SWEPT FROM THE SEA

JOHN BARRY

Rating:

Original Review: Swept from the Sea, which was released in cinemas in the UK as Amy Foster, is based on the Joseph Conrad novel about a passionate love affair between a Russian castaway and a lonely young girl in nineteenth century Cornwall and, as such, John Barry has composed a longing, romantic score that perfectly captures the essence of forbidden love. It's just that... well... John Barry always sounds like John Barry. In virtually every score he has written since Dances With Wolves, he has used the same orchestrations, the same precise tempo, and the only variations have been in the melody. Cry the Beloved Country, The Scarlet Letter, even as far back as Out of Africa and High Road to China, all the melodies Barry has written for these movies are virtually interchangeable and would still fit the respective movies perfectly. I know that every composer has a distinctive style which makes them who they are musically, but to me it seems as though John Barry is stuck in a rut at the moment. The music is undeniably beautiful, but after a while it becomes rather monotonous. This makes it very hard to describe the score itself without resorting to comparisons, so I won't try. 'Swept from the Sea', the main theme as presented in the first track, forms the core of the entire score, and each of the minor themes derives entirely from that starting point. It re-appears so many times throughout the score that it almost becomes too repetitive, and that is one of the major criticisms I have of this score. Whereas Dances With Wolves, his last truly great score, had a multitude of excellent minor themes all weaving their way in and out of the music, Swept from the Sea barely deviates from the central core of two or three melodies for the entire running time - so much so that, once or twice, I have got fed up of the CD and actually switched it off half way through. There are some interesting cues like, for example, 'The Sea of Death' which is basically a performance of Barry's standard "frightening" motif, albeit with the unusual addition of a haunting female voice to add a touch of mysticism. 'Yanko Asks Amy Out' presents the first rendition of the lovely, airy romantic theme for Yanko and Amy, and provides a welcome respite from the rather sombre music that precedes it. 'Yanko's Dance's' is the sole completely unique cue on the album, where Barry adds some ethnic flavour to the main theme through the use of a Hungarian cymbalom to turn it into an unexpectedly fun interlude. 'The Wedding' is a beautiful cue, with a delicate, soft feeling, but 'Yanko's Delirium' is rather disquieting, where Yanko's theme is performed with accompaniment from rather shrill violins and a slightly overpowering timpani. The ending of the album is given to the song 'To Love and Be Loved', which features a version of the main theme with lyrics by Sir Tim Rice. An interesting story surrounds the singer, young Corina Brouder, whose father was doing some work on Barry's New York house and presented a tape of his daughter singing to Barry. Barry liked what he heard and promised to use her work at some point in the future. It just proves it's not what you know... If you are a fan of John Barry in any way, I would have no hesitation in recommending Swept from the Sea to you. It's a perfect example of what he does so well - which is to stir emotions through the performance of simple, gentle melodies. As I said, though, the fact that he's been doing virtually nothing else for the last five years is what gives rise to my concerns.

Track Listing: Running Time: 62 minutes 01 seconds

Decca/London 458-793-2 (1997)

Music composed and conducted by John Barry. Performed by the English Chamber Orchestra. Recorded and mixed by John Richards. Edited by Cliff Kohlweck. Mastered by Pete Mew. Album produced by John Barry.

with thanks to Edwin Black for the Corina Brouder story.


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These web pages were designed and maintained by Jonathan Broxton copyright 1998. 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.