Once again it is an honor to be invited by Roger to share some thoughts on the best in film music releases. With each passing year it seems to get more and more difficult to come up with a few scores that will be worth noting. Here are some that stood out to me. I do want to point out one particular piece that I have really enjoyed and that is Holly Amber Church’s theme for Del Toro’s CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, among several engaging streaming-series themes this past year.
Five scores from “2022” (alphabetical order)
A score for the video game IMMORTALITY rises to the top here as well. Composer Nainita Desai (THE REASON I JUMP; UNTAMED ROMANIA; FOR SAMA) displays here her excellent capacity for creating engaging thematic material and her ability to also transform that material in some rather interesting ways. The album is a sort of orchestral “suite” of sorts that presents the primary ideas and their subsequent experimental alterations in engaging variations. Desai presents each of the thematic components of this unique VG storyline and then has three specific variations that transform that material. It is an interesting concept that works well as an engaging experience on its own as well.
A film that went under the radar holds a fascinating score by Desplat. The music in THE LOST KING moves us from the romantically-emotional, through mystery to triumph that invites us to an engaging mysterious journey. There are engaging thematic moments, atmospheric orchestral color reminiscent of Bernard Herrmann, alongside Desplat’s own signature orchestral colors and gestures. It is a sort of blend of his approach on THE GHOST WRITER with touches of THE SHAPE OF WATER.
Like other Tolkein fans, I eagerly anticipated this Amazon series prequel THE RINGS OF POWER. Bear McCreary’s score, building on that of Howard Shore, is really a masterful work of fantasy orchestral writing. Thematic threads are woven well throughout the series and the album itself is an excellent encapsulation of the music for this series. It stands easily alongside Shore’s initial LOTR scores.
David Buckley has had a long career of scoring pictures that tend to fall under the radar and comes out of that tradition of thematic writing and orchestral color. All of that is amplified to great effect in this often stunning work for THE SANDMAN. His thematically-strong score works quite well here as an experience on its own. It is enhanced with some colorful orchestration and dramatic thrusts that help bring out the mystery and danger along the way. Often these emotional components are the result of carefully thought-out instrumental timbres that heighten the moment. The score is a rather delicious blend of a sort of Murray Gold DR. WHO–style with a little HARRY POTTER perhaps thrown in for good measure. The blend of electronic textures with the orchestra is masterful.
WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING is really a charming score by Mychael Danna with some gorgeous melodic writing and just the right touches of folkish flavor along the way to keep things interesting as the variations move through different textures. There is a lot of beautiful writing here that uses instrumental texture to infuse interesting atmospheric support to the story. It is a solid little score worth the time for any fans of these smaller, more intimate styles.
BEST CLASSIC SCORE RELEASES
One score that had a very limited Kritzerland release was ALFRED THE GREAT (1969)It featured a rare score by conductor Raymond Leppard, more known for his Baroque and opera recordings. It was an important release of a score that was from a time where many of these somewhat “prestige” English history films were popular.
An important period picture, BECKET (1964) is among one of Laurance Rosenthal’s finest dramatic scores. An LP was all film music lovers could track down until Intrada’s remastering of one of these was tracked down and made commercially available for the first time on CD. The scoring sessions are still “lost” to history, but this is Rosenthal’s own arrangement of the finest moments from the film’s music.
Intrada continued its Kickstarter re-recordings of music by Jerry Goldsmith with this release covering two previously unavailable scores from his output. BLACK PATCH (1957) is a western and represents Goldsmith’s first theatrical score building on his television experience. Lots of great early fingerprints to enjoy make this a treat score to hear in the long cannon of Goldsmith’s work. THE MAN (1972) was reconstructed by Leigh Phillips and is a brief Americana-tinged score building on some of the styles explored in similar dramatic projects Goldsmith was using at the time. Nothing earth-shattering, but solid performances by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by William Stromberg.
For fans of an earlier age of music, Dragon’ s Domain released this fascinating collection of scores by Ernest Gold that contains some of his earliest work on several B-pictures in the 1940s up to a more expansive score from 1982 (SAFARI 3000). The release is part of a host of these compilations of rare scores from a variety of different composers that are featured on this label through BuySoundtrax.com.
BEST COMPILATION RELEASE
Perhaps it is no surprise that this release gets the choice spot of compilation for the year. John Williams has been spending his late 80s and early 90s (!) to travel the world and conduct his music, especially throughout Europe. A similar concert release with Anne-Sophie Mutter and the Vienna Philharmonic featured some fine performances in new arrangements. This release continues to provide more of the familiar pieces from the composer’s long cannon of work. This one is notable for a stunning performance of the Elegy for Cello, and the first recording (apart from the soundtrack release) of the concert version of “The Adventures of Han”. There is even a rather awkward introduction for his “Scherzo for Motorcycle and Orchestra”! The Berlin Philharmonic provides its own sheen to this music in some fine performances throughout this live concert recording.
It is perhaps fitting to conclude this year’s “best” list with a reminder of one of the last living connections to Hollywood’s Golden Age. This at time when so much recent film work can feel quite similar. But, when these scores rise above the fray it can still lend hope to the direction of the art form. The biggest issue that might make this seem less so is that practically everything receives a release (many streaming only) when that was far more sporadic in the past. This floods the market with film music of every type and color as it continues to also appeal to a younger audience raised on different expectations for this music. It is perhaps fitting that one of the last scores I heard this past year was for Spielberg’s THE FABELMANS. This is a score reminiscent of Williams’ PAPER CHASE in terms of its Classical-style and THE POST in terms of its utter brevity. The simplicity of the theme belies a greater craft throughout in a score that feels a little like a lost Delerue work. It becomes a love letter to those whose lives have been shaped by the images and music of the silver screen. May your own joy of this art form find some connection in the scores that stood out for me this past year.
–Selected by Steven A. Kennedy, January 2023
Edited by Roger L. Hall