DOLORES CLAIBORNE

DANNY ELFMAN

Rating:

Original Review: This is probably Danny Elfman's drabbest ever score - much more musically subdued than any of his la-la-la melodies from Edward Scissorhands and The Nightmare Before Christmas, but not as pleasant to listen to as Sommersby. In fact, although Elfman confesses to like composing sad music, Dolores Claiborne veers much more towards depression and suicide than plain old sadness, although I do remember sort of liking it when I heard it at the cinema. Elfman's talent for heavy strings is very much in evidence throughout the score, whether they be long and mellow (like in 'Main Titles' and 'Sad Room'), played rapidly and backed by a unsettling piano melody (as in 'Vera's World'), or offset with a pounding timpani (like in 'Eclipse'), as is his talent to throw the listener completely off balance with his unusual combinations (listen to the way in which he combines a booming, frightening double bass with a gentle music box theme in 'Getting Even'). The gloom finally begins to lift during the final moments of 'Finale' with a hopeful violin theme, and 'End Credits' contains the one and only section of music which utilises Elfman's patented wordless choir. I'm not sure that saying I "like" Dolores Claiborne is quite the right term - I don't "like" it, because it isn't really music you can like - but I do respect it immensely for the way Elfman can create an atmosphere of repression and foreboding so convincingly.

Track Listing: Running Time: 30 minutes 12 seconds

Varèse Sarabande VSD-5602 (1995)

Music composed by Danny Elfman. Conducted by Richard Stone. Orchestrations by Danny Elfman and Edgardo Simone. Recorded by Bobby Fernandez. Mixed by Shawn Murphy. Edited by Curt Sobel. Album produced by Danny Elfman and Curt Sobel.


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These web pages were designed and maintained by Jonathan Broxton copyright 1997. All opinions and views expressed on these pages are my own and are in no way intended to reflect those of my employer, the Trent Institute for Health Services Research, or those of the University of Sheffield.