MOVIE MUSIC UK

Original Review by Jonathan Broxton

The Hallmark Entertainment series on American TV is slowly developing into a rich musical well, out of which has sprung several splendid scores, including last year’s critically acclaimed Merlin (by Trevor Jones) and Moby Dick (by Christopher Gordon). It is to Varèse Sarabande’s credit that they are continuing to support the series by releasing extended CDs of music, for not only does it give the eager listener a chance to experience music which would not normally be heard outside the medium, but it also gives many lesser-known composers some much needed publicity.

The latest instalment in the series is Noah’s Ark, written by the young Australian composer Paul Grabowsky. Like the other Hallmark shows, Noah’s Ark has an all-star cast including F. Murray Abraham, Mary Steenburgen, James Coburn, Carol Kane and Jon Voight as Noah himself. The series tells the familiar the biblical tale of Noah, a simple man who, upon receiving a message from God, is compelled to build a huge boat and place on board it a male and female specimen of every animal, so that when the prophesised great flood washes away all the evil-doers, the natural world will be safe.

Upon listening to Noah’s Ark, it is immediately apparent that Paul Grabowsky has a great talent for crafting attractive melodies. It is a little unfortunate, therefore, that the score as a whole lacks a certain individual identity that would otherwise allow it to stand out from the already crowded TV-movie market. Perhaps the greatest let-down is the fact that, on the whole, Noah’s Ark sounds rather too much like a small-scale children’s movie than a 3-hour biblical epic. I appreciate that this is only television, and that it’s not directed by Cecil B. De Mille, and that the budgets are of course smaller, but with as broad a canvas as the story of Noah on which to project some musical grandeur, one would still expect something magical. Instead, Grabowsky seems just a little too content to remain at the subdued end of things. I think it’s called “playing it safe”.

Having said that, there are still many cues which, while listening to the CD, are striking and memorable, especially the fun and lyrical ‘March of the Animals’, the soft and calming ‘Naamah’s Theme’, the intoxicating ‘The Peddler’, the sentimental ‘Building the Ark/Desert Warriors’, the plaintive ‘Afloat and Alone’ (some of which sounds like the Tatooine music from Star Wars), and the action-packed but surprisingly light-hearted ‘Pirate Attack’ and ‘Fire on Deck/Whirlpool’.

It is also gratifying to note that Grabowsky is not afraid to experiment occasionally with his orchestrations and, in cues such as ‘Storm Clouds Gather’, ‘The Tale of the Piper’ and the mesmerising ‘Strange Rites’, he introduces the unusual sound of an oud, a middle-eastern string instrument sounding like a de-tuned guitar, which effectively adds a little ethnic flavour and a sense of time and place.

In the end, Noah’s Ark is an agreeable, effective but ultimately forgettable score. After the wealth of film music riches the Hallmark Entertainment series brought forth last year, maybe my expectations for 1999’s instalments were just a little too high. Paul Grabowsky is a talented composer, of that there is no doubt and, with the extra exposure of this release, it should act as a springboard for him to go on and show the world what he is really capable of.

Track Listing:

• Opening Titles/Drums of War (1:38)
• March of the Animals (3:41)
• Naamah’s Theme (1:40)
• The Voice of God/The Volcano (2:20)
• Storm Clouds Gather (1:21)
• The Ark Afloat (2:27)
• The Flood (1:19)
• An Idyll/The Tale of the Piper (2:32)
• The Peddler (1:03)
• False Gods (1:50)
• Streets of Gerar (2:47)
• Three Trysts (4:29)
• Building the Ark/Desert Warriors (1:50)
• Judgment (2:35)
• Pirate Attack (2:47)
• Fire on Deck/A Whirlpool (2:16)
• Afloat and Alone (3:37)
• Royally Stilted (1:23)
• The Bleeding Sky (1:51)
• Strange Rites (4:02)
• Noah Dances to Save the World (1:29)
• Return of the Dove (1:35)
• Land! (2:42)
• God’s Promise (1:53)
• The Battle (1:58)
• End Titles (0:58)

Running Time: 59 minutes 00 seconds

Varèse Sarabande VSD-6027 (1999)

Music composed and conducted by Paul Grabowsky. Performed by The Victorian Philharmonic Orchestra. Orchestrations by Niko Schäuble, Paul Grabowsky and Doug De Vreis. Featured musical soloists George Balzidas, Rudi Osadaik and Robert Macindoe. Recorded and mixed by Robin Gray. Mastered by Erick Labson. Album produced by Paul Grabowsky.