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While The Legend of Zorro is, on a technical level, a superior score compared to its predecessor (despite the significant plunge in the quality of the film itself), you cannot discount the effectiveness of The Mask of Zorro as its own work. Horner may have improved upon nearly every element of the music in the sequel (with the exception of the actual flamenco accents), but the first score is as entertaining as ever in its own right, with a few unique aspects of its own to distinguish it. Horner introduces the two major themes of the franchise in his opening cue, "The Plaza of Execution." The opening minute of this cue was absolutely unique to this film in Horner's career, starting with shakuhachi and acoustic guitar blasts that are joined by flamenco foot dancing and hand clapping sound effects at an ever-increasing tempo until Zorro's primary rhythmic device on guitar --perhaps a theme in and of itself-- explodes with trumpet and castanet accompaniment. The title theme takes the mariachi elements and bloats them to the performance depth of a full, symphonic ensemble, a style that continues throughout the score. The remainder of this cue, as Zorro stops an execution and whips up a frenzy, offers several variants of this title theme that would clearly delineate one of the composer's most memorable ideas in years. Aside from the catchiness of the actual tune, the use of castanets, maracas, tambourines, kena, zamponas, and shakuhachi flute are all used as fascinating percussion accents; the shakuhachi never carries a theme as it did in Willow, instead wailing as representation of Zorro's entry or exit from the scene, or puffing along with a rhythm a la Thunderheart. Traditional flute performances carry the secondary theme, representing Elena and the love affair, and Horner is quick to start pairing the Zorro and Elena theme as early as the final moments of "The Plaza of Execution." These two ideas would be inseparable in The Legend of Zorro, and the early overlaps in The Mask of Zorro suggest that the love theme might have been intended as a romantic interlude to the primary theme all along. This secondary theme also accompanies the sentimentality of Don Diego, the original Zorro played by Anthony Hopkins. His death scene ("Diego's Goodbye") features an outstanding flute rendition of the idea, suggesting a familial application of the theme as well.

The integration of these two themes into both this score and its sequel would be integral to their respective success. Horner masterfully alters the tempo of especially the title theme for Zorro, launching it with a sense of exuberance and high style that well matches the classic Alfred Newman approach. If only Horner would incorporate castanets into scores with the same frequency as his bagpipes, perhaps his music would be more interesting and stylish. Three of the action cues after the opening scene, "The Ride," (which was used popularly in the trailers for the film), "Tornado in the Barracks," and "Stealing the Map," all present stunningly frenetic and enjoyable variations on the theme, also serving as the most ethnically rich sequences. The pizzazz put forth by the trumpets alone is remarkable, and more often than not, a rowdy acoustic guitar rhythm leads the way. In most of these performances, Horner follows the action with lush renditions of either Zorro's theme or the developing love theme. The remaining action cues are slightly more anonymous in that very much mimic the material in Willow, with "Leave No Witnesses..." striking several similar notes. The infamous "Horner motif of evil" (otherwise a simple series four sixteenth-notes for brass) is employed in two cues for the purpose of suspense, most notably "Elena's Truth." A snare rhythm with chime hits and shakuhachi wails represents Montero in much the same fashion as the villains of Willow in "The Mine." A third theme in The Mask of Zorro is sadly underutilized and doesn't make more than a token appearance in the sequel score. In "Elena and Esperanza," Horner experiments with a theme for Elena outside of the one that ties her to Zorro. This idea's most relevant and poignant appearance comes at the end of "The Confession," and yet even here the theme is mostly swallowed up by the surrounding use of the overarching love theme. In the latter moments of "Elena and Esperanza," Horner seems to confuse the two, allowing the love theme to receive troubled, minor-key counterpoint potentially more suitable for the other, third theme. On the whole, this small complaint is really unsubstantial, because most listeners won't notice the Elena-specific theme anyway.

A cue that needs specific mentioning is "The Fencing Lesson," one of the more humorous developmental ideas in the film and additionally one of the moments when the strikingly crisp sound effects of the film merge very well with Horner's music. It is in this cue that Horner makes the most out of his percussion section and soloists, taking simple triangle hits and castanet spasms and slowly building them into the recognizable Zorro rhythm for guitar as the younger man learns the trade from Diego. Eventually, a triumphant burst of mariachi fanfare signals the lesson learned. Additionally, bass strings pluck along with the guitar to create a fuller sound, reminding in ways of Jerry Goldsmith's more playful moments from The Shadow. The slashing of a cymbal to represent the swoosh of a sword, most obvious at 4:25 into "The Fencing Lesson," is the kind of creativity that more Horner scores could use. Overall, you can't help but get the feeling that Horner really enjoyed himself with The Mask of Zorro; whereas Deep Impact seemed to aimlessly go through the motions, this score is sharp, precise, funny, and resounding. Most of all, it's extremely memorable. On album, a welcome 70 minutes of score material is offered in outstanding sound quality and follows Horner's more favorable habit of being arranged into longer cues. A concert version of the two themes in "Zorro's Theme" is actually among the weaker offerings, with both themes receiving more impressive performances in surrounding cues. Because most ensembles wouldn't have the necessary specialty instruments, this orchestra-only suite presentation seems rather dull. The love theme is translated into a pop song, "I Want to Spend My Lifetime Loving You," that had potential if not for the slashing sound effects and cheap orchestral hits that diminish the style inherent in the melody itself. While this song would go on to receive considerable play on radio, it would take a more conservative mix thankfully absent of these effects. As for the score, The Mask of Zorro may not be as massive in scope or offer the incredible auxiliary action sequences of The Legend of Zorro, but some of its snazzy solo performances, especially in "Tornado in the Barracks" and "Stealing the Map," are more raw in their enthusiasm. Both works mark high points in Horner's career, and each is the best score released during its respective year.  *****   @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 193,008 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.

Total Time: 77:16