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| Burwell |
Rob Roy: (Carter Burwell) Within the span of a year in the
middle of the 1990's, audiences were treated to several Highland epics, with
Rob Roy followed by
Braveheart and then
Dragonheart. While
Dragonheart would obviously occupy a different genre,
Rob Roy
matched
Braveheart in its brutal historical depictions and the grim
expression of graphically realistic force. Despite competent performances by Liam
Neeson, Jessica Lange, and Tim Roth,
Rob Roy would suffer from the most
constricted audience reaction of the three, and a vast majority of viewers
eagerly sought the other two Highland films with an almost cultish fever. The
same exact disparity in reaction was experienced by the score for
Rob Roy,
too. The James Horner and Randy Edelman scores (though light years away from each
other in tone) would share monumental success while Carter Burwell's
Rob
Roy fell by wayside early in the race. Burwell wasn't immediately known at
the time (or even in the decade following) for his lush and romantic scoring for
grand vistas. At times, he could provide large scale themes for scenery (such as
the grand, Western flavor of 1999's
The Hi-Lo Country), but Burwell's
career inclination points towards the more off-color projects of darker shades.
Landing
Rob Roy allowed Burwell to collaborate with several specialty
musicians, including those of his own hiring and those belonging to the Gaelic
group Capercaillie. Burwell also interpreted traditional Gaelic tunes with the
help of that group and integrated their structures into his own heavily ethnic
score. It is easy to determine from the outset that Burwell wanted to go over the
top with his Gaelic influence on the otherwise orchestral score for
Rob
Roy. The work is saturated, from beginning to end, with the music of the
general region, leaving precious few moments for the orchestral ensemble to
express its own tribute to the beautiful cinematography on the screen. There are
problems inherent in the distinction of the traditional music of Ireland and
Scotland, and some will be bothered by the fact that in a technical sense, much
of this score's tone is Irish. Most casual ears won't care or even know the
difference, which is a shame that exists as a debate for another occasion.
In the film, Burwell's effort is a stirring and convincing
piece, sufficiently epic in size and theme to accompany the fantastic visuals of
the locations. On album, with the scenery stripped from the equation, Burwell's
score begins to show a few faults, and the listening experience for many viewers
of the film may falter. The title theme introduced at the start does become
extremely redundant after five tracks on album, and Burwell does little to alter
his many very similar interpretations of the thematic construct. It should be
noted that while this theme is utilized far too often in the score (reaching John
Barry levels, really), at least the composer does present a relatively fluid
progression absent of his usual staggered and disjointed melodic tendencies. The
redundancy factor also applies to the performances by the specialty instruments;
by the end of
Rob Roy, the pipes, whistles, and fiddles, all staples of
the stereotypes for the genre portrayed, begin to wear considerably on the
nerves, especially when considering the monotonous rhythms that often carry them
through their lengthy performances. There are a few explosive moments of beauty,
but without enough of an orchestral emphasis to help the listener identify with
the score, they too get lost in the overall package. The most engaging moments of
the score are, surprisingly, the cues representing the unpleasant scenes in the
film, including the emotionally traumatizing "Troops in the Mist" and "Honor
Inflamed." Burwell also writes interesting material for the percussion section
during the "Rannoch Moor Retreat" cue within the "Rannoch Moor Suite." None of
the specialty instruments in the score stand out with a superb solo performance,
and Miriam Stockley's magnificent voice is largely lost in the mix (her fans will
find her most prominent wailing accenting the end of "Overture" with her usual
rough tone of beauty). The performances by the group Capercaillie, whether of
their own writing, a traditional piece, or Burwell's material, create simply too
much Gaelic saturation to enjoy the score (not to mention their Irish
connections). This trouble works its way back to the lack of a dominant
orchestral sound of significant depth, which is, along with a few specialty
instruments, what made the concurrent
Braveheart a classic for many
listeners. Despite a poorly designed album package for
Rob Roy (with no
track listings on the rear), the score has a few thematic highlights at the
beginning and end, and if you confine yourself to these sequences, you'd be doing
a great service to your patience.
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| Bias Check: |
For Carter Burwell reviews at Filmtracks, the average editorial rating is 2.84
(in 19 reviews)
and the average viewer rating is 2.82
(in 11,702 votes). The maximum rating is 5 stars.
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The sparse insert includes no extra information about the score or
film.
