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