: (Ingo Ludwig Frenzel)
Among the better cinematic successes produced in Germany in 2013 was
, a partly government subsidized, English-language
adaptation of the novel "The Physician" by American author Noah Gordon.
That novel has long been highly regarded throughout Europe since its
debut in the 1980's, though it never really found an audience in the
United States. It figures, therefore, that Philipp Stolzl's big screen
version of the tale was a sensation primarily in Germany, despite a few
liberties taken with the facts of the story. The book and film tell of a
young English man who develops an interest in the advanced medicines of
the Middle East, which at the time was more advanced due to its evolved
methods from the Greeks. European medicine during the Middle Ages had
regressed thanks in large part to religious stupidity (is anyone still
surprised by this?), and the film depicts Persia as the location where
the aspiring doctor learns from a legendary medical teacher portrayed by
none other than Ben Kingsley. While the story is by no means one without
turbulence (religion and power struggles eventually pillage the medical
community of the Middle East), there is redemption in both the love
story and the saving of the medical lessons learned in Persia for
transference to England. The score for
was written by
Ingo Ludwig Frenzel, a German in his late 40's who is a two-decade
veteran of a variety of feature and short films, as well as projects for
television. Credited often as Ingo Frenzel, the composer has struck some
moderate notoriety in Europe for a few of his assignments but has yet to
break through outside the continent. It's unlikely that
will change that reality despite the film's regional
success, though it should certainly place him on the radar of film score
collectors. The score's release by Colosseum Music Entertainment, the
European sibling of Varèse Sarabande, helps further his cause,
providing 72 minutes of the score for
The music on the album, as well as what was not included
on it, suggests either a lengthy process of evolution for the score or a
fair amount of rejected work, because concepts are often provided
multiple themes and the composer has claimed that over 20 minutes of
material on the album was not eventually incorporated into the film. It
doesn't help, additionally, that the best single recording for the score
didn't make it into the film or onto album. When you think about epic
adventure scores in the Middle East, you imagine massive orchestral
endeavors with soaring themes and stereotypical Arabian chord
progressions. Undoubtedly,
Der Medicus has these traits, and the
assembled players prove it alone. The orchestral ensemble, Deutsches
Filmorchester Babelsberg, is joined by a Berlin choir, alto soloist
Schirin Partowi, soprano soloist Katja Beer, and a range of solo
instrumental contributors on woodwinds, cello, duduk, bagpipe, saz,
ukulele, tres, guitars, and percussion. The woodwinds are particularly
impactful on the score, the oboe and flute subtler than the tin whistle.
Thematically and harmonically, these elements are put to good work,
though you have to approach
Der Medicus with the proper
expectations in terms of extroverted expression. While Frenzel does
provide satisfying thematic outbursts, this score is largely
introspective and quiet, content to ominously stew for extended periods
and allow the soloists to shine. It is precisely the type of score that
requires a high playback volume, and impatient listeners will only be
able to casually latch onto about 15 minutes of the most easily
accessible full ensemble material. The oddity of
Der Medicus, as
previously mentioned, is its deep but somewhat haphazard and derivative
thematic attributions. The four main themes each being reminiscent of
other scores and rarely receiving significant development outside of the
top two. And then you have four additional themes that were marginalized
or removed from the picture, including some of the best material of the
lot. These eight themes together offer a harmonically pleasing score
even if it is disjointed in its narrative and several scenes suffer
because you would expect to hear a character's theme logically applied
there but it is absent due to the work's re-arrangement.
Fortunately, the final primary theme for
Der
Medicus is presented several times in the equation, and it informs
the first two minutes of the major "The Physician Suite" and the
entirety of "Main Theme Title Sequence." Listeners will immediately
notice similarities between this idea and Maurice Jarre's classic,
timeless title theme for
Lawrence of Arabia, though these
connections result mainly from the common vocabulary of regional
progressions. The other pervasive theme in the score represents the love
interest, heard late in "The Physician Suite" and anchoring "Rebecca."
Consider this idea a pretty recapitulation of the secondary character
theme in Jane Antonia Cornish's
Island of Lost Souls. While
appreciable, this theme never achieves a truly resounding performance at
any time in the score, something of a disappointment. The other two
significant themes from Frenzel to make the finished cut of the film are
those for Kingley's character, Ibn Sina, and the evil Seljuk, who
contributes to the downfall of Persian medicine. The former is expressed
at about 4:00 into "The Physician Suite" (vaguely resembling Danny
Elfman's
Sommersby) and the latter follows at about 5:00 into
that same suite (reminding of the deep string and choral chords in Cliff
Eidelman's
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country). Both of these
ideas are reprised in "Waiting for the Black Death - Stone Cross." The
rejected or "alternate" themes include a couple of gems, led by the
previous version of the "Main Theme." This idea is, frankly, superior to
the final, more stereotypical Arabian identity, yielding a tremendous
performance near the end of the track that is not to be missed. You can
hear a lovely, softer variant of this melody in the subsequent
"Dissection," with choral augmentation. The other unused theme of high
value is the lengthy and resolute "The Physician Theme," which is
arguably the best single idea of the whole score. This piece is where
the alto soloist, Schirin Partowi, who may receive some official
arrangement credit, really shines over an extended, tonally magnificent
performance with slight exoticism incorporated into the backing
orchestral ensemble. Partowi arranged her vocals into a song-like
version of this cue she calls "Mystic Love" (utilizing the same
orchestral recording in the background), a stunning highlight of 2013 in
film music that is, tragically, not included on the album release but
available initially on YouTube.
The lesser unused themes for
Der Medicus include
the relatively forgettable "Middle Ages Theme" and the turbulent
"Medicine Theme," which offers the score's darkest tones through
aggressive timpani and other percussion. In between these themes are
singular highlights, including tin whistle beauty late in "Nursing the
Barber Surgeon" and "Waiting for the Black Death - Stone Cross." The
"Farewell at the Coast" cue is a highlight of all of 2013 as well, the
whistle joined by bagpipe, saz, and solo and ensemble vocals before
launching into an impressive, spirited main theme performance. Expect to
hear Schirin perform in four tracks throughout the album as well,
including in song form in "Karim's Demise," a sequence that wouldn't
sound out of place in Howard Shore's
The Lord of the Rings
trilogy. The rhythmically light-hearted "Student's Life" touches upon
vintage James Horner children's music. The opening of "Balcony Scene"
takes the Middle Eastern instrumentation and rhythms to an extreme for a
still-accessible, thirty-second outburst. The conclusion of "Ibn Sina's
Passing" highlights the ensemble choral contribution to
Der
Medicus though only barely seems to touch upon the character's
theme, oddly. When assembled together, these singular portions of the
score combine with the many self-contained melodies to form a
surprisingly relaxing yet engaging score. Unlike some of the year's
other top scores,
Der Medicus requires a dose of patience and
attention, because very few passages in the work will reach out and
strike you upon initial evaluation. You can still assemble fifteen
minutes of these outward moments of extroversion, but don't expect these
to be accurately representative of all the score's highlights. Some
trimming of the long album would help weed out the dull portions (the
Shah character is, for some reason, left musically wanting), and you
have that awesome version of "The Physician Theme" featuring extended
vocalizations from Partowi missing from the album. That product,
however, was pressed on CD and is readily available even outside Europe
for those willing to pay a little more to import it. The sound quality
of the recording is appropriately wet, allowing soloists to echo into
the distance when finished with their lines in such a way as to make a
fantastic cue such as "Farewell at the Coast" slip into another age of
existence. Detractors will find fault with the derivative nature of the
themes and the low-key interior of the score, but if you can see past
these attributes, you have yourself a sleeper success that would, if
heard widely, make a fair number of lists of top soundtracks for 2013.
@Amazon.com: CD or
Download
- Music as Written for the Film: *****
- Music as Heard on Album: ****
- Overall: ****
