Broughton employs five major themes in Young Sherlock Holmes, but none can compete with the amicable and flowing idea of adventure that also serves as the film's main identity. This adventure theme is often intertwined with Broughton's investigation and love themes, and it is structurally related to the latter by intent. This upbeat march-like theme is initially associated as an interlude to the investigation theme at 0:42 into "Main Title," exploring its great, melodramatic harmonic shifts in its secondary phrasing before returning in lesser incarnations later in the cue. It occupies all of "Watson's Arrival" optimistically and warmly, revealing its additional purpose as a theme of friendship between Holmes and Watson. The idea rolls with the same attitude into all of "The Bear Riddle," takes a more formal stance at the outset of "Fencing With Rathe," and returns initially in "Solving the Crime" as yet again an interlude to the investigation theme before it starts to dominate the cue at 3:39 and 4:17 on trumpets. The adventure theme becomes tentative at 0:43 into "The Hat," is reduced to plucking against the investigation theme in "Getting the Point," and is slight and disturbed late in "Discovered by Rathe" on flutes. It offers some slightly soothing relief on strings at the start of "To Cragwitch's," victoriously bursts with lofty style at 4:26 into "It's You!," continues its brassy defiance at 2:49 into "Temple Fire," and earns a few suspenseful moments at 1:33 into "Ehtar's Escape." At the climax, the theme is propelled against the fencing rhythms in "Duel and Final Farewell" and shifts its harmonies for new nobility at the start of "The Riddles Solved and End Credits." In that last cue, Broughton then builds to the credits with the investigation theme alongside, the adventure theme receiving its own bright treatment following the investigation and love themes and guiding the fanfare that closes the suite. That investigation theme has a bit of a quirky presence in the score, meant to represent Holmes in his studious and deductive mode. Although its stately and slightly mysterious tone works for the purpose intended, the identity never establishes itself beyond the adventure theme as any more of a Holmes signifier, and some listeners may find the idea somewhat unnecessary. Had Broughton opted to incorporate it as more of a propulsive idea that could set the rhythm under any other theme, then perhaps its presence would have better benefitted the score.

The investigation theme debuts on piccolo at 0:12 into "Main Title" and develops over the remainder of the cue, stepping aside until it opens "Solving the Crime" on its trademark woodwinds and builds momentum on those soloists and a trumpet until it is overflowing with enthusiasm. From there, its use is less obvious, barely evident at the start of "Cold Revenge," tickling the bouncing movement in the middle of "Getting the Point," meandering early in "Discovered by Rathe" on various woodwinds, and interrupting the driving suspense at 3:29 into "It's You!" Broughton uses the investigation theme to split the villain's material at 0:58 into "Ehtar's Escape," and descending figures from the theme are applied as stingers in "Duel and Final Farewell," the composer denoting the final swordfight as a resolution of the investigation overall. The idea joins the adventure theme at the front of the credits in "The Riddles Solved and End Credits" and is provided a reprise of its opening piccolo presence at 2:56 along with the rumbling effect that had joined it in "Main Title." The love theme, a structural adaptation of the adventure theme, does not enjoy much depth to its expression of romance, usually too dainty and quiet to suggest any true attraction at work. That said, it's a pretty theme, and Broughton adapted it for the LP album in the standalone track, "Holmes and Elizabeth - Love Theme." (Why not "Sherlock and Elizabeth?" Perhaps therein lies the problem with formality impeding passion in the idea.) In the score proper, the love theme is introduced on flute and strings in "Library Love" and carried by oboe at the start of "The Glass Soldier." As the film darkens, the idea is expressed with sadness in the latter half of "Waxflatter's Death," struggles at the start of "The Hat," and is carried by solemn horns at the end of "Ehtar's Escape." It very quietly follows the climax in "Duel and Final Farewell" and succeeds the other two main themes in "The Riddles Solved and End Credits" but still with no sense of convincing romance. As a secondary theme, Broughton's idea for Elizabeth's wacky uncle, Waxflatter, is a zany, prancing idea of exuberance for a mad inventor, the most malleable motif in the score. It soars at 1:34 into "Waxflatter's First Flight" and flutters about with hope at the beginning of "Second Attempt," turning sour at the end. The idea is then injected with skill into the suspense of "Cold Revenge," reduced to solo piccolo early in "Waxflatter's Death," turning briefly dramatic on strings. It echoes against the love theme early in "The Hat," shifts into a horror parody in "Pastries and Crypts," and barely touches "The Explanation."

For the villains, Broughton supplies a Rame Tep theme that is introduced with a Carl Orff-like chant by the 16 singers in "Rame Tep," a recording that also owes a bit to Basil Poledouris' Conan the Barbarian. While the vocalized version of this theme is the most memorable, Broughton does adapt it pretty well into the surrounding underscore. It stews in the first half of "Cragwitch Goes Again" in comparatively light orchestrations, becomes forced into full-ensemble urgency in the first minute of "It's You!" before taking a softer stance later and closing the cue more ominously. It continues in "Waxing Elizabeth" after a massive fanfare and devolves to fragments in the chaos of "Temple Fire" before regaining some cohesion in the middle. The Rame Tep theme then guides the action throughout "Ehtar's Escape," some full performances in along the way, and thrashes in the margins in "Duel and Final Farewell." In that cue, Broughton also consolidates his fencing motif for the score in the driving rhythmic formations. In the revelatory post-credits scenes, the composer suggests a Moriarty motif in the fluttering alternations around key in "Ytrairom Spelled Backwards," but this idea does not seem openly connected to the Rame Tep theme, a missed opportunity. The narrative of these themes is adequate but not entirely satisfying, the Waxflatter idea understandably consolidated to the middle third of the score but the Rame Tep theme not adequately foreshadowed in ways that can really reach audiences in the otherwise disconnected "The First Victim" cue at the outset of the film. For most listeners, however, it's the enthusiastic and attractive adventure theme that will carry all the weight of Young Sherlock Holmes, and those undeniably wonderful highlights are likely why the score has remained one close to the heart of Intrada Records through the years. With the condensed LP record presentation of 1985 never translated to CD, the label assisted in the creation of a promotional album of the fuller score in 2002. For many years, this 2-CD set was a hot collector's item on the secondary market despite accidentally cutting off one of the tracks. In 2014, the label formally expanded the presentation and separated out its cues to their original recorded form for a widely available 2-CD product that included a handful of bonus tracks. The label returned to the score in 2019 for a 3-CD set that remixes the 2014 presentation from better sources and adds even more bonus tracks and a remastered rendering of the original LP album. For most listeners, the 2014 product will be sufficient, an excellent survey of an affable but not flawless score in decent archival sound. For Broughton, these were certainly the best of times.  ****   @Amazon.com: CD or Download