{"id":2953,"date":"2011-05-24T12:53:38","date_gmt":"2011-05-24T16:53:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=2953"},"modified":"2011-08-29T13:13:05","modified_gmt":"2011-08-29T17:13:05","slug":"cd-symphonic-celtic-album-the-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/?p=2953","title":{"rendered":"CD: Symphonic Celtic Album, The (2011)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Soundtrack \u00a0Reviews<\/a> \/<\/em>S<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>Rating: Very Good<\/p>\n

Label:\u00a0Silva Screen<\/a>\/ Released: April 18, 2011<\/p>\n

Tracks & Album Length: 14 tracks \/ (65:35)<\/p>\n

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Special Notes: 6-page colour foldout booklet \/ Also available as a digital album.<\/p>\n

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Composer: various<\/p>\n

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Review:<\/p>\n

Silva Screen\u2019s latest theme collection is this elegantly produced narrative of Celtic-styled themes, some based on folk melodies, others more contemporary evocations, but each of the 14 works is performed by the relatively same orchestral makeup by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.<\/p>\n

Flutes, pipes, and percussion are centre stage, particularly in Carter Burwell’s Miller\u2019s Crossing<\/strong>, and lengthy suites from Howard Shore’s Lord of the Rings<\/strong> series. Their languidly drawn melodies are complimented by Burwell’s underrated Rob Roy<\/strong> love theme, as well as John Williams’ Far and Away<\/strong> “End Credits” music, punctuating a score that almost managed tp temper Tom Cruise’s ‘Lucky Charms’ cartoon performance.<\/p>\n

Silva’s album isn\u2019t exactly easy listening, but the overall tone is to soothe, calm, and provoke contemplation, and each theme glides gently into another, minus any unwanted shock as the music of Howard Shore (LOTR) glides into Thomas Newman (Shawshank Redemption<\/strong>) or even Victor Young (the lively \u201cDonnybrook\u201d theme from The Quiet Man<\/strong>).<\/p>\n

In spite of the careful orchestrations to maintain a homogenous mood, Michael Kamen\u2019s Highlander<\/strong> music (\u201cTraining Montage\u201d) reminds the listener of the composer\u2019s striking style and brilliance (and a need to release the full score legitimately on CD), and Sean O Rada\u2019s \u201cWomen of Ireland\u201d piece from Barry Lyndon <\/strong>remains a fine example of instrumental and thematic simplicity, capable of conjuring strong emotions.<\/p>\n

There is a slight stylistic change around the album\u2019s midpoint, largely due to the more contemporary themes written by James Horner, Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard. After the gentle love theme from Horner’s Braveheart<\/strong>, there’s his massively popular Titanic<\/strong> theme, although neither the sinking ship movie nor its theme have aged particularly well \u2013 perhaps the direct result of hype, and Celine Dion’s vocal version receiving an inhumane level of air play, eclipsing any personal meaning Horner’s instrumental renditions once evoked.<\/p>\n

The orchestral-synth fusion style of Last of the Mohicans <\/strong>is rendered by sticking to Trevor Jones\u2019 thick droning tones and steady harmonics, whereas the synth-pop styling of Gladiator<\/strong> is so innately New Agey with its upbeat tempo and Zimmer and Gerrard\u2019s feel-good melody that it’s the most jarring cue in the album. (One also can’t help notice a ‘slight’ stylistic similarity to “My Name is Lincoln,” the finale music in The Island<\/strong>, composed by Zimmer protege Steve Jablonsky.)<\/p>\n

Bill Whelan\u2019s Riverdance<\/strong> theme closes the aplbum with full chorus, a large jingling, rumbling orchestra for the final half, and a fast-fiddling duet with rhythmic patterns rather reminiscent of Dave Brubeck!<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 2011 Mark R. Hasan<\/p>\n

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External References:<\/p>\n

Soundtrack Album<\/a><\/p>\n

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Return to<\/strong>:\u00a0Home <\/a>\/\u00a0Soundtrack Reviews<\/a> <\/em>\/S<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Return to:\u00a0Home \/\u00a0Soundtrack \u00a0Reviews \/S . Rating: Very Good Label:\u00a0Silva Screen\/ Released: April 18, 2011 Tracks & Album Length: 14 tracks \/ (65:35) . Special Notes: 6-page colour foldout booklet \/ Also available as a digital album. . Composer: various . . Review: Silva Screen\u2019s latest theme collection is this elegantly produced narrative of Celtic-styled […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nuyW-LD","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2953"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2953"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3476,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2953\/revisions\/3476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kqek.com\/mobile\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}