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5.0 out of 5 stars
A bit of a hidden gem - There Be Dragons is a wonderful orchestral score with Spanish influences
25 Feb 2012
By L. Hubbard
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
From the title, "There Be Dragons: Secretos De Pasion", it sounds like this is the score for a Spanish fantasy epic. Instead, the story is based upon the Spanish Civil War. I haven't seen the film, so my opinions of the score will be based on what I heard on CD only.
Having no preconceived expectations about this release (I hadn't heard of the film, or composer Robert Folk), I was very impressed at the quality of the orchestral writing and Folk's ability to add just enough Spanish flavour to make the score sound authentic for the subject matter. Some of my favourite tracks were "Who to Kill" (Track 22) - the guitar and orchestral writing was superb. "Love and War" (Track 6) is absolutely stunning - the brass section gets to shine, as does the choir. I won't go into every track in detail but I found it hard to single out tracks that I particularly enjoyed because the quality was so consistently high across the album.
There are 28 tracks present, and only two are over three minutes in length. This doesn't allow for a huge amount of thematic development within the tracks, but there is a good deal of variation across the album instead that makes up for it. The album duration is just over 52 minutes. Whilst probably below average in terms of soundtrack releases, the album doesn't sound short. There is good variation in the types of track present, ranging from all out action, to softer tracks with guitar. This is a good balance and helps the album to flow well. From a production perspective, the album sounds great. The guitar is at the forefront of the mix in the tracks it is present, meaning it isn't overpowered by the rest of the orchestra.
Overall, this release will surprise you by the consistently high quality. A sweeping orchestral score with some Spanish flavour in the form of an acoustic guitar, this release certainly doesn't reinvent the genre, but the Spanish dimension certainly adds something different to proceedings. This is a release that I suspect will be confined to relative obscurity. However, if you do find yourself on this page, don't hesitate to click the buy button. I thought it was brilliant!
Having no preconceived expectations about this release (I hadn't heard of the film, or composer Robert Folk), I was very impressed at the quality of the orchestral writing and Folk's ability to add just enough Spanish flavour to make the score sound authentic for the subject matter. Some of my favourite tracks were "Who to Kill" (Track 22) - the guitar and orchestral writing was superb. "Love and War" (Track 6) is absolutely stunning - the brass section gets to shine, as does the choir. I won't go into every track in detail but I found it hard to single out tracks that I particularly enjoyed because the quality was so consistently high across the album.
There are 28 tracks present, and only two are over three minutes in length. This doesn't allow for a huge amount of thematic development within the tracks, but there is a good deal of variation across the album instead that makes up for it. The album duration is just over 52 minutes. Whilst probably below average in terms of soundtrack releases, the album doesn't sound short. There is good variation in the types of track present, ranging from all out action, to softer tracks with guitar. This is a good balance and helps the album to flow well. From a production perspective, the album sounds great. The guitar is at the forefront of the mix in the tracks it is present, meaning it isn't overpowered by the rest of the orchestra.
Overall, this release will surprise you by the consistently high quality. A sweeping orchestral score with some Spanish flavour in the form of an acoustic guitar, this release certainly doesn't reinvent the genre, but the Spanish dimension certainly adds something different to proceedings. This is a release that I suspect will be confined to relative obscurity. However, if you do find yourself on this page, don't hesitate to click the buy button. I thought it was brilliant!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars
2 reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderfully Epic Score!
18 Feb 2012
By Travis Elder
- Published on Amazon.com
Between the recent release of Anrew Lockington's Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and now Robert Folk's There Be Dragons, 2012 is off to a fantastic start for high quality scores. Despite its title, There Be Dragons is not a fantasy tale about a dragon filled land, but rather a historical epic from director Roland Joffé (The Mission and The Killing Fields) set during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s. The dragon reference is symbolic of human frailties and dealing with and overcoming such "dragons" as fear, resentment, hatred, and betrayal with love and forgiveness. Originally released last May, the film has been re-cut for release in the United States. In tandem with the U.S. revision, American composer Robert Folk was tasked with rescoring the film, originally scored by Stephen Warbeck. Folk has a long history of film scoring under his belt including Beastmaster 2, Toy Soldiers, and Neverending Story 2, in addition to several classical works.
Folk assembled all the right elements to give the score an epic, larger than life feel including an 86-piece orchestra utilized for the entire recording, a 28-member choir, Spanish acoustic guitar, militaristic marching percussion, and occasional brass fanfares. With a short time frame to compose and record the score the producers and Folk settled on a thematic approach. Folk composed five memorable themes to highlight prominent elements in the film including a Heroic Theme, Epic Theme, Love Theme, Mystery Theme, and Religious Theme.
The Spanish ambiance of the score is immediately present with a Spanish-themed acoustic guitar tune opening "Main Titles." The acoustic guitar makes an appearance in just about every single cue, most often adding Spanish accents and coloring. However, the guitar does occasionally take center stage such as in the noble "Priest's Calling." The guitar really adds a nice flavor to the score.
The guitar prelude in the "Main Titles" gives way to a short string performance of the Epic Theme, which is used often to support dramatic sequences ("More Dad," "Pray for Him," "Oriol is Dead," "An Epic Story"). Immediately following is the percussion backed Heroic Theme, which is used throughout the score for action sequences ("Battle Begins," "Hanging Bridge Battle," "Battle for Madrid," "Train Station Patriots"). A bold, trumpet fanfare with choir rounds out the majesty of the first track on the album. The "Battle Begins" continues the intensity with an exciting restatement of the Heroic Theme paired again with propulsive, marching percussion. The combination of triumphant brass, chorus, and driving percussion make the first two cues highlights of 2012. Equally pleasing, but for different reasons is the third cue "Romance." This cue introduces a sweet, Barry-esque, romantic melody filled with acoustic guitar accents and a beautiful wordless choir. The other romantic highlight of the album comes later in the cue "Idilko By The Lake." The first three tracks definitely get the festivities started off with a bang!
The choir plays an important role throughout the score elevating each of the themes. Much of the choir is wordless, but in the excellent "Love and War Finale" the choir comes to the forefront and sings powerfully to the Epic Theme in grand fashion.
Folk employs a beautiful flowing, melodious string rhythm backed by beautiful choir for his Religious Theme as heard in "More Dad" and "Lord Open My Eyes." For the Mystery Theme he uses a sonorous repeating, seesaw string rhythm, which effectively conveys intrigue and mystery during several cues. "Monolo Starts His Story," "Franco's Government Files," "The Priest, I Knew Him," and the best of the bunch, "Robert's Investigation" with its choral accompaniment, feature this well constructed theme. I have often found enjoyment in musical portrayals of mystery such as James Horner's excellent "Too Many Secrets" from Sneakers and Folk's theme is an enjoyable edition to that genre.
The flow of the album presentation suffers somewhat from the shorter length of several cues. Especially jarring is the edit between the first and second tracks. Obviously Folk recorded the two cues as one piece and their separation on the album is unfortunate.
The score offers a good mix of drama, action, and choral beauty and the number of themes add sufficient variety and depth. The Epic Theme tends to get a little more airtime then the other themes, but this is a minor detraction to the overriding beauty and quality of the music. Overall, Folk's score to There Be Dragons is a great accomplishment, an enjoyable thematic listen, and a score I highly recommend adding to your collection.
Overall rating: **** out of *****
Cue by Cue Rating:
Main Title *****
Battle Begins *****
Romance *****
More Dad ***1/2
Killing Priests ****
Love and War Finale *****
Robert's Investigation ****1/2
Change Plans ***
Hanging Bridge Battle ****
Manolo Starts His Story ***1/2
Pray For Him ***
Kidnap & Kill ***
Priest's Calling ****
Battle for Madrid ***1/2
Franco's Government Files ***1/2
Oriol Is Dead ***
Manolo Meets Generals ***1/2
Lord Open My Eyes ****
Idilko By The Lake ****1/2
Train Station Patriots ***
The Priest, I Knew Him ***
Who to Kill ***1/2
Factory Strike **1/2
At First Sight ***
Sitting Ducks **
A Baby if Born **
Then God is Just **1/2
An Epic Story ****
Folk assembled all the right elements to give the score an epic, larger than life feel including an 86-piece orchestra utilized for the entire recording, a 28-member choir, Spanish acoustic guitar, militaristic marching percussion, and occasional brass fanfares. With a short time frame to compose and record the score the producers and Folk settled on a thematic approach. Folk composed five memorable themes to highlight prominent elements in the film including a Heroic Theme, Epic Theme, Love Theme, Mystery Theme, and Religious Theme.
The Spanish ambiance of the score is immediately present with a Spanish-themed acoustic guitar tune opening "Main Titles." The acoustic guitar makes an appearance in just about every single cue, most often adding Spanish accents and coloring. However, the guitar does occasionally take center stage such as in the noble "Priest's Calling." The guitar really adds a nice flavor to the score.
The guitar prelude in the "Main Titles" gives way to a short string performance of the Epic Theme, which is used often to support dramatic sequences ("More Dad," "Pray for Him," "Oriol is Dead," "An Epic Story"). Immediately following is the percussion backed Heroic Theme, which is used throughout the score for action sequences ("Battle Begins," "Hanging Bridge Battle," "Battle for Madrid," "Train Station Patriots"). A bold, trumpet fanfare with choir rounds out the majesty of the first track on the album. The "Battle Begins" continues the intensity with an exciting restatement of the Heroic Theme paired again with propulsive, marching percussion. The combination of triumphant brass, chorus, and driving percussion make the first two cues highlights of 2012. Equally pleasing, but for different reasons is the third cue "Romance." This cue introduces a sweet, Barry-esque, romantic melody filled with acoustic guitar accents and a beautiful wordless choir. The other romantic highlight of the album comes later in the cue "Idilko By The Lake." The first three tracks definitely get the festivities started off with a bang!
The choir plays an important role throughout the score elevating each of the themes. Much of the choir is wordless, but in the excellent "Love and War Finale" the choir comes to the forefront and sings powerfully to the Epic Theme in grand fashion.
Folk employs a beautiful flowing, melodious string rhythm backed by beautiful choir for his Religious Theme as heard in "More Dad" and "Lord Open My Eyes." For the Mystery Theme he uses a sonorous repeating, seesaw string rhythm, which effectively conveys intrigue and mystery during several cues. "Monolo Starts His Story," "Franco's Government Files," "The Priest, I Knew Him," and the best of the bunch, "Robert's Investigation" with its choral accompaniment, feature this well constructed theme. I have often found enjoyment in musical portrayals of mystery such as James Horner's excellent "Too Many Secrets" from Sneakers and Folk's theme is an enjoyable edition to that genre.
The flow of the album presentation suffers somewhat from the shorter length of several cues. Especially jarring is the edit between the first and second tracks. Obviously Folk recorded the two cues as one piece and their separation on the album is unfortunate.
The score offers a good mix of drama, action, and choral beauty and the number of themes add sufficient variety and depth. The Epic Theme tends to get a little more airtime then the other themes, but this is a minor detraction to the overriding beauty and quality of the music. Overall, Folk's score to There Be Dragons is a great accomplishment, an enjoyable thematic listen, and a score I highly recommend adding to your collection.
Overall rating: **** out of *****
Cue by Cue Rating:
Main Title *****
Battle Begins *****
Romance *****
More Dad ***1/2
Killing Priests ****
Love and War Finale *****
Robert's Investigation ****1/2
Change Plans ***
Hanging Bridge Battle ****
Manolo Starts His Story ***1/2
Pray For Him ***
Kidnap & Kill ***
Priest's Calling ****
Battle for Madrid ***1/2
Franco's Government Files ***1/2
Oriol Is Dead ***
Manolo Meets Generals ***1/2
Lord Open My Eyes ****
Idilko By The Lake ****1/2
Train Station Patriots ***
The Priest, I Knew Him ***
Who to Kill ***1/2
Factory Strike **1/2
At First Sight ***
Sitting Ducks **
A Baby if Born **
Then God is Just **1/2
An Epic Story ****
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Old Fashioned Romantic Score With A Strong Theme To Sweep You Away
14 Mar 2012
By Kaya Savas
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD
Roland Joffé is a very significant director, and if you don't know his work then I suggest you go buy some of his movies right now. His films The Killing Fields and The Mission are some of cinema's greatest and he always puts a huge emphasis on music. There Be Dragons is no different with a simply stunning score from Robert Folk. Robert Folk hold a special place in my heart for his score to A Troll In Central Park, which was a favorite of mine growing up. He also did additional music on Tremors and that's a huge deal for me too. There Be Dragons may be his greatest score. It is simply a stunning score with a heavy central theme, romantic orchestrations and wonderful textures.
The score has so much to offer and so many layers to it. Be it angelic choirs or Spanish guitar set to the orchestra, the music will give you chills from time to time. This is a great old fashioned epic score that plays everything bigger than it really is. I consider that a strength, but some may consider it a weakness. One could argue that it has melodramatic qualities, but honestly it played on me all the way through. There is substantial beauty behind the music and the main theme is so simple and grand. It has the feel of Ennio Morricone's The Mission mixed with Randy Edelman's Dragonheart if it took place during the Spanish civil war. That's the mood territory we're talking about here. The short track times may cause some flow problems for some, but overall the presentation is top notch. It's a wonderful score from Robert Folk; a voice we don't hear too often.
The romance theme is the best thing in this score, and it is a very beautiful piece of music. The score as a whole is an old fashioned romantic epic that will win listeners over no matter who you are or how old you are. Robert Folk is a fantastic talent and he shows it in this magnificent score. In a filmography filled with lots of zany comedies this is truly a shining light from a wonderful composer.
The score has so much to offer and so many layers to it. Be it angelic choirs or Spanish guitar set to the orchestra, the music will give you chills from time to time. This is a great old fashioned epic score that plays everything bigger than it really is. I consider that a strength, but some may consider it a weakness. One could argue that it has melodramatic qualities, but honestly it played on me all the way through. There is substantial beauty behind the music and the main theme is so simple and grand. It has the feel of Ennio Morricone's The Mission mixed with Randy Edelman's Dragonheart if it took place during the Spanish civil war. That's the mood territory we're talking about here. The short track times may cause some flow problems for some, but overall the presentation is top notch. It's a wonderful score from Robert Folk; a voice we don't hear too often.
The romance theme is the best thing in this score, and it is a very beautiful piece of music. The score as a whole is an old fashioned romantic epic that will win listeners over no matter who you are or how old you are. Robert Folk is a fantastic talent and he shows it in this magnificent score. In a filmography filled with lots of zany comedies this is truly a shining light from a wonderful composer.
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