1 |
The
Queen |
2 |
Hills
Of Scotland |
3 |
People's
Princess I |
4 |
A
New Prime Minister |
5 |
H.R.H. |
6 |
The Stag |
| 7 |
Mourning |
8 |
Elizabeth
& Tony |
9 |
River
Of Sorrow |
10 |
The
Flowers Of Buckingham |
11 |
The
Queen Drives |
12 |
Night
In Balmoral |
13 |
Tony
& Elizabeth |
14 |
People's
Princess II |
15 |
Queen
Of Hearts |
16 |
Libera
Me – performed by Lynne Dawson |
REVIEW
Alexandre
Desplat first caught our humble attention with his restrainedly
exposed score for Peter Webber’s Girl With A Pearl Earring
(2003). Since then, the Frenchman has gone on to compose a
diverse range of scores like the mystical Birth (2004), the
classy The Heart That My Heart Skipped (2005) and the angry
Syriana (2005). With
his latest work for this important and widely acclaimed movie
about HM Elizabeth II’s struggle over a personal family
tragedy and a nationwide mourning during Princess Diana’s
passing away in 1997, we are hoping that he will be more widely
recognized.
A
nomination at next year’s Oscars would be nice.
This 44-minute soundtrack album features some of the most
refined score tracks we have listened in a while. Opening
the disc is a regal cue featuring some sturdy timpani beats,
elegant harps and quietly peaceful accompanying strings. The
rest of the album is minimalist as well, with woodwinds and
strings gracefully performed by The London Symphony Orchestra.
An effective
soundtrack has a strong anchoring of the score’s main
theme, with different variations to complement the different
moods required in the film. The seven-note main theme is finely
orchestrated in many tracks. And you’d be impressed
with how the same tune creates different feelings: be it peacefulness
in “The Hills of Scotland”, grief in “H.R.H”,
or looming darkness in “The Stag”.
While
we applaud the Desplat’s sophistication in arranging
the score in different variations, we are also aware that
the lack of action cues may be why impatient listeners may
not be too impressed with this soundtrack.
But we’d
really recommend that you take repeated listens to fully appreciate
the fine work done on the album. If you really had to, just
listen to “The People’s Princess I/II”.
The creativeness
in infusing electronic beats, harpsichords and strings into
the main theme makes it one of the most remarkable cues we
have heard on any soundtrack albums this year.
When
the album closes with Verdi’s “Libera Me”,
which has been suitably included here because of its presence
during Princess Diana’s funeral, we were left awed with
its final fine touch of regality.
SOUNDTRACK
RATING:
Review
by John Li
|
