancholy female vocals in most of
its recurrences. Secondary is a love theme that is a dead ringer for
The Four Feathers, proving, like
Avatar and others, that
Horner is simply obsessed with his ideas from that score. Developing
later into a dominant identity is the rebels' victory theme, a series of
descending phrases of high drama that sound like the interlude sequence
of several other Horner melodies. Most memorable is the religious theme,
though, climbing the musical ranks to emulate the aspirations of the
freedom fighters and featuring a lovely and heartbreakingly lush
interlude sequence of typical Horner melodrama from the 1990's. Its
opening bars have a vague resemblance to
The Prince of Egypt,
however. Aided by tolling chimes, the solo female vocals introduce the
idea at the outset of "Entre La Luz y El Pecado," a cue that continues
the theme with the children's ensemble after a preview of the love
theme. Continued solo renditions in "The Death of Padre Christopher"
include an urgent performance at 3:07 and one of solace at 8:06.
Disillusioned versions in "We're Cristeros Now" open the cue and return
at the 1:13 mark. The theme is manipulated with disturbing children's
voices in the first half of "The Dead City" before straight forward
woodwind brevity; the troubled vocals are revisited in the middle of
that long cue. That usage is heard again at 0:55 into "Jose Saves
Catorce," followed by a solo horn rendition. The theme's most impactful
performances come in "Jose's Martyrdom," in which the female solo opens
the lament and is followed at 1:56 by a broader and slower performance
by all vocal elements together. The boy soprano sequence for the themes'
interlude in this cue is not to be missed. "Death" begins in similar
fashion to the previous cue, but the religious theme of hope morphs into
the victory theme quite effectively before returning to its roots at the
1:37 mark. During the battle in "Cristeros," a noble brass version of
the idea interrupts the ruckus at 5:52. Finally, the theme brackets the
"Closing Credits" in both solo and string formats, closing the score in
the same way it began. As is usually the case, the mourning female
element is nothing less than gorgeous.
The second of the three major themes presented by
Horner in
For Greater Glory is the "Goro and Tula" love theme
represented best by a soft, suite-like arrangement in that cue. The
composer changes the progressions of this obvious reprise from
The
Four Feathers with only a twisted accent of one note in its second
phrase at times. Its introduction at 1:07 in "Entre La Luz y El Pecado"
will induce justified eye rolls, though by "Men Will Fire Bullets, But
God Decides Where They Land," the maturation of the idea from exotic
flute at the start of the cue to the massive ensemble performance over
timpani rolls at 3:24 will overcome some of those misgivings of origin.
The idea subsequently builds out of the religious hope theme over
Glory snare rhythms at 1:25 into "Jose's Martyrdom" and equally
pulsates (this time with voices as well) at 4:13 into "Cristeros." The
exotic flute solo of the theme in that cue, as well as the several
tender renditions in "Closing Credits," are redemptive. Thankfully, the
rebels' victory theme is less taxing on the memory, Horner introducing
it at 2:32 into "We're Cristeros Now" but wisely saving its major
development for later. It congeals in "General Gorostieta" at 4:01, its
longer lines supported by rhythmic string figures from
Star Trek
II. This performance also introduces a massive major/minor key shift
after the theme to denote agony in the score. Dramatic strings and
exotic woodwinds convey the idea at the start of "The Dead City,"
including another stark major/minor shift. Two full and melodramatic
statements of the rebels' theme exist at 0:53 and 2:40 into "Men Will
Fire Bullets, But God Decides Where They Land." Some flair from guitar
assists in building the theme's heroism at 2:41 into "Ambush" and Horner
weaves it in and out of the religious hope theme at 1:07 into "Death."
The "Cristeros" battle cue features an optimistic reference to the theme
on strings at 3:48 before a slower, pronounced statement of victory over
resounding drums at 6:13, a highlight of the score. Its place in
"Closing Credits" comes at 3:50, exotic flute and strings yielding to
the children's ensemble in full. It should be noted that two uniquely
upbeat themes function as singularities in the score as well. A buoyant
idea for solo horn reminds of Horner's children's scores at 1:11 in "The
Death of Padre Christopher" (with a downright beautiful expression just
prior to the attack) and another interesting thematic reference
(suggesting, of all things, Horner's Celtic scores, but without the
region's instrumentation) out of the blue at 1:34 in "A Bullet on the
Floor," featuring the somewhat abrasive mix of the children's choir. The
innocence lost in the former, brief idea is more understandable than the
somewhat awkward latter diversion.
As expected, Horner can't let the occasion slip by
without some references to his favorite representations of danger and
evil. Two of these flourish throughout
For Greater Glory, often
paired together for maximum effect. The dreaded four-note motif of evil,
most famous from
Willow and a staple of Horner's career, is
joined by a menacingly descending three-note motif that sometimes
utilizes a rising fourth note to reset itself in a rhythm. You hear them
previewed at the end of "Entre La Luz y El Pecado" before they explode
in "The Death of Padre Christopher." In that cue, the descending
three-note motif is heard twice at 0:53 before joining the other idea
over the top at 2:38 and 4:41 in full evil mode. The descending idea
ends the "Goro and Tula" suite on an understandably down note before
exploding with the four-note motif in a massive outburst at 2:35 into
"The Dead City." The four-note motif is brutally rhythmic in "Jose Saves
Catorce" and the three-note descent answers in the middle of "Ambush"
under accelerating snare and children's voice rhythms. The four-note
motif of evil continues its role as a rhythmic pace-setter thereafter,
at 1:22 into "A Bullet on the Floor" and 1:03 into "Cristeros." As in
"Goro and Tula," the descending three-note motif closes out "Cristeros"
and "Closing Credits" with reminders of dangers still to come. Horner
often uses this technique in
For Greater Glory, accurately
suggesting more turmoil to come for Mexico. Overall, the score is
respectfully beautiful and rhythmically engaging where necessary. He
wisely lays off the bulk of the stereotypical Latin influence that
defined his "Zorro" scores. The guitars' integration into the religious
hope theme in "We're Cristeros Now" does remind of
The Legend of
Zorro, however, and even steals a few bars from that score's famous
most cue, "The Train." Thereafter, the guitars only really make an
impact in "Ambush," where they accent the rebels' theme well. When
presented on the belated album,
For Greater Glory features a
number of very long cues, allowing the themes to develop into each other
quite well. The opening and closing tracks do feature a few minutes of
"tailing off" at the end, Horner filling space with quiet tolling and
bass string whole notes. But the score as whole is typically very
engaging and will impress any collector of the composer's works. From an
analytical perspective, it is tempting to award
For Greater Glory
a three-star rating, for it accomplishes very little new for Horner
outside of the lovely female vocals. But the composer once again
executes his comfortable techniques with precision, overachieving for a
relatively unknown film and resurrecting fond memories of his greater
victories. As such, it scratches out a fourth star for listeners more
forgiving of Horner's choices.
**** @Amazon.com: CD or
Download
| 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 193,479 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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