MOVIE MUSIC UK

I’m pleased to present the latest instalment in my on-going series of articles looking at the best under-the-radar scores from around the world. This article, the fourth of 2023, covers five scores for projects from across the film music globe, and includes a historical epic from China, a Korean sports drama, a German nature documentary, a German fantasy short film, and a Polish drama/thriller.

CREATION OF THE GODS I: KINGDOM OF STORMS – Gordy Haab

Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms is a Chinese action fantasy adventure movie, and is the first part of a planned trilogy films based on the Feng Shen Trilogy, a series of Chinese novels written during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), and which deal with the origins of the gods and demons in Chinese folklore, and the prolonged mythical wars between humans, immortals and monsters, which happened more than three thousand years ago. This first film follows the adventures a young monk named Jiang Ziya, who follows the instructions of his master Yuanshi Tianzun and heads out into to the world to find new virtuous emperor to replace the current corrupt and evil kings of the North, South, East, and West.

The score for Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms is by American composer Gordy Haab, who in addition to his outstanding video game scores, is also becoming an in-demand composer in Chinese cinema; this is his second major project in as many years, after My Country My Parents in 2021. This score is an absolute epic, a full-scale, full-throated sweeping melodrama interspersed with rousing action music and a great deal of appropriate Chinese ethnic music accompanying the large western orchestra. This is the kind of score you don’t get in western cinema very much any more – a score with all the emotions dialed up to the max, which isn’t afraid to present prominent memorable themes, and which simply revels in the enormous scale and scope of the whole thing.

The main theme that runs through much of the score is a knockout, a warm, appealing, nobly stirring theme for the full orchestra that gets its first prominent airing in “West Qi – Homeland,” but then appears throughout the score in later cues like “Visiting West Qi – Consulting Ji Chang,” the more tender and lyrical “Father and Son – The Imprisonment of Ji Chang,” the stunningly beautiful “Ji Fa Receives the Gift Horse,” and the glorious finale “Return to West Qi”. It’s one of those themes that immediately lodges itself in your memory, and harkens back to the ‘classic era’ when themes like this were commonplace in film music, especially in movies that deal with big themes, big emotions, and big landscapes the way this film does. A major secondary theme, first heard in “Heaven’s Theme – Revealing the Feng Shen Bang,” has a more prominent vocal texture running through it, and is just beautiful.

The plentiful action music is bombastic, energetic, and intricate, and sees Haab layering his orchestra against a great deal of complicated percussion writing that includes rhythmic styles from both east and west. Cues like “Becoming a Hero,” “Nezha Saves the Mortals,” the imposing “Shen Gong Bao Visits the Palace – Zhou Tests Feng Shen Bang,” the fun and elaborate “The Gods Escape With the Feng Shen Bang” are just wonderful, heroic and uncompromising, and often feature a rousing brass fanfare motif for Jiang Ziya and Yuanshi Tianzun’s valiant exploits.

The rest of the score, even when not containing the main theme or erupting into magnificent action, is still excellent. There are numerous gorgeous passages for solo cello, solo erhu, and oriental woodwinds, some more abstract and unconventional electronic textures (“End of the World”), some unnerving and assertive dissonance sometimes featuring chilly vocals (“Daji, The Fox Demon,” “Shen Gong Bao’s Dark Magic,” “Patricide a Loyalty Pledge to the King”), and even a pretty and lyrical love theme in “Lullaby For Lei Zhenzi”.

Overall, this is enormously impressive stuff from Gordy Haab, whose career seems to be on a very strong upward trajectory, both in terms of films and games. Anyone who enjoys old-fashioned, epic, energetic fantasy scores with a distinct Chinese flavor will find Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms to be a real treat. The album is available to stream and as a digital download from most of the usual online retailers.

Track Listing: 1. Sacrifice (2:19), 2. Becoming a Hero (3:58), 3. End of the World (2:41), 4. West Qi – Homeland (3:21), 5. Daji, The Fox Demon (2:59), 6. Daji Seduces Zhou (2:33), 7. Heaven’s Theme – Revealing the Feng Shen Bang (3:00), 8. Shen Gong Bao’s Dark Magic (1:18), 9. Ji Fa’s Sacrifice – Enthronement of King Zhou (2:06), 10. Visiting West Qi – Consulting Ji Chang (3:15), 11. Heaven’s Punishment – King Zhou’s Sacrificial Pledge (4:19), 12. Nezha Saves the Mortals (1:54), 13. Shen Gong Bao Visits the Palace – Zhou Tests Feng Shen Bang (4:43), 14. The Gods Escape With the Feng Shen Bang (2:30), 15. Lullaby For Lei Zhenzi (4:15), 16. Patricide a Loyalty Pledge to the King (5:03), 17. Father and Son – The Imprisonment of Ji Chang (3:00), 18. Chasing the Fox Demon (1:46), 19. The Ultimate Sacrifice (1:51), 20. I Would Die for My Father (4:54), 21. Ji Fa Receives the Gift Horse (2:21), 22. Ji Chang Dragged to the Gallows (3:21), 23. Ji Fa a Hero’s Rite of Passage (9:42), 24. Showdown With Shen Gong Bao (4:06), 25. Return to West Qi (5:08), 26. Triumphal Music [Source Music] (1:07), 27. War Dance [Source Music] (1:22), 28. Enthronement [Source Music] (1:40), 29. Banquet Music at Lu Tai [Source Music] (1:08), 30. Execution Drum Music [Source Music] (1:48). Hangzhou Yuyinniaoniao Culture Media Co, 83 minutes 44 seconds.

EISSPIN, DER SEHR SCHRECKLICHE – Simon N. Müller

Eisspin, Der Sehr Schreckliche is a German-language 15-minute short film directed by Adrian Doll, adapted from Walter Moers’s 2007 fantasy novel Der Schrecksenmeister, or The Alchemaster’s Apprentice. It tells the story of starving cat named Echo who is forced to make a ‘deal with the devil’ in the shape of an alchemist named Eisspin, who wants to use Echo’s body parts in one of his spells. The film is essentially an ambitious student film project with several A-list German film stars attached, and it has been screened at numerous festivals across Europe.

The score for Eisspin is by 33-year-old German composer Simon N. Müller, who was able to record it with the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg and the Cantamus Berlin choir conducted by Christian Köhler and Lorenz Dangel, plus solo vocals by Johanna Schwark, and renaissance instruments performed by Ronja Selle. Considering its modest origins and its hitherto unknown composer – at least for me – the score is quite striking in its depth and sophistication. Lesser composers might be temped to show off slightly, when given a canvas and resources such as this, but Müller is impressively restrained, and is content to showcase his excellence in more subtle ways.

The opening cue, “Der Krankeste Ort Von Ganz Zamonien,” is a wonderfully moody piece for a brooding orchestra and choral textures that creates an appropriately spooky world for the rest of the score to inhabit. “Die Kratze Und Der Schrecksenmeister” is equally sinister, with low-register orchestral tones – including some raspy, guttural woodwinds – combining with a portentous choir and the aforementioned renaissance instruments, which include harpsichords. “Gespenster Kochen” is more expansive in its sound, and includes some devilish chanted choral sections that remind me at time of Howard Shore.

“Der Vertrag” is more ethereal and angelic, although again it maintains its ominous undercurrent of subtle menace throughout, and features some especially notable writing for clarinets and bassoons. “Feinstschmeckerküche” and “Todfreunde” are hauntingly gloomy, comprising mostly of dark religioso choral textures, while “Floria Von Eisenstadt” is lighter and more delicate, offering a glimpse of optimism to penetrate the gloom. The conclusive cue, “Erhebe Dich, Zamonien,” initially offers a mournful coda for slow, introspective strings, but gradually opens up to encompass a crystalline soprano solo that is just lovely, and ends the score on a slightly more hopeful note.

Eisspin, Der Sehr Schreckliche is a very impressive score indeed, which will appeal to listeners who appreciate haunting choral textures and appropriately understated orchestral passages in a dark fantasy setting. The album is available to stream and as a digital download from most of the usual online retailers and is strongly recommended – even on the evidence of this scant 15 minutes, Simon N. Müller is a voice to watch for the future.

Track Listing: 1. Der Krankeste Ort Von Ganz Zamonien (1:45), 2. Die Kratze Und Der Schrecksenmeister (1:49), 3. Gespenster Kochen (2:02), 4. Der Vertrag (1:23), 5. Feinstschmeckerküche (1:25), 6. Floria Von Eisenstadt (3:08), 7. Todfreunde (1:10), 8. Erhebe Dich, Zamonien! (3:06). Simon N. Müller Music, 15 minutes 47 seconds.

GRIMM’S FOREST: THE NATURE OF FAIRY TALES – Steffen Kaltschmid

Grimm’s Forest: The Nature of Fairy Tales is a German-made wildlife documentary ‘with a twist’ in that it attempts to explains the symbolism and meaning behind the well-known stories written by the famous Grimm brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm, between 1812 and 1857, and combines these observations with insights into real life nature and animal behavior. For instance, the big bad wolf in Little Red Riding Hood symbolizes an intelligent but evil man, and the fairy tale likely influenced how wolves are perceived as dangerous loners. Yet, wolves are actually highly sociable animals who live in families and hunt in packs. The image of romantic forests filled with mystical creatures, in part influenced by the fairy tales and legends of the Brothers Grimm, still shapes our perception of nature. But where did these stories originate, and was there a kernel of truth on which they are based?

The score for Grimm’s Forest: The Nature of Fairy Tales is by the German composer Steffen Kaltschmid, who has been writing music or German-language movies, TV shows, and documentaries since at least 2001, but whose music has never crossed my radar until now. I wish I had been aware of him before, though, because if the music in Grimm’s Forest is anything to go by, he is seriously talented indeed. The score is performed by the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg, and is a bold, impressionistic orchestral tone poem, filled with gorgeous colors and textures, lovely evocations of vivid emotions, and containing some passages of real tenderness and beauty, as well as more intense moments of darkness.

The score is sort of split into two halves; the first is the five-movement 14-minute “Brothers Grimm Suite,” which underscores the parts of the documentary that deal specifically with the Grimms themselves, and the fantastical creatures that inhabit their stories. Kaltschmid’s music for this part of the score is outstanding – rich, compelling music that runs the gamut of emotions from magical wonderment to brooding drama, to light horror, and which uses the orchestra in a variety of interesting ways, including some cues which seem to have a flavor of medieval folk music.

The rest of the score comprises a series of standalone vignettes, each accompanying the actual nature footage of Grimm’s fairytale creatures as they exist in our reality. In these cues Kaltschmid shows his range and versatility: I really like the unusual combination of modern electronics and hunting horns in cues like “Raven” and “Toad Transformation,” the effortless string elegance of “Knights Castles and Forts,” the use of bagpipes with the enchanted orchestra in “In the Spooky Forest,” the powerful action of “Boar Hunt,” the pastoral woodwinds in “Hansel and Gretel,” and the sweep of the “Grand Finale,” but truthfully the entire score has parts worth recommending and experiencing – these are the ones which just stood out the most to me.

This is really good stuff from Steffen Kaltschmid, and it makes me want to go back and try to find some of his earlier work, because if it’s as good as this them I have clearly been missing out on a lot. The album is available to stream and as a digital download from most of the usual online retailers; just as a note, I would suggest re-sequencing it so that all five parts of the Brothers Grimm Suite play sequentially at the beginning of the album, before moving on to the rest of the score.

Track Listing: 1. Brothers Grimm Suite No. 1 (2:45), 2. Animals of the Night (2:23), 3. Brothers Grimm Suite No. 2 (3:34), 4. Raven (1:13), 5. Knights, Castles and Forts (2:58), 6. The Frog Prince (1:36), 7. Toad Transformation (1:28), 8. Brothers Grimm Suite No. 3 (3:46), 9. In the Spooky Forest (1:22), 10. The Mermaid (1:20), 11. Brothers Grimm Suite No. 4 (2:17), 12. Brothers Grimm Suite No. 5 (1:41), 13. Marshland (1:41), 14. Boar Hunt (1:18), 15. The Wren and the Bear (1:47), 16. The Valiant Little Tailor (2:29), 17. Battle of the Giants (1:25), 18. Devil’s Wall (1:27), 19. Hansel and Gretel (1:45), 20. Miracle Creatures (3:15), 21. Magical Forest (1:13), 22. Varusschlacht (2:05), 23. Time of the Knights (1:45), 24. Knight Games (0:41), 25. The Wolf and the Seven (1:21), 26. Grand Finale (2:34). Don Mojito Records, 50 minutes 57 seconds.

ROAD TO BOSTON – Dong-Jun Lee

Road to Boston is a Korean language period sports drama, directed by Je-Gyu Kang and starring Jung-Woo Ha, Si-Wan Im, Seong-Woo Bae and Sang-Ho Kim. It tells the incredible true story of a group of Korean athletes who, while attempting to escape from Japanese oppression, embark on an unforgettable journey to the United States where they intend to race under the Korean flag in the 1947 Boston Marathon – the first international marathon since the end of World War II.

The score for Road to Boston is by the Korean composer Dong-Jun Lee, who some may remember for his work on the films Shiri in 1999, and Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War in 2004. It’s been a while since I’ve heard any of his stuff, but his online information indicates that he has been reasonably busy in Korean cinema, writing at least one score every couple of years for the past 20 years. However, the quality of the music in those earlier scores, and now here in Road to Boston, suggests that he should perhaps be better known than he is.

Road to Boston is wonderfully nostalgic throwback to the rousing sports movie scores of the 1990s and early 2000s. It’s built around several themes – one for the protagonists, a sort of noble theme that appears to be a theme for concept of Korea, and then a more energetic ‘running’ theme – but they are all memorable in their own ways. Inspiring, heroic, and perhaps slightly overly-sentimental in all the best ways, they dominate the score, from the opening cue “1947 Road to Boston Prologue,” through cues like “Our Flag” and “The Day We All Can’t Forget,” to the conclusive “1947 Road to Boston”. Some of Lee’s chord progressions and instrumental combinations remind me of 1990s James Horner, some of the electronic samples he uses have a sound that is perhaps an intentional throwback to early Hans Zimmer, and the melodic similarities between it and John Debney’s score for Dreamer are perhaps too close to ignore, but even acknowledging this the whole thing is just so unselfconsciously celebratory that one can’t help but be charmed by it.

Some of the middle-album action music does come across as a little dated, especially the peculiar synth percussion sounds and oddly old-fashioned keyboard textures that run through cues like “Run 100 Laps” and “Arrive in Boston” but the score’s unpretentious and positive attitude wins out over these possible negatives. I also like the tender piano theme in “Song With Mother,” the more introspective “I Want to Run,” and the hymn-like opening moments of “I’m Runner I’m Happy” with its lovely combo writing for solo violin and vocals.

However, there are some that will almost certainly baulk at its earnestness. “Road to Boston” is flamboyant and festive to an almost ridiculous degree – especially when the clattering percussion, the solo vocals, and the metallic textures that sound like train bells come in – and then the finale cues from “Now This Is The Game” through to “Our Heroes” have the potential to induce a diabetic coma such is their overwhelmingly sugary content. Lee comes perilously close to over-egging the pudding in places with music that potentially pushes all the wrong buttons and steers the score towards parody. It’s just so full on with the surging strings, the harmonizing vocals, the intense percussion, the sampled breathing effects, the pulsating and almost dance-like synths… I can see how some could feel like the score sometimes comes across like bad trailer music.

However, for me, I feel that the score works almost in spite of itself, and if you accept the score for what it is, then there is a great deal of fun to be had. On balance, it probably doesn’t have the sophistication of either Shiri or Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War, but it is a hugely entertaining diversion, with a throwback sound to a more ebullient film music era, a joyful attitude, and an earworm main theme that is hard to dislike. The album is available to stream and as a digital download from most of the usual online retailers.

Track Listing: 1. 1947 Road to Boston Prologue (2:55), 2. You Are Hero (0:52), 3. Invitation to Boston (2:40), 4. Run 100 Laps (2:22), 5. Song with Mother (1:12), 6. Sorry My Son (1:41), 7. Road to Boston (2:39), 8. Go to Boston (4:07), 9. Arrive in Boston (1:40), 10. I Want to Run (1:24), 11. Our Flag (3:00), 12. The Day We All Can’t Forget (2:59), 13. Newton Lower Falls (0:56), 14. Now This Is The Game (4:02), 15. Run Again (4:18), 16. I’m Runner I’m Happy (3:24), 17. The Most Wonderful Race (2:07), 18. Tears of Joy (0:39), 19. Our Heroes (1:57), 20. 1947 Road to Boston (1:50). Warner Music, 46 minutes 44 seconds.

RÓŻYCZKA 2 – Bartosz Chajdecki

Różyczka 2 – The Secret of Little Rose – is a Polish drama film directed by Jan Kidawa-Blonski. It stars Magdalena Boczarska as politician Joanna Warczewska, the daughter of an eminent writer, whose career and family is destroyed by a terrorist attack in which her husband is killed. Things somehow get even worse for Joanna when a blackmailer sends her photos and documents that undermine everything she knew about her family history; this inspires Joanna to conduct a historical investigation on her own, something that will eventually force her to face the blackmailer herself and make a choice that will change her life forever. The film is a sequel to Kidawa-Blonski’s 2010 film Różyczka, the events of which are the catalyst for Joanna’s epiphany in this film; the first film had an excellent score by composer Michal Lorenc, while this new film contains the latest score by the outstanding Polish composer Bartosz Chajdecki.

It’s been 15 years now since Chajdecki first burst onto the scene with his tremendous score for the WWII-set TV series Czas Honoru, and he has since gone on to establish himself as one of the most reliable composers for Polish film and TV projects. While there are positives to take from every score he writes, Różyczka 2 is one of his most impressive works in several years. It’s a bold, overtly classical score, which makes use of as full symphony orchestra, choir, and vocalists, to beautiful effect. Chajdecki said that the classical tone was an intentional stylistic choice, acting as a ‘throwback’ to the communist times in Poland, while also containing a certain ‘spiritual sensitivity,’ and that several cues follow strict classical forms in their construction and performance.

In a score full of highlights, several cues stand out as being especially impressive. The opening “Aria” is a stunning Mozart-esque string elegy overlaid with a staggeringly beautiful female soprano soloist. “The Past” is elegant and stylish, and features the first performance of the score’s lovely lyrical string-based main theme, which is itself underpinned with Vivaldi-style plucked basses. “Cigarette” features some beautiful passages for a plucked Spanish guitar. There’s a wonderful rolling piano line running all through the gorgeous “Remembrance,” and then in “Graveyard” there are some vague hints of what sounds like may be Polish folk music, with accordions combining tenderly with more guitars.

The action and suspense music, in cues like “Death,” the brief but brutal “Assault,” and the ominous “Threat,” is compelling, each cue making use of more strident and insistent string figures, and often including more of those tremendous snare drum riffs that ran through much of the action from Czas Honoru. Conversely, the “Adagio” is as powerful as one might expect – a bank of searching, emotive strings – while “Bridge” is its searingly poignant equal.

“Reconciliation” makes outstanding use of a haunting musical collaboration between clarinets and ethnic solo female vocals, as well as melodic ideas that reference the main theme; these textures then inform the subsequent “Journey to Israel,” which is deeply moving, before climaxing in the astonishing “The Truth,” a plaintive cry of despair and tragedy. The finale cue, “Future,” is a hopeful extended variation on the main theme with a hypnotic percussion rhythm underpinning it all, and a superbly lyrical string melody. The three bonus cues, comprising “Fugato,” “Decision,” and “Fugato,” revel in their classical opulence.

This is, for me, Bartosz Chajdecki’s best score in several years – at least since the gorgeous (and still, sadly, unreleased) Le Temps d’Anna from 2016 – and anyone who delights in opulent, classically rich drama scores will find themselves drawn to immediately. Selfishly, I wish that English-language filmmakers would take notice of him more, and hire him to write scores for films with more international appeal, but at this point I’ll take what I can, and everyone should listen to Różyczka 2 as soon as possible. The soundtrack album is scheduled to be released to stream and on most digital platforms later in November.

Track Listing: 1. Aria (5:19), 2. Przeszłość/The Past (3:54), 3. Wątpliwość/Doubts (2:01), 4. Europarlament/Drive (1:12), 5. Papieros/Cigarette (2:03), 6. Wspomnienie/Remembrance (3:41), 7. Śmierć/Death (1:55), 8. Cmentarz/Graveyard (2:27), 9. Pendrvie (1:25), 10. Napaść/Assault (0:56), 11. Adagio (5:03), 12. Zdrajca/Traitor (1:05), 13. Łącznik/Bridge (1:45), 14. Wyjazd/Farewell (1:33), 15. Groźba – Threat (2:41), 16. Pojednanie/Reconciliation (2:40), 17. Powrót Wątpliwości – Doubts Reprise (2:45), 18. Teczka – Journey to Israel (2:18), 19. Prawda – The Truth (1:58), 20. Przyszłość/Future (4:50), 21. Fugato (3:12), 22. Decyzja/Decision (1:23), 23. Fuga/Fugue (5:40). Promo, 61 minutes 58 seconds.