TRINITY AND BEYOND

WILLIAM STROMBERG

Rating:

Original Review: Trinity and Beyond is a well made, thought-provoking documentary feature directed by Peter Kuran, the head of the special-effects house VCE, about the deadly history of the atomic bomb. Considering the film's sober and meditative subject matter and, indeed, the fact that this movie is a factual account of real events rather than a Hollywood effects-laden blockbuster, then you are likely to be quite taken aback by the score. In short, it's amazing. The four composers given the task of musically bringing to life the story of one of the most devastating weapons ever created by man - William Stromberg, John Morgan, Lennie Moore and Edgardo Simone - have all been equally successful in writing a series of excellent musical cues which perfectly capture the destructive power and awesome beauty of these weapons of war. If one was to try to compare the music here to that of a more established composer, you could say it was quite similar to the early work of Basil Poledouris in the way that the cues are written, with a heavy emphasis on the brass section and with a view to wringing every last drop of all-out musical power from the performers. The massive sound of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and Chorus is, at times, almost overwhelming, but a number of cues really do stand out. 'Newsreel Part 1 and 2' is very good, sounding like a mock military march, and 'Hiroshima and Nagasaki' is absolutely stunning: in parts it is highly reminiscent of Conan the Barbarian, and has a vibrant, Slavic style which really knocks your socks off when the immense chorus kicks in for the first time. 'Armada Annihilation' has a marvellous stately, almost funereal rhythm and wonderful whooping horns; 'Operation Sandstone' is the one cue written by regular Elfman collaborator Edgardo Simone, and there is a definite Danny influence to the track, especially with regard to Simone's use of flutes, and 'Russian Parade' harkens back to the old style of Franz Waxman and Taras Bulba and, again, is immensely powerful and impressive. 'The Hood Device' is quietly ominous, with staccato strings building to a phenomenal crescendo as the cue wears on; 'Teak and Orange' has a real heroic, epic quality to it, while the finale, 'Chinese Work Song/Chinese Army', brings a surprising delicacy and lyricism to its Oriental orchestrations and recapitulates the awesome Hiroshima theme to bring the score to a close. The only problem with Trinity and Beyond lies with the fact that there are four composers working on the film. Despite best efforts, there tends to be little or no real relationship between the cues. Although, as a standalone piece of music, each cue is excellent, as a whole they seem a little disjointed, and only two or three times during the course of the CD did I notice any recurring theme or recognisable melody which would immediately link one cue to another. Despite this minor quibble, Trinity and Beyond remains a hugely enjoyable album which, if nothing else, proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that if you explore the work of some of the less well known composers, you are likely to find some real gems.

Track Listing: Running Time: 57 minutes 38 seconds

Filmharmonic Records FHR-10813 (1996)

Music composed and conducted by William Stromberg. Performed by The Moscow Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Additional music by John W. Morgan, Leonard A. Moore and Edgardo Simone .Orchestrations by William Stromberg, John W. Morgan, Leonard A. Moore and Edgardo Simone. Recorded and mixed by Edvard Shahnazarian and Vitaly Ivanov. Edited by Christine Luethje. Mastered by Robert Usaczyk. Album produced by Birgit Kahle-Hanusa.


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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.