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Review of Pope Joan (Marcel Barsotti)
FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:
Buy it... if you consistently appreciate conservative but beautiful
historical melodrama of an engagingly tragic and harmonic personality.
Avoid it... if the resonating sound of restrained symphonic grandeur with solo and group choral lamentation is too stereotypical in its application to a religious setting to satisfy your desire for non-traditional approaches to otherwise predictable film scores.
FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:
Pope Joan (Die Päpstin): (Marcel Barsotti) There
has long been speculation about the stories of a female Pope in the
Middle Ages, and Catholics have been historically divided on whether
this legend is fact or myth. Though most scholars believe the tale to be
mere myth, the concept has yielded several stories that have explored
the more romantic elements of its circumstances. A young woman born in
Germany in the 9th Century disguises herself as a man and eventually
ascends through the ranks of the Vatican to become the Pope. The stories
of her life, written first in the 13th Century, always contain a
concealed relationship that inevitably produces a pregnancy that, upon
her horseback miscarriage, reveals her gender. From there, the legend
either dictates that she dies in the process of the miscarriage or she
is literally torn apart by angry mobs. A 1972 film graphically depicted
the latter ending, though a 1996 novel by Donna Woolfolk Cross and its
2009 adaptation to German cinema chose the less violent alternative. No
shortage of production difficulties plagued the relatively low-budget
German endeavor; in fact, most of the news made by Pope Joan
internationally involved either the changing of director and lead
actress or the producers' lawsuit against their only major star, John
Goodman, for abandoning them in favor of Speed Racer (the parties
eventually settled and the actor returned to his role as Pope Sergius).
With practically non-existent press outside of Europe and grosses in
that continent only covering the production's cost, Pope Joan
eluded most radar screens and eventually experienced a very limited art
house distribution in America in January of 2010. Defying the odds and
garnering some attention on its own is Pope Joan's score by
Marcel Barsotti. Also an unknown in the international scene, Barsotti is
a veteran of German television films dating back to 1995, rarely
venturing into the domain of theatrical features. The Swiss-born
composer in his 40's had not given any indication to the wider film
music collecting community that he was capable of pulling off a major
orchestral and choral score of a significantly overachieving scale, but
Pope Joan is certainly that announcement.
As you might imagine, the topic of Papal majesty, a tragic love story, and the atmosphere of the Middle Ages makes for a recipe of grandeur that has inspired many composers to success. This is certainly the case with Barsotti and his impressive work for Pope Joan. All the elements you would expect to hear in a score of this topic are present. A morbidly romantic orchestra conveys two dramatic themes, male choirs offer traditional Latin singing of a generic religious nature, solo vocalists express the anguish of Joanna of Ingelheim (otherwise known as John Anglicus as Pope) and her lover, percussive rhythms serve to authenticate source-like passages, and two or three more ambitious brass and timpani pieces represent the chaos and assassinations in the film's action sequences. The two themes are lovely but understated, so they take some time to sink in. The lighter, more hopeful side of the primary character is conveyed in the pretty piano rhythms of "Johanna's Theme," a bittersweet violin solo halfway through that cue a heartbreaking reminder of this woman's destiny. The title theme, heard immediately in the first ten seconds of "Pope Joan (Main Theme)" has a few classically stereotypical progressions but is better enunciated throughout the score as a representation of the gravity of the overarching tale. Barsotti adapts this theme quite well, from solo flute in that opening cue to varied woodwinds in "Dorstadt" and "Pope Sergius." The most evocative variations on this theme in hushed tones come on acoustic guitar in "Like a Mustard Seed in the Garden" and additional woodwinds in "I'll Wait for You Here Every Evening at Sunset." Elongated performances of this theme in the final cues transform it from its somewhat stoic ensemble personality to one of remarkably personal appeal. A third theme takes the form of extremely soothing Latin singing from the chorus; while sounding generic in its representation of a Vatican environment, this material is never the less beautiful in three or four cues. Nothing beats these wet, ambient vocals when combined with tasteful string accompaniment; a person could relax to such music all day long. The conclusive "Pope Joan Suite" offers all three of these themes in gorgeous succession, the Johanna theme followed by the Latin choral singing and the title theme offering a powerful closing to the score. Outside of the thematic statements, Pope Joan contains several standout cues of symphonic and choral beauty. The urgent deep string rhythms of "The Envoy," the subtle vocal mourning in "Silent Wedding" (which will remind of Annie Lennox's "Dark Side of the Moon" performances from James Horner's Apollo 13), high range solo female vocals and what sounds like a ney flute late in "Count Gerold's Pain," and ominous ostinatos and chimes in "Emperor Lothar" are all engaging pieces. Large scale majesty comes into play in cues like "Pilgrimage to Rome" (with a monumental choral crescendo in its midsection), "Sacred Gates" (with tragic melodrama of the highest order), and "Coronation" (with a sense of unchallenged finality in its noble announcement). These harmonic expressions of grandeur are joined late in the film by a handful of less obvious, but still poignant cues of deep harmony; both "Papa Populi" and "Liber Pontificalis" convey devastatingly beautiful performances of the title theme, the latter combining high choral tones with solo lamentation. The two source-like cues of period rhythms for percussion are a split decision; "Carnival" is among the more listenable variant of this dainty material, though "Easter Ceremony" is a beefed up incarnation of the same rhythmic movement that turns frightfully dissonant (with wailing male vocals overlayed several times) as an assassination claims the Pope's lover. Aside from this challenging (though still technically impressive) cue, the only troubling parts of the score are, unfortunately, the rare action sequences. From "Norman Assault" to "The Battle of Fontenoy," Barsotti's pulsating brass and chopping string figures lack convincing depth, sounding too similar to the cheap material you might hear on television learning shows about similar subjects. Without convincing force, an intangible that might have been achieved if a fair dose of reverb was added back into the mix during post-production, these cues are a detraction from the listening experience on album. Overall, Barsotti's work for Pope Joan has to come as a very pleasant surprise to film score collectors. It almost misses the highest marks because of its rather tepid action material. Still, this is historical melodrama of remarkably satisfying beauty for much of its length, and there is more than enough material of interest to warrant a search for the commercial German CD version of the album. Avoid the international MP3 release if possible, for it diminishes the depth of the vocals especially. Religious majesty of this kind deserves the best possible sound quality. *****
TRACK LISTINGS:
Total Time: 68:32
NOTES & QUOTES:
The insert includes extensive information in German about the score and film,
with the exception of a short note from the author in English. The product is an
enhanced CD with a short multimedia presentation about the score.
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