LONESOME DOVE: CLASSIC WESTERN SCORES 2

VARIOUS

Rating:

Original Review: The centrepiece of this excellent compilation from Silva Screen is Basil Poledouris' breathtaking score for the classic 1992 TV mini-series Lonesome Dove. Written for a large, full orchestra, the four cues which make up the nine minute suite begin with Main Theme: a sweeping, utterly beautiful piece of Americana which could have come from the pen of Aaron Copland himself. Beginning with a solitary horn playing a noble tune, the full orchestra gradually joins in and swells to a grand scale, invoking images of vast Montana prairies and wide open pastures, vistas over mountains and panoramic views of the great outdoors. It's in the same vein as Legends of the Fall and Dances With Wolves - a truly magnificent theme. The second part of the suite, 'Arkansas Pilgrim' is a delightful theme played on woodwind and strings; 'Night Mares' is slightly darker and more disturbing, with a heavy percussion, deep strings and Poledouris' trademark bold brasses which bursts into life half way through with a sparkling rendition of the Main Theme. Concluding the suite is a suprisingly comedic piece entitled 'The Leaving' with a style reminiscent of a Germanic oompah band and a melody similar to John Barry's 'The Roll Dance' from Chaplin. It's quite a shock to think that big bad Basil composed such a quirky theme, and adds volumes to my ever increasing appreciation for the man's talents. After this wondrous beginning, the rest of the album couldn't help but be all downhill, but there are nevertheless some highlights. I like David Mansfield's Sweet Breeze theme from Heaven's Gate, which reminded me no end of the theme from Unforgiven, albeit with a definite Spanish influence; Lee Holdridge's gentle, moving string theme from Old Gringo caught me completely unawares: I had never heard any of his music before, and this little known score's grace and beauty is gorgeous; Maurice Jarre's theme from El Condor is the epitome of film score cool and, somewhat surprisingly, I head a burst of the theme from Jaws in Richard Hageman's suite from She Wore A Yellow Ribbon. The reason's its surprising is because that particular score was written in 1949! Of course there are a couple of classics thrown in there too, like Bernstein's theme from The Song of Katie Elder, Dimitri Tiomkin's Red River and the brilliant Hang 'em High by Dominic Frontiere. This album came as a complete surprise to me, especially as it was sitting in a bargain bin in a used CD store. All I want now is Classic Western Scores 1, which according to the liner notes contains suites from Gettysburg, The Wild Bunch and Buffalo Girls. Can anyone help me on this one?

Track Listing: Running Time: 67 minutes 19 seconds

Silva Screen FILMCD-176 (1996)

Music conducted by Nic Raine. Performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic. Orchestrations by Grieg McRitchie, Nic Raine, Ira Hearshen, Jack Hayes, Leo Shuken, Jerome Moross, David Snell, Leo Arnaud, Christopher Palmer and Derek Wadsworth. Recorded and mixed by John Timperley. Album produced by James Fitzpatrick.


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