Wings of Courage

Composer: Gabriel Yared
Label (Release Year): Sony Classical (1995)
Availability: ****
Rating: *****

You may find Gabriel Yared's Oscar winning score The English Patient a little slow and boring. But this awesome score for the first IMAX 3D film will definitely make you want to buy more of his works in the future. He was born in Lebanon and composes music for mostly French films. Ever since The English Patient, he has only one other Hollywood film score: City Of Angels. Yared teamed up with French director Jean-Jacques Annaud and the result is promising. I am surprised that Jean-Jacques Annaud did not hire Yared again for his film Seven Years In Tibet (Not that I am saying John Williams' score is not good). This brilliant symphonic score is packed with beautiful and exotic melodies. There are several themes in this score. The first one being the "Ant Theme." With the pizzicato sound of strings and the exotic sound of pan-flute (hmm I am pretty sure it is pan-flute), the theme sounds nothing like what I have heard. It sounds lonely but it is extremely beautiful. The second one is a soft and gentle love theme which is equally beautiful. It sometimes appears as tango in the score. Huge symphonic cues like "50,000 Watts", "Towards Life", and "Downdraft Winds" will blow you socks out. They are not simply bombastic but cleverly arranged and composed. There are also some other motifs which I will not pick out one by one. In general, both the soft and heavy sides of the score are rich in melodies. When you look at the track listing, you will see a lot of short tracks. However, it does disturb the flow of the score. You will enjoy each track from start to finish. A truely beautiful score that you don't want to miss.

By the way, according to IMDb, the US version of the film is only 40 minutes long. Does it mean that this CD contains all of the music?



    Track Listing:
  1. Ant Theme (4:06)
  2. 50,000 Watts (1:11)
  3. Dark Clouds (2:24)
  4. Towards Life (1:35)
  5. Acceptance (1:01)
  6. Ant On The Wall (2:34)
  7. Easy Flyer (1:17)
  8. Mermoz Tango (1:45)
  9. Waiting (1:14)
  10. Downdraft Winds (1:34)
  11. Wings Of Courage (2:00)
  12. Left Alone (0:51)
  13. Remorse (1:43)
  14. Alley Tango (3:03)
  15. Immense Heart (1:58)
  16. Say The Word (1:00)
  17. Henri The Ant (2:05)
  18. The Bottom of The Slope (1:40)
  19. Bandoneon Variation (0:44)
  20. Shepherd Lane (0:40)
  21. Urchin Tango (2:15)
  22. Down Above The Cordillera (2:00)
  23. Wings Of Courage (0:58)
  24. Waltz (1:58)
  25. Bandoneon Solo (0:21)
    Total Time: 41:57



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