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Kundun
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Composed and Orchestrated by:
Philip Glass
Produced by:
Kurt Munkacsi
Conducted by:
Michael Riesman
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LABEL & RELEASE DATE
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Nonesuch Records
(November 25th, 1997)
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ALBUM AVAILABILITY
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Regular U.S. release.
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AWARDS
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Nominated for a Golden Globe and an Academy Award.
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ALSO SEE
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Buy it... only if you are familiar and comfortable with Philip
Glass' tendency to endlessly explore the subtlies of a situation with
introspective and subdued rhythms, marginal harmony, and only slight
development of motifs.
Avoid it... if you expect anything other than a deeply respectful
and minimalistic musical tribute to a troubling period in Buddhist
culture.
BUY IT
 | | Glass |
Kundun: (Philip Glass) What Kundun proves
beyond any reasonable doubt is that there's a fine line between an
artistic, intellectual biographical film and a boring waste of two
hours. Director Martin Scorsese used a script significantly influenced
by the Dalai Lama himself and told the life story of the Buddhist leader
from the time of his "discovery" at the age of two (in 1937). The
guidance of this, the 14th Dalai Lama, would respond to China's decision
to invade and take control of Tibet, forcing him with the prospect of
fleeing his nation for his own safety. Scorsese was not known in the
mainstream for this kind of film, and for the mass majority of
audiences, Kundun and its cast of unknown Tibetans failed to
muster the passion necessary to expand the reach of the topic's appeal
beyond those who already held a great reverence for the history of the
region. The score by Philip Glass addressed the story with the same
serious intensity with which Scorsese approached the rest of the
production. Glass was still relatively unknown until the Golden Globe
and Academy Award nominations (and a win from the Los Angeles Film
Critics for "best score") for Kundun gave him enough fame in
Hollywood to launch a successful arthouse film scoring career outside of
his already established classical writing. Scorsese was particularly
interested in working with Glass on Kundun because of the
composer's Buddhist faith and extensive Tibetan knowledge. It's not
surprising, therefore, that the resulting score for Kundun is
very intelligent in its adaptation of vocal and instrumental sounds from
the region. The highly cyclical and minimalist nature of Glass'
foundation for these elements was somewhat intoxicating in the context
of the film at the time, though subsequent scores by Glass through the
years have clearly identified the somewhat monotonous cyclical rhythms
as a trademark of the composer's writing that, in retrospect, steals
some of the uniqueness from the score for Kundun. The staggered
progressions of instrumental solos over a bed of string alternations
have become all too common in Glass' subsequent efforts for film,
causing Kundun to now rely upon its colorful ensemble to
distinguish itself from other Glass scores to follow.
One of the most interesting aspects of Kundun to
consider at the time was its concurrent release with John Williams'
score for 1997's other Dalai Lama film, Seven Years in Tibet. The
two works, despite merging Western and Eastern elements and featuring
Gyuto Monks as the representation of their ethnicity, are frightfully
different in their tone and sense of authenticity. While Williams'
score, with the help of Yo-Yo Ma's cello performances, is more pleasing
to Western ears, Kundun will be far more challenging for most
average film score collectors. It could be argued that Glass' slight
touch, with dissonance or inflection in each cue, is a culturally
superior representation. Glass does not offer blatant themes, but
instead presents a series of simple motifs over string and percussion
rhythms typical to his career. Bass tones created by the monks,
bassoons, contra bassoons, and Tibetan horns are powerful, but they
often meander in pitch, creating an atonal backdrop for whatever
wandering line for brass or woodwinds that Glass explores at great
length in the treble region. While a few of these motifs do expand in
their development throughout the score, the ponderous rhythms do become
tiresome outside of the context of the film. Each cue's rhythm is a
slight variant of the one that came before, and the ideas typically end
abruptly at the conclusion of each album track. Gently thumping drums
are mixed in dull fashion in most of the cues, creating a muted
soundscape that only dilutes the score's appeal further. The motifs
explored early in the score, in "Reting's Eyes" and "Chinese Invade,"
finally reach a harmonious and resonating crescendo in "Escape to
India." The easy highlight of the score, "Escape to India" combines more
aggressive string rhythms, as tonally pleasant as they would be in
The Illusionist almost a decade later, with a chanting choir and
gorgeous flute solos in its latter half. Every idea in the score
culminates to one, impressive full ensemble and soloist conclusion that,
as usual, ends abruptly. Overall, Glass conveys his respect for Buddhist
culture very well in Kundun, but his knack for leaving the
listener with nothing more than a generally subdued impression of that
culture makes for a tedious album. Kundun will not appeal to most
film score fans expecting a Seven Years in Tibet kind of
listening experience.
@Amazon.com: CD or
Download
- Score as Written for Film: ****
- Score as Heard on Album: **
- Overall: ***
stupendo Expand >>
Gaia - March 19, 2008, at 11:05 a.m. |
2 comments (3010 views)
Newest: February 12, 2014, at 1:16 a.m. by
Mr. Big |
Kundun
wing-chong - December 17, 2007, at 3:21 a.m. |
1 comment (2640 views) |
Total Time: 60:22
• 1. Sand Mandala (4:04)
• 2. Northern Tibet (3:21)
• 3. Dark Kitchen (1:32)
• 4. Choosing (2:13)
• 5. Caravan Moves Out (2:55)
• 6. Reting's Eyes (2:18)
• 7. Potala (1:29)
• 8. Lord Chamberlain (2:43)
• 9. Norbu Plays (2:12)
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• 10. Norbulingka (2:17)
• 11. Chinese Invade (7:05)
• 12. Fish (2:10)
• 13. Distraught (2:59)
• 14. Thirteenth Dalai Lama (3:23)
• 15. Move to Dungkar (5:04)
• 16. Projector (2:04)
• 17. Lhasa at Night (1:58)
• 18. Escape to India (10:05)
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The album is contained within a cardboard slip-cover that features a note from the
director about the score. Notable performances listed on the insert include: Michael Riesman
(conductor, piano, celeste, synthesizer), Richard Sher (cello), Susan Jolles (harp), Andrew
Sterman (piccolo), Carol Wincenc (flute); Henry Schuman (oboe), Steven Hartman (clarinet,
bass clarinet), Lauren Goldstein-Stubbs (bassoon, contrabassoon), Sharon Moe (French horn),
Wilmer Wise (trumpet), Alan Raph (bass trombone), Dhondup Namgyal Khorko (Tibetan horns,
cymbals), Gordon Gottlieb (percussion), Gyuto Monks - Monks of the Drukpa Order. Recorded
at The Looking Glass Studios in New York.
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