For the voice of The Village, Howard called upon the talents of teenage sensation Hilary Hahn, a violinist with capabilities discovered at a young age and already performing on Sony Classical albums at the time of this film's release. Her timeless and elegant style of performance is put to strong use throughout the entire length of Howard's score, foreshadowing the similar instrumental and emotional shades of Defiance several years later. Howard's unwavering foundation for The Village is built upon Hahn's violin and the accompanying piano performances of Randy Kerber. With their instrumental roles often meandering restlessly in the background to enhance both the authenticity of the location and the nagging feeling of displacement and, daresay, hope, Howard accentuates their tonal presence of grace with the remaining majority of the orchestra's string section. Moments of solo exploration by the violin are sometimes aided by dainty, high woodwind tones, the flutes representing the innocence of the female lead and her journey to a mysterious world where she is completely out of place. Much of the score presents these instrumental elements in soft, wayward performances that literally blow in the wind and swell and sway from bar to bar. Howard's attention to rhythmic flow, and the associated movement towards the inevitable confrontation with what lies beyond the forest, is a central aspect of his contribution to The Village, and he enhances the quiet uncertainty factor in any given scene depending upon the tempo of these ostinato figures. There are two recurring themes of significance in the score, the first tied specifically to these swaying rhythmic sequences. Heard first on strings at 1:30 into "Noah Visits," a floating identity is the representation of the story's location and the intrigue of its loneliness. Over harp and strings, this theme goes slightly Medieval in its expression in two tones by exotic flute, a technique reprised over meandering solo violin tones late in "It is Not Real" that yields to a moment of defiant brass resolve at 3:05 into that cue. The primary theme of The Village, however, is literally its true heart, emphasizing the love and companionship aspect of the film with an extremely elegant melody heard prominently in four or five places in the score. Introduced at the outset of "What Are You Asking Me?" on solo violin, the idea interrupts the other theme later in that cue and eventually scampers around it in respectfully alternating performances. To a large degree, "What Are You Asking Me?" is the best summary of the two melodies in The Village despite not containing the most sensational performances of their either one; it never the less provides for over six minutes of extremely smoothing listening.

The love theme and primary identity of The Village is truly outstanding, as alluring as anything in Howard's forthcoming classic Lady in the Water and exhibiting some of the best emphasis in the technically precise solo performances on violin and piano. Its most memorable performance comes during a stunning sequence in "Those We Don't Speak Of," emphasizing a rescue scene in which Phoenix's character saves others from the creatures attacking the town's homes. This gorgeous cue, starting at about the 2:35 mark into the larger recording for the attack scene, is remarkably poignant on screen and incidentally introduces an under-emphasized, descending sub-theme by Howard at its outset that is reprised rarely thereafter (most notably at 2:15 in "The Vote"). The main theme caps off that important cue, and it returns in even more lovely tones at the outset of "The Gravel Road," in which the idea is accompanied by delicate woodwinds in counterpoint (before a very bad track edit at 1:28). These performances of the love theme, along with some slightly more grim versions in "The Vote," are remarkable enough to alone recommend the score as a whole. Of course, given that the film is one of suspense (and, some might say, "fear fetish"), there are several less elegant cues to keep listeners on the edge of their seats. In "The Bad Color," Howard sustains creepy tones with eerie sound effects produced by the orchestra, including the ambience of howling animals, wind chimes, and rustling chains, among others. The first half of "Those We Don't Speak Of" opens with an aggressive strike of the orchestra and features disjointed and startling brass for the two minutes of the creatures' approach. Two late cues, "The Forbidden Line" and "It Is Not Real," consist of the majority of pure horror writing in The Village, utilizing tingling sound effects and extended bass string notes and building into crescendos of pounding percussion and distorted, wavering brass (and maybe even an accordion sandwiched in between). As a whole, the score certainly has frightening moments, and it unfortunately ends on the album presentation without any note of interest or narrative resolution, but the whimsical piano, woodwind, and solo violin performances in between, and especially those with the backing of the full ensemble, are pure magic. There are mastering issues with the album that cause severe volume fluctuations, though, so if you amplify the softer, melodic moments to appreciate their subtle beauty, be sure to turn the volume back down before a terrifying blast rattles your brain. Such is the nature of a good suspense score in general, but the album's mastering doesn't do you any favors. At any rate, The Village stands right behind Lady in the Water as some of the most intoxicatingly beautiful music by Howard for this collaboration or, for that matter, his career as a whole.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download