Crusaders: Men who lived in 1095-1291 and believed that God had called them to repossess the Holy Land (Jerusalem), from the Muslim invaders.
There are not many stories or movies out there about the crusades, but Kingdom of Heaven was one of those exceptions. Kingdom of Heaven is an epic tale following Balian, a blacksmith who travels to Jerusalem, becomes a knight and defends the city when Saladin, a Muslim, and his armies attack the city. The story takes place in the 12th century between the second and third crusades. Unfortunately, the movie itself is ridden with historical inaccuracies and a message of "universalism".
Oddly enough, Hans Zimmer was assigned to score this film, but he traded jobs with Gregson-Williams and scored an animated film, Madagascar instead. Thankfully, the job fell in capable hands.
Despite the story's inaccuracies, Gregson-Williams strived to create a historically accurate score. Since the story is about the Crusades, Gregson-Williams utilized a choir for most of the crusader themes since that was the "music" of that time period. The choir is reminiscent of a cathedral choir and blends well with Gregson-Williams orchestra. On top of that, he has a female soprano vocalist who's operatic style was popular in the 12th century.
For the antagonist's themes, he adds some middle eastern instruments and vocals to the mix. It's very bone-chilling, and contrasts superbly with Balian's various themes, a perfect example of "good guy verses bad guy". (I know, that was pretty original!)
There are a couple of cons to the soundtrack album, however. In the beginning of the cue, The Battle of Kerak; it starts off identical to Gregson-Williams cue, The Battle from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe soundtrack. It may be a bit annoying at first, but the cue is more enjoyable as it goes on. He also doesn't have a main theme that is integrated throughout the score. The album is comprised of a bunch of different cues that sound similar because of the style and instrumentation, but don't have a theme that "connects" them all. Because of it, the album isn't a very cohesive listening experience, but takes a while to grow on you.
The album ends on a beautiful, but heartbreaking note with the choir performing acapella in the cue, Path To Heaven. Artist, Natacha Atlas performs the final cue, Light of Life completely in Hebrew.
That being said, I find myself looking forward to see Harry Gregson Williams score more historical films. He's got a talent in that field, and I hope he will get more chances to crusade historical accuracy in scores for that particular genre.
Rating: *****
The Greatest Miracle or El Gran Milagro, a film released in 2011, is one of the most obscure films with one of the best scores I have heard in a while. The film is an animated movie made in Mexico with a strong Catholic message. The composer, Mark McKenzie is at once, recognizable. McKenzie has written for quite a few drama films including, The Last Sin Eater, Saving Sarah Cain, Blizzard, etc.
There are few scores in which you can hear the amount of emotion and passion poured into it. This is one of those few. McKenzie himself fell in love with the film and determined to create something on a higher level emotionally. He hired a 32 voice choir including the London boys choir, Libera.
The cues themselves are all emotional passionate and tender. The first cue, The Greatest Miracle Prelude is a suite of all the themes from the album. It's seven minutes long but seems to grow shorter each time I listen to it. In another cue, Benedictus Deus, McKenzie utilizes the Libera Boys Choir for a solo, and it breathtakingly beautiful. The cue Offerings, starts off with the orchestra and the Libera choir slowly but begins to crescendo.
The whole album seems to build up, preparing the listener for the emotional climax heard in the cue; Ascension/Gloria Patri. In summary, the whole listening experience is just amazing! Yes, the film is Catholic, and the score definitely has that certain feel to it, but if you aren't bothered by that aspect, I highly recommend looking into The Greatest Miracle.
Rating: *****
I don't like to overuse terms that are........overused. "Hidden gem" is not one I tend to use a lot, but if I was to label a soundtrack as a "hidden gem", this would be one.
The movie, Sa som i Himmelen or As It Is In Heaven was made on a small budget in Sweden. It is about a successful but, suffering music conductor who decides to return to his childhood home in Norrland Sweden. He finds a small, poorly constructed church choir and become their director ultimately inspiring all of the struggling choir members.
The soundtrack, upon it's release was an immediate hit; especially in Australia. (Don't ask me why!) Swedish composer, Stefan Nilsson, used several easily recognizable songs in his score. There are a couple of cues from Bach, and surprisingly enough; a couple of hymns. The first hymn, Amazing Grace is tenderly performed, and the harmonies are just beautiful. The second hymn is not as easy to recognize by the title. The cue, Harlig Ar Jorden is a Swedish performance of Fairest Lord Jesus. It's an amazing version of the hymn and, once again, the harmony is breathtaking.
One of the weaker points in the soundtrack is the pop song Fly With Me performed by Leyla Yilbar-Norgren. It is a stereotypical pop love song, and a bit boring. Initially, I understand that they may have included it to increase sales and appeal to a larger audience, but ultimately the song seems rather random and misplaced. Another disappointing factor is that the album is short on running time. That doesn't exactly help the score especially considering the cost it is going for at Amazon since it is an import. In other words, it's not cheap!
I'm not sure if it could be considered a score in that, there is little orchestral music and more "choir performance" type songs. Sa som i Himmelen is more of an eclectic collection of songs from the film with a couple of orchestral cues from the film. Would a soundtrack collector enjoy it? I did, and if you would like to take brief break from the ordinary scores, then definitely check it out!
Rating:****1/2
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