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| 2: Who Says Pirates Can't Sing? (part 1) |
| Monday, August 27, 2007 |
A review on the "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" Original Movie Soundtrack (part 1)
Hoist the Colors:
“Hoist the Colors” begins with the sudden sound of snare drums, rumbling like thunder at a distance. It is a death sentence, and from there alone you can feel the weight of anxiety and sorrow. It’s lonely pulsing and eerie rests soon give way to a single voice, uncertain at first. The voice is young, bright, but slow compared to the pulsing of a looming death call. A feeling of disappointment on the viewer’s part veers their attention away from the majesty of the composition. The first thought at the sound of an actual song instead of a score being, “Not another Disney Musical…” But Hans Zimmer is undaunted. This isn’t another Disney musical. A bell tolls and suddenly the atmosphere becomes more depressing. The boy’s A Capella wavers, but holds firm in spite of the taunting and haunting sounds of chime and drum. Such percussions accent the death march, throbbing of feet and chains as a chorus dissolves the young voice into a more confident chant. Then a sound of finality! A drum roll builds into a climax, a final thud, and lastly a ghostly rattling of chains, sending chills running through anyone’s bones.
Up Is Down
The crescendo of brass instruments mark the beginning of “Up is Down” before yielding to the swelling rhythm of a strings and accents of deep woodwinds. In a couple of measures the true melody is revealed with the entrance of shrill piercing melody of violins accentuating the change in tempo from a near-draggy beginning to a brighter, jumpier tension. Then the sound of piccolos repeats the melody of strings, creating stark contrast between its jaunty sounds to the low humming of basses all to build up the entrance of the entire orchestra. The soundtrack’s love theme then becomes obvious as a measure is momentarily included before returning to the playful sliding tune of the original “Up is Down” melody. There is a sense of confidence in number in the ostinato now. The teasing shifting of notes no longer resembles the lonely confidence of soloist-instruments of the earlier measures before it pulls into a different key, bring in the familiar victorious melody of “I Don’t Think Now is the Best Time” before returning to the original melody, with the piccolo first, then the flute, then the brass, before the entire orchestra once more. Surprisingly, it applies “I Don’t Think Now’s the Best Time” again, this time building up a climax from key to key, making the timbre round, full, and alive. Zimmer, indeed, takes advantage of all the instruments, their striking differences united into a grand piece that brings justice to the visual undertaking in the film until finally crashing into a finale, swallowed suddenly by a relieving silence.
Drink Up Me Hearties
“Drink Up Me Hearties” marks the end of the film. With an echo of Captain Jack Sparrow’s theme on accordion, the track begins with a slow pace though it is obvious that the atmosphere is that of victory and lightheartedness. In a moment the orchestra slips into the first movie’s track, “The Medallion Calls” shifting cleverly into a quickening swelling of “He’s A Pirate.” The beginnings of a triumphant medley then breaks away into the love theme of “At world’s end” as the melody goes higher and higher, shifting into just the right key. It drops to a slower pace, with “What shall we die for” with the sliding harmony of “Up is Down” stirring in the background before coming to a final decrescendo with a swell of orchestral instruments to close. |
posted by GMDG @ 9:02 PM  |
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Name: GMDG
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