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Review of P.T. Barnum (Hummie Mann)

FILMTRACKS RECOMMENDS:

Buy it... if you relax to the modern adaptations of style from 19th Century Americana spirit and could tolerate some John Philip Sousa thrown in as well.

Avoid it... if you become impatient with scores that do not vary in style, instrumentation, or emotional attitude from scene to scene.

FILMTRACKS EDITORIAL REVIEW:

P.T. Barnum: (Hummie Mann) The early days of Hallmark Entertainment's television movies were successful in part because they always featured strong scores, many of which Emmy nomination material. These scores were often influential enough in their films that a commercial album release would soon follow their debut on the small screen (usually on the Varèse Sarabande label). The first one to rely solely on a promotional release instead was Hummie Mann's P.T. Barnum, a score that certainly didn't deserve no release at all. By this time, Hallmark's films had begun their tour on the A&E cable channel, and their 1999 telling of the early life of circus master P.T. Barnum detailed his triumphs and tragedies before he hooked up with Bailey to form the now famed circus. The film was directed by Simon Wincer, the mastermind behind the Emmy-rich Lonesome Dove, though a comparatively weaker cast led by Beau Bridges carried forth in this tale. Canadian composer Hummie Mann has never had a spectacular career, though some of his orchestral music for Mel Brooks' comedies has been noteworthy. His score here has been mistakenly advertised as a resurrection of the style of John Philip Sousa, the master of big bang 19th Century Americana swing, and while some of his music contains the same general type of material, it's usually restrained to a source-like style of inclusion. Instead, Mann created a score far more influenced by American's foremost classical composer, Aaron Copland, than any other. With this more reminiscent style of restraint in mind, Mann's score is a softer variant on James Horner's Legends of the Fall and features a fair amount of his own style as well. The similarities between this score and the Horner favorite are mainly rooted in the similar constructs of title theme, with much of Mann's tender underscore existing closer to the range of John Debney and Marc Shaiman (for whom Mann sometimes orchestrated).

The consistency of the score's soft, orchestrally pleasing themes is both its strength and weakness. It's a simple score, very melodic in the usual Mann sense, and don't be surprised to hear restatements of the score's several themes over and over again. A modest ensemble performs with enthusiasm and handles well a slight edge of folk built into the score's rhythmic parts (perhaps a carry-over request from Wincer's successful collaboration with Basil Poledouris for Lonesome Dove, for which the folk approach was widely praised). There is nary a moment of dissonance or surprise in the first 40 minutes on album, with an optimistic tone maintained through light, percussion rhythms that exude a circus-like atmosphere. The connection to Shaiman's work in particular is evident because of Mann's endlessly tender and emboldening style. A piccolo over snare and fiddle march in "Discovering Tom Thumb" begins to break from the mold, and more such variation in instrumentation would have been welcomed. The lack of genuine swings toward the tragedy in the story is an ailment here, with the several death scenes handled by Mann without a convincing tone of resilience or anguish. The Sousa-inspired cues exist mostly toward the victorious end of the album, and while they are technically quite competent, Mann's interpretations can sometimes become overwhelming compared to surrounding material. He remains remarkably original in his compositions, though, only directly quoting the "Battle Hymn of the Republic" theme into the final moments. On album, P.T. Barnum suffers a bit from its extended length. The short cues are mixed together and presented into suites that don't always share the same style of content; this sudden shift at times can be annoying. At over an hour in playing time, there is considerable redundancy in the first half of the album, making it a bit laborious to get through. The sound quality of the album is vibrant, however, with few technical flaws. In its sum, P.T. Barnum is a very strong score for its medium, and Mann's contributions should be recognized as always. But the score's presentation on album threatens to drown you with too much of a consistent style.  ***

TRACK LISTINGS:

Total Time: 61:19

• 1. Main Title/Reminiscing/Young P.T. & Charity (6:13) • 2. Caroline is Born/Touring with Joice Heth (5:28) • 3. Proving Turner Wrong/Back Home/The Scudder's Swindle and Purchase (4:26) • 4. Discovering Tom Thumb/Touring Europe (6:34) • 5. Letter to Charity/Frances Dies/Return from Europe (5:26) • 6. Iranistan/Back to New York (3:15) • 7. Disoriented Memories/A New Start/Paying off Debts Tour/Iranistan Burns (4:34) • 8. Permission to Marry/Lecture Tour/Caroline's Baby Dies (3:30) • 9. Barnum's Return/Loyalist Supporter/Alone (4:46) • 10. Newspaper Article/Charity's Illness/Road Show/Charity Dies (5:23) • 11. The Greatest Show on Earth (3:29) • 12. New Life with Nancy/Public Office/Pauline Dies (4:03) • 13. Barnum & Bailey Join Forces/P.T. Dies (3:48)

NOTES & QUOTES:

The insert includes short statements by the composer and director.

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