By Mark Sung Sep 17, 2004, 16:33 GMT
The soundtrack opens with the song ‘Tell Me Now’, originally used in the film’s end credits, sung by vocalist Moya Brennan. On first listening the track seems a little out of place with the rest of the score especially with the somewhat modern drum beat which creeps into to the song occasionally.
However, after listening to the track a few more times the beats become much less distracting. The song, based on the main theme of the score, is beautifully sung by Moya Brennan. Some have commented on how Enya like the song is, and this could be explained by the fact that Moya Brennan is in fact Enya’s sister. Moya comes across as having more emotion in her voice than Enya’s recent work. Her haunting voice graces several other of the later tracks in the score, often conveying a sense of sadness and hope.
The second track ‘Woad To Ruin’ begins with a gradual build up which introduces the listener to the main theme which is developed further throughout the score. Zimmer creates a ‘noble’ sounding theme which is very effective with the use of just a few key changes. His use of strings and the Metro Voices Choir help give the track depth by adding several layers of sound. The main theme builds up and fades off often giving the listener a taste of things to come before launching into barrage of drums and bagpipes.
In the next track, ‘Do You Think I'm Saxon?’, the male choral voices which chant and the accompanying choir voices create a sense of foreboding. However after a period of uncertainty there is a gradual triumphant build up of the main theme.
‘Hold The Ice’ begins with Moya Brennan’s enchanting vocals. As the track progresses the mood changes from hopeful to desperation and tragedy. Towards the end of the track we hear a strong and proud version of the main theme accompanied by both drums and choir voices.
‘Another Brick In Hadrian's Wall’ begins with a lovely percussion heavy piece conveying a sense of hope and determination during the preparation for battle.
‘Budget Meeting’ is another percussion heavy piece which is a lot more darker and bolder than the other tracks.
‘All Of Them’ brings the score to a close with a piece which reflects over the aftermath of the battle. Moya Brennan again provides vocals during the opening of the track. The score ends with a final triumphant version of the main theme which conveys a sense of hope for things to come.
Zimmer has been successful in achieving a perfect blend of synthetic and orchestral music. The synthetic instruments in the score for King Arthur are definitely less intrusive than Zimmer’s score for Gladiator. He achieves the right balance, mixing his low pitch synthetic ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ seamlessly with the real life adult choir voices. However, there are a few moments in the score where the instruments used seem like they’re competing with each other for volume.
One of my main complaints with the score is the level of complexity of Zimmer’s themes. Personally I thought the themes were a little simple. The themes used are easy to accept and to listen to but the only really memorable theme in the whole soundtrack was the main theme.
Overall this is a great score with enough depth and grandeur to create the epic soundtrack needed for the film. If Zimmer had added some more variety to his themes the score could have been a classic.
Further details on soundtrack here and the movie here.
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