Snow Falling On Cedars
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Composer: James Newton Howard
Conductor: Artie Kane Lable (Release Year): Decca Records (1999) Availability: **** Rating: ***1/2 |
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James Newton Howard has been very active in scoring lately: Contributed he efforts to the summer/fall surprise box office hit The Sixth Sense, the very unsuccessful horror flick Stir of Echoes and now Snow Falling On Cedars. "Unfortunately", none of them requires his skill in symphonic composition. If you are looking for a orchestrally rich in texture or thematically strong score, you should not look into any of the above. Snow Falling On Cedars is the quietest among his scores that I have heard. I think because I turned the volume too low the first time I listening to it, I virtually heard nothing out of my speakers for most of the score. So I turned the volume a lot higher and gave the album another good listen. And I found the listening experience is quite different. The score is very low key and the themes and motifs are very very subtle. The first cello theme appears in "Carl's Fishing Net". It is a bit sad and quite nostalgic. The same track also contains another short motif which can be heard through out the score. The same motif can also be heard in his score to The Postman. It is sometimes performed with strings and sometimes with soft female voices. "The Strawberry Field" has a very beautiful and delightful violin/synth theme. Unfortunately, it does not appear very often in the score. I suppose the film has a lot more sad moments than happy moments. "The Evacuation" is the first track that the choir fully blossom and has a strong lyrical part. It reminds me a bit of John Williams' score for The Schindler's List. "Snow Drive" has a Philip Glass type cello motif playing over a haunting choir background. Speaking of Philip Glass (Kundun, Mishima, The Secret Agent), there are other parts of the score that remind me of his works also, especially for the string arrangement. "Tarawa" is definitely the highlight and the best track of the entire album. In my humble opinion, it could be a highlight of his entire film scoring career. It contains an absolutely haunting, spine-chilling, and powerful choral melody. It is a truly amazing piece and I would not be surprised if it is used in the trailers of future films. In fact, it was the only track that I noticed when I gave it the first listen. "Humanity Goes On Trial" also has a great use of choir. Although, the score is quite sorrowful most of the time, there are not much unsettling moments. "The German Soldier", "Coast Guard Report" and "New Evidence" are the only tracks that have slight unsettling moments. There is virtually no brass instruments in the score. The score is mostly performed with strings over a soft and low synthesizer background. Cello is the major solo instrument in the entire score. Shakuhachi flute and drums (possibly Japanese Taiko) are used to add in the exotic Japanese flavor. Although the album contains mostly short tracks, the entire CD flows very well. If you like a beautifully somber and soft score, I would highly recommend this one to you. Just turn up the volume a bit, sit back, relax, and enjoy. | |
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