CD: Dovekeepers, The (2015)
Label: Varese Sarabande
Released: May, 2015
Tracks / Album Length: CD1: 27 tracks / 76 mins. + CD2: 25 tracks / 72 mins.
Composer: Jeff Beal
Special Notes: Also available digitally.
Review:
Prolific composer Jeff Beal’s score for The Dovekeepers is given the epic treatment in this packed 2-disc set, and while those familiar with the saga of Masada will likely recall Jerry Goldsmith’s own stirring music for the iconic, star-studded 1981 mini-series, Beal’s effort for a 2015 production is equally potent, in terms of its emotional breadth and large use of orchestral and period-styled instruments.
Based on the novel by Alice Hoffman, the story reportedly focuses on four women, which may also explain Beal’s use of diverse thematic variations rather than recurring moments of large orchestral sounds. Dovekeepers isn’t a score filled with kinetic action material or bombast, but gentle passages with woodwinds and acoustic instruments that morph into tense interpretations or lamentations, but when there is action & drama, Beal brings in menacing brass and layers together assorted percussion, while strings often churn out spinning figures.
Spanning 2 CDs, Varese’s impeccably mastered set does offer some thematic repetition and one could argue the use of wailing voice(s) is a cliché of searing emotional period dramas, but there’s a decisive drive which gives the score both momentum and plenty of small introspective cues in which characters reflect or weigh decisions with severe consequences – moments addressed with breathy woodwinds, and long, slowly descending chords.
To Beal’s credit, Dovekeepers offers a compelling mix of emotionally epic and intimate material, ensuring even fans of Goldsmith’s Masada can appreciate a musical perspective that’s distinct and equally vivid.
© 2015 Mark R. Hasan
Additional Links:
Editor’s Blog — Composer on IMDB — Composer Filmography — Soundtrack Album
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Category: Soundtrack Reviews
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