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GNP
Crescendo Records
Music Composed by Christopher Young
Conducted by Allan Wilson
Orchestrated by Pete Anthony, Jon Kull, Bruce Babcock,
Frank Bennett, John Bell, and Christopher Young
Performed by the London Metropolitan Orchestra
Produced by Flavio Motalla, Christopher Young, Bruce
Davey, and Neil Norman
Release Date: 2000
Purchase this CD at:
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This marks the first Christopher Young horror score I've been able to
appraise. Young is a
composer who I've read quite a lot about, but never really got into due to
the fact that a lot of his work is located within the contexts of the horror
genre, and horror is the lest favorite type of score for me. Still, with Bless the Child Young
delivers a work that remains firmly within the horror style while keeping
away from the typical clichéd synth effects and orchestral
"noise."
The score sounds more like a supernatural
thriller score than what would typically be found in a straight gory
kill-fest type film. Young makes an extensive use of choral moments that
concentrates on the male side of things that has slight reminisces of
Williams' Emperor theme from Return of the Jedi (only far more
sinister). The album consists of five tracks which are arranged into suites
a la Media Ventures soundtrack releases (like The
Peacemaker and The Rock). The
suites here are much more self-contained, however. The music is
generally dark and spooky, with moments of sheer terror leaping to the
forefront at occasional moments. There are even some horror-type action cues
that pop up here and there, most notably in track three. The music does get
much lighter in tone at the end, which strongly suggests that the film ends
on a good note.
The score is really
infused with a style that strongly suggests supernatural elements. The
string section is mostly responsible for this and it does a nice job
at counterbalancing some of the more darker cues. The
chorus also helps in this respect, its arrival either heralding untold evil
or glorious virtue. Young even includes an exotic Arabian-styled horn
instrument that gives the music a more exotic feeling. When this horn is
infused with the darker men's chorus, the effect is quite spooky.
If you're a Christopher Young fan already, then
I shouldn't have to do much to persuade you to pick this one up. Otherwise,
if you've been thinking about checking out some of Young's work, I can't
think of a better place to start than here. Definitely recommended for fans
of supernatural/horror/thriller type scores. ****
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