Collection: FilmFour Essential Soundtracks: The Classical
Collection.
Telstar TV/FilmFour
TTVCD3082 2 CD [98:58]
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FilmFour broadcast here in the UK on terrestrial as well as satellite TV,
is doing a magnificent job not only screening interesting and unusual films
from around the world but also helping to produce new films. This double
album is a reflection of the its high standards; it contains an imaginative
and intelligent collection of selections that are a mix of classical source
music and excerpts from the original recordings of original scores.
The classical selections are by top artists delivering often top-recommendation
performances. There is Luciano Pavorotti singing "Che gelida manin" from
La Bohème as used in A Midsummer Night’s
Dream; Handel’s Zadok the Priest used in The Madness of
King George and; Solti’s reading of Bach’s St Matthew
Passion Chorale as heard in Casino. There is the elegant Bach
Concerto in A minor for four Harpsichords that counterbalanced so well the
vicious amorous intrigues of Dangerous Liaisons; and Mozart’s
"Duettino – Sull’ Aria" from The Marriage of Figaro as recorded
by Karl Böhm and used in The Shawshank Redemption. Polished playing
by the Grimethorpe Colliery Band of Rodrigo’s Aranjuez music is heard
as used in that marvellous comedy Brassed Off.
Amongst the many original scores there is: David Hirschfelder’s darkly
dramatic Elizabeth Overture full of foreboding; Michael Nyman’s
themes for The Piano and The Draughtsman’s Contract;
and Howard Shore’s intense music, again shadowy and portentous, for
The Silence of the Lambs; and Trevor Jones’s memorably
exciting Main Title music for The Last of the Mohicans with its
Indian-inflected rhythms and those persistent war drums. Gabriel Yared’s
haunting theme music for The English Patient is included forever to
be associated with that opening shot of the stricken plane flying across
the desert. Music form Ennio Morricone’s Once Upon A Time in
America and Cinema Paradiso is included, so too is the Prelude
and Rooftop music from Bernard Herrmann’s Vertigo.
A well-above-the-average compilation; recommended.
Reviewer
Ian Lace
