MOVIE MUSIC UK

Original Review by Jonathan Broxton

A hit last year on the British arthouse scene, Monk Dawson is a contemporary romantic drama with a religious twist. Starring John Michie, Ben Taylor, Paula Hamilton and Martin Kemp and directed by first-timer Tom Waller, the film tells the tale of a Benedictine monk who abandons his sheltered existence in a North of England monastery and heads for London, only to find that love, betrayal, loneliness and despair are commonplace outside the protective walls of the church – and that his life to date has left him ill equipped to cope with the world at large.

The music for Monk Dawson was composed by another rookie, Mark Jensen, and considering his comparative inexperience in the cinema setting, the resulting score is remarkably assured and enjoyable. Admittedly, some of the music does sound a little “green”, and the album as a whole has a certain sense of rawness, but this is not necessarily of detriment to the album as a whole. In fact, it may have been a conscious choice on Jensen’s part to make the score sound this way, as a musical reflection of Monk Dawson’s own naïveté and his voyage of self-discovery, in which case Jensen has succeeded admirably in conveying this difficult theme.

Jensen’s score is soft, soothing, and at times quite beautiful. There is no memorable main theme to speak of, but many cues maintain an ecclesiastical overtone through the use of chimes, bells and a bed of strings which seem to groan like a church pipe organ. This in itself allows the score to develop a recurring motif of religious reverence which accompanies and accentuates Dawson’s self-doubt about his new hedonistic lifestyle. This is even further enhanced by the inclusion of several mesmerising Gregorian chants in cues such as “Vespers, Psalm 109”, “Compline” and the haunting “Agnus Dei”.

The bulk of the score comprises delicate piano and woodwind themes, light string melodies, acoustic guitar solos and gentle choral work which seeks to accompany young Dawson on his emotional and spiritual journey. “Guided By Faith”, “Contemplation”, “Very English Very Catholic” and the lovely “Jenny Stanten” and “In Love” are all fine examples of Jensen’s tranquil compositional style. Only occasionally does he allow his orchestra to rise to anything approaching grand proportions, and only then for brief moments in cues such as the lively “Chelsea/Theresa” and the kinetic “The Turbulent Priest/The Kiss”, and the terribly tragic “Overdose/Redemption”. There is, however, an intentionally tacky-sounding song, “Fantasie Du Printemps”, sung in English with a French accent by Denise Roberts. Not having seen the film, I’m not exactly sure what it’s doing on this album, but it would not sound out of place if you heard it wafting from a red-hued doorway near the Moulin Rouge.

At several key points during the score, Jensen makes use of Northumbrian pipes, the sounds of which are quite different from their Scottish and Irish cousins, the bagpipe and the uilleann pipe. Northumbrian pipes have a slightly ragged, almost tormented intonation, and their unique tone can be heard in several cues, notably “Holy Island/Main Title”, where it acts as a depiction of both the film’s actual location (Holy Island is located just off the Northumbrian coast on the English/Scottish border) and the isolation and solitude inherent in the life of a monk.

Monk Dawson is an impressive debut score from Jensen, in more ways than one. With an obvious talent for appropriate understatement and an decent command of an orchestra, as well as a welcome fondness for original orchestrations and interesting instrumental approaches, it would be good to see this young composer go on to bigger and better things.

Track Listing:

• Holy Island/Main Title (3:19)
• Early Days/Kirkham College (2:37)
• Fantaisie Du Printemps (written by Mark Jensen and Bruce Smith, performed by Denise Roberts) (2:42)
• Guided By Faith (1:58)
• Vespers, Psalm 109 (2:40)
• Mollie/Beagling (1:28)
• Baptism (2:01)
• Compline (0:37)
• Blinded By Hope (1:47)
• Chelsea/Theresa (2:49)
• The Turbulent Priest/The Kiss (4:44)
• Contemplation (2:24)
• Jenny Stanten (3:14)
• In Love (3:30)
• Pilgrim’s Dance (traditional, performed by Sacbut) (1:49)
• Betrayed By Love (1:15)
• Belfast (3:03)
• The Election (2:25)
• Very English, Very Catholic (4:12)
• Agnus Dei (2:27)
• Overdose/Redemption (4:00)
• Return to Kirkham (0:56)
• Find A Way (performed by J.P. Zest) (3:42)

Running Time: 59 minutes 39 seconds

De Warrene Pictures DWPCD-001 (1998)

Music composed and conducted by Mark Jensen. Performed by The Orchestra and Chorus of the Opera House Constanta, Romania. Featured musical soloists Ian Lawther, Martin Smith and Henry Laxton. Recorded by Steve Du Melo. Mixed by Martin Smith. Mastered by Roland Clarke. Album produced by Mark Jensen and Tom Waller.