Soundtrack Snippets

Composer, Mark Mancina returns! After an extended hiatus, he returns to score an.......animated planes film?!
To set the record straight, Planes is not a Pixar film. It's from above the world of Pixar's film Cars, but is a Disney flick, not Pixar's. However, Planes boasted of having the same humor, wit, and creativity of a Pixar film, but having seen the film, it falls short of that unfortunately.
Mark Mancina, has been a long time composer and was especially popular in the 90s for his fast paced synthy thriller scores.
For Planes, Mancina composes a classic Americana style score which is reminiscent of his past works but with a little more good old-fashioned fun.

The album opens with three contemporary pop/rock songs. They are skip-able unless you enjoyed them in the film itself. They are followed by the main titles in the cue, Planes as heard on the popular trailer. It's a triumphant brass themed tune heavily influence by the heavy percussion although it's still obvious that Mancina relies on his synth and still maintains his 1990s method of scoring.
There are also various ethnic influences throughout the score. For the character Ishani, Mancina uses Indian tinged music which sound remarkably similar to Mychael Danna's score for The Life of Pi. It's heard most notably in the cue, Dusty & Ishani. For the character, El Chupicabra, Manicina reverts to Latin themed songs. The Spanish guitar is used in several of those cues. Near the end of the album there is a song titled,Love Machine, which starts out as a typical pop song but sunddenly transitions to a Spanish mariachi band styled song. That is because during that time, El Chupicabra is trying to win the heart of a Canadian racer, Rochelle as the actor of El Chupercabra (Carlos Alazraqui), performs it. It's serious fun to listen to!
Also among those are several other characters which have great themes.
  The antagonist, Ripslinger is given a hybrid theme mingled with orchestra and electric guitars while Skipper, a war hero in the film, is given a full choral treatment (Although his theme is known in the album as Volo Pro Veritas). Skipper is also given a simple orchestra war theme, which is heard in the cue, Skipper's Story. 
The main character, Dusty is given a classic soaring orchestra/acoustic theme which contrasts Ripslinger's theme and has the perfect "bad guy vs good guy" sound to it.
Another German band themed song performed by some of the Planes cast is clever, but repetitive (Titled, Ein Crop Duster Can Race). Also as an extra bonus, there is a short western styled cue titled, Armadillo.
In the end, Mancina has created a very fun album full of thematic material. It ranges from heroic to ethnic, to intense, to suspense, to Americana. The main theme and score is probably my favorite of the year thus far and I highly recommend looking into it!
Ein Mark Mancina can still compose! Wunderbar!

Best Track(s)

• Planes
• Skipper's Theme (Volo Pro Veritas)

I honestly wasn't expecting this much fun from a score. A score from Michael Kamen much less! Michael Kamen is a brilliant composer but lets face it, his style of composing tends to be a little on the serious side. Yes, Robin Hood Prince of Thieves was a fun album, but for the most part, his music is pretty sober stuff.
This is one of the exceptions.
The 1996 film, 101 Dalmatians was supposed to be a remake of the 1961 Disney animated classic. The film starred Glen Close and Jeff Daniels but wasn't stellar enough to make enough in the box office or capture any major fans. The score itself, composed by Michael Kamen, faded into obscurity.
I recently found this gem of a score and enjoyed all 57 minutes of it. This score is pure joy!
Each track contained pleasant surprises for me. Granted, Kamen falls into the trap of "mickey mousing" that many other composers have fallen into, but it's limited, and enjoyable nonetheless.
Kamen avoided recycling material from the 1961 score by George Bruns.
The opening theme, Main Title (In the music player above), is a clever brassy, fast-paced orchestral track with a "bluesy" feeling. In fact, lots of the cues have an upbeat "bluesy" feeling reminiscent of classic film scores from the 60s. It's in that way, that I believe, Kamen pays tribute to Brunn's score.
The "bad guy's" theme is introduced in the second cue. The cue is reminiscent of Golden Age composer, Henry Mancini, with its brassy/jazzy-esq style.
In the cue, Daisy, Daisy, Kamen actually transitions to a public domain kids song in the end known as A Bicycle Built For Two. It's a fun, albeit short, orchestral romp!
A noble sounding trumpet melody is used for the theme of Kipper and is heard most notably in the cue, Kipper, the Die Hard Dog.
The cue, Woof on the Roof, is a cute and heroic march/action cue. Once, again, a lot of fun!
Pup, Pup, Puppies is a frenetically paced orchestral cue that includes fast paced piano notes that are obviously synth for two reasons. One, the music sounds somewhat fake at that point. Second, there is no way a pianist could play that fast!
The music in the cue, Reunion in the Barn, intensifies an obvious showdown. (Although, I haven't seen the film myself, it's kind of obvious what's happening!)
The final cue is a tender revision of the main theme and ends on a very satisfying note.
One of my favorite albums, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is what happiness is made of!

Rating:****

Overture

Quo Vadis Domine? Romae populus meus indigétis te.
(Referring to John 13:36 from the Bible)

The film, Quo Vadis was a massive and ambitious undertaking. It was based on the book by Polish author, Henryk Sienkiewicz, and tells the story of a Roman centurion (Marcus Vinicus) who, upon returning from war, falls in love with a Hebrew woman, Lygia. However Lygia doesn't love him because she is a Christian and he doesn't share her strong convictions of Christianity. Meanwhile Nero, the emperor, burns Rome, blames all of the Christians and the Christians are sentenced to death, including Lygia and Marcus. See what I mean by, "ambitious undertaking"?
The composer for the film was Miklos Rozsa. He hadn't scored any really big films like this yet. Ben Hur, El Cid, and King of Kings were scoring assignments to follow shortly thereafter. Until then Rozsa had only composed for dramatic narratives. This was his first big break.

Nero

Rozsa did a lot of research for this film. He delved into Roman music of the time and even crafted some of his own Christian hymns which were loosely based on early transcripts of music in the church back then.
The main theme is a bombastic orchestral theme with strong brass and choral statements. The choir announces "Quo Vadis Domine?" (Where are you going Lord?), while the brass completes somewhat of a mini fanfare/trumpet trills in the background. The theme is used in the opening and closing cues of the album (Main Title and Finale).
The Roman's music is that of a militaristic march which he would later bring up again in his work for Ben Hur (And I heard hints of it in King of Kings as well). He also utilized some ancient Roman and Egyptian hymns.

Petronius

A more subtle underscoring is used for the characters Petronius and Eunice. The music is tragic and mellow mostly relying on the strings to carry their theme. Eunice, herself sings in a somewhat awkward love song. Don't get me wrong, the actresses voice is beautiful, but it sticks out and maybe even hinders the believabilty of the score to a point.
Nero, one of the antagonists in the film is given a grand brass theme but also is given a quieter theme with harps, zithers, and other period stringed instruments. He entertains himself a great deal by creating epics ("Lengthy narrative poems"), whilst he plays the lyre and sings. (And the actor, Peter Ustinov, really does sing in  the film!) It's rather humorous to hear, given most of the songs are about Nero, himself! It's heard in several cues namely, The Burning of Troy and The Burning of Rome or Nero's Fire Song. Are you noticing a similar topic of Nero's epics, or is it just me?
Another antagonist, Poppaea, is given a seductive and exotic theme with lot's of acoustic and woodwind influences. Given her slinky character, the music fits her character to a tee.

Lygia and Nazarius

Lygia is given a warm, simple theme that builds. It's heard mostly on the flute until the woodwind joins, then the strings take over.
The action material is few and far between, but the one cue that stands out is the cue, Chariot Chase. It is a fun, frenetic piece of action music and is truly one of the highlights of the score!
The most notable highlights, however, of the score is the Christian themes, namely the beautifully crafted hymns. Some of the earliest music of the Christians that Rozsa could find were Gregorian hymns/chants. Thus, lots of the cues for the Christians are Gregorian based hymns. Now, Rozsa made several hymns including Jesu Lord, The Lord's Supper, Where O Death, but most notably, Resurrection Hymn. The hymn Where O Death? is a powerfully haunting cue as the Christians sing it before they are killed by Lions, and burned to death.  

Marcus and Lygia in the foreground Ursus, Lygia's protecter, in the background

They have a profound effect on Nero, because after their deaths, he goes out into the arena to see what was different about "these Christians". Erie strings and percussion play subtly as he wonders how, these people could die so nobly. It's heard in the cue Aftermath.
The best part of the album comes when most of the themes come together for a final climax in the cue Finale. The main theme reprises then the choir quotes John 14:6,"I am the way, the truth, and the life". The orchestra then crescendos and the Resurrection Hymn is heard once again then transitions to an overpowering orchestra in the cue, Epilogue, to masterfully close my all-time favorite biblical epic score!
That concludes the biblical epic score reviews.
Which one is your favorite?

Rating: *****

Gloria March

Continuing through the biblical epics, we come to Demetrius and the Gladiators, another film shot in CinemaScope and sequel to Fox's Biblical drama, The Robe.
The film follows Demetrius, a new Christian, who happens to own the former robe of Jesus Christ. Caligula, the emperor, wants it thinking it has mystical powers and stops at nothing to obtain it and ultimately condemns Demetrius to the gladiator arena.
Alfred Newman, who had composed the score for The Robe, was to return to score this film, but was indisposed of at the time. Enter German-American composer Franz Waxman.
Waxman had wanted to score a biblical epic and he jumped at  this first opportunity.
Waxman surprisingly, didn't craft a completely new score for the film. Instead he used several of Newman's themes (including Jesus Christ's theme).
The main titles is one of the highlights of the soundtrack. A brisk marching tune is joined with at first, wordless vocals, then with the choir pronouncing "gloria". Thus the rather fitting title; Gloria March.
Waxman also created several other marches for the film including, a march for the emperor, Caligula and a march for the gladiators (Heard in the cues, Caligula Enters and Gladiator March). Both of which are powerful noble, and stoic themes.
Messalina, the film's female antagonist, is given a theme with several different variations. One is a sultry flute theme (Messalina at Home), while the other is backed up by a haunting women's choir, harps, flutes and exotic percussion. It's definitely a mysterious, unnerving cue (Temple of Isis).  
The cue, Return to Faith, is a powerhouse! Demetrius who has rejected Christianity because of his anger at God for killing Lucia, now realizes his mistakes and ask for God to forgive him. One need only read the title and hear the music to figure out what is going on in Demetrius' mind.
Because of it, Demetrius is once again sentenced to the gladiator arena to face imminent death from a furious Caligula and Messalina.
The main titles play once again in the cue, Gloria, but this time the theme is bigger, and the choir announces in Latin, "Gloria, in excelsis deo!" Translated it means, Glory to God in the highest!
That, my friends, is an excellent way to end a biblical epic. That's Franz Waxman for you!

Rating: ***1/2

 

Composer Miklos Rozsa was no stranger to scoring biblical epics. He had composed the score for both Quo Vadis (Review coming soon) and Ben Hur. It was no surprise that Miklos Rozsa was chosen to score the 1961 biblical epic, King of Kings.
King of Kings was produced by Charles Bronston and boasted of taking A different perspective on Jesus' life. The film follows the Romans closely but ultimately focuses on the world as seen through the criminal, Barabbas' eyes.
When it comes to composing choral majesty, Miklos Rozsa is your guy. And choral majesty has been used to represent countless biblical epics.  (Refer to the following formula: Choral Majesty + Miklos Rosza = Biblical Epic)
This one is no exception.
Jesus' theme is demonstrated in a similar fashion to that of Ben Hur. The intoning of a soft choir is joined with a tender string theme but slowly progresses to a bigger sound thematically throughout the score.

One of the most memorable themes in the score starts in the cue The Lord's Prayer. It is a majestic, gorgeous theme with choral grandeur at it's best. The City of Prague Philharmonic and Crouch End Festival Chorus, in the album Cinema Choral Classics, performed one of the best versions of it including the lyrics of the Lord's Prayer in the compilation. I have included it above for your listening pleasure.
The score is a massive Rozsa masterpiece in summary, a classic biblical epic, and huge magnum opus. I consider the score somewhat of a prequel to Rozsa's earlier classic, Ben Hur as he recycles and matures several themes from it. 
This film was Rozsa's last step into the amazing genre and he doesn't disappoint!
Rating: ****