THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

HOWARD SHORE

Rating:

Original Review: Hannibal Lecter. Clarice Starling. Buffalo Bill. Liver. Fava beans. A nice Chianti. Few people reading this will not have experienced the sheer terror of watching The Silence of the Lambs for the first time, marvelling at Anthony Hopkins' mesmerising performance as the cultured, civilised cannibalistic serial killer, and sympathising with Jodie Foster's naive but enthusiastic rookie FBI agent who subjects herself to several audiences with the incarcerated monster in the hope that his warped but brilliant psychiatrist's mind will help her find a kidnapped senator's daughter before her captor he skins her alive.

The thick, claustrophobic atmosphere created by Jonathan Demme's multi-Oscar winning triumph is intensified tenfold by this superbly chilling score by Howard Shore, whose ability to create a musical sense of overpowering tension is second to none in Hollywood at the moment. The score is performed by a full symphony orchestra throughout, but intentionally adopts a languorous tone and pace. This is the absolute epitome of "dark" film music, with the performers of the Munich Symphony Orchestra regularly playing their instruments at the lowest possible end of their ranges, and through orchestrations so thick they almost become a solid wall of sound.

The music actually starts comparatively brightly, with a rendition of the oppressive, but recognisable seven-note central theme for Clarice Starling, performed on strings and low register woodwinds in 'Main Title' and again during 'Clarice', 'Lambs Screaming' and others. However, as soon as the second cue starts, you know you're about to delve deeply into a very disturbed, and disturbing musical world. The three visits with Dr Lecter in 'The Asylum', 'Return to the Asylum' and 'Quid Pro Quo' are quietly devastating, as the music ever-so-gradually builds into an almost heart-attack inducing heightened state. This is distressing music at its best (or worst, depending on your opinion) - music that seems to be heading for some kind of massive climax, but never quite getting there, instead leaving you in a kind of orchestral limbo with nowhere to go, and no respite from the intolerably bleak atmosphere.

It gets worse (or better) as it goes on, through the deep, ominous crescendos of 'The Abduction', and the terrifying chaos of 'Lecter in Memphis' and 'Lecter Escapes', to the horrible recognition and realisation of 'The Moth', and the almost unbearably intense 'The Cellar', which takes on an further dimension through the integration of several layers of electronic music in addition to the regular orchestral complement. It is only in the 'Finale' that the music breathes something of a sigh of relief, with a performance of Clarice's theme to accompany the horrific, but strangely comical concluding scene of a fedora-wearing Hannibal Lecter casually strolling down a busy Caribbean street, intent on "having an old friend for dinner".

Shore was one of the few members of The Silence of the Lambs' cast and crew to be overlooked by the Academy board the year it swept the board - a decision which was, in some ways, both unfair and understandable. Only the most ardent film music fans will be able to sit and listen to The Silence of the Lambs without breaking into a cold sweat or having to leave the room to get a breath of fresh air - meaning that, as standalone music, it is rather difficult to digest for the majority of listeners. However, it also arguable that, without Shore's music, The Silence of the Lambs would not have had the startling effect on audiences that it did, and therefore should have been publicly recognised for its undisputed brilliance. But this is all in the past, and all that is left for me is to wholeheartedly recommend this CD to anyone brave enough to accept the following challenge: to sit in a darkened room and calmly listen to it all the way through. Have the lambs stopped screaming yet, Howard?

Track Listing: Running Time: 57 minutes 17 seconds

MCA Soundtracks MCAD-10194 (1991)

Music composed and conducted by Howard Shore. Performed by The Munich Symphony Orchestra. Orchestrations by Homer Denison. Electronic sound design by Skip Livesay and Eugene Gearity. Recorded and mixed by Alan Snelling and Gary Chester. Edited by Suzana Peric. Mastered by Vlado Mellior. Album produced by Howard Shore.


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