Animal Farm
Richard Harvey
" Your animal pleasure to choose from "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Every year there has to be a surprising unexpected score that steals your heart. Besides Anna and the King, The Cider House Rules, Durango, Galaxy Quest, Medal of Honour and Outcast I have enjoyed thoroughly the likes of one Richard Harvey. Because whatever he wrote for Animal Farm, it isn’t merely just television music. No, the orchestral and choral combination together brings us music that lives and breaths, creating an incredible emotional level of detail. Sometimes composers can bring music that excels beyond the usual entry, making the movie a completely different experience. I feel that way when I hear the heroic and glorious main theme, both in their orchestral and choral approach.
There are of course similarities to make with Babe of Nigel Westlake. This you can not ignore. Both scores have a different feel whilst creating some small similarities with or without the mere fact of pure coincidence. Babe used the enchanting melody of "If I had Words" and it became an orchestral climax through Westlake's adjustments. Richard Harvey's main theme is somewhat darker but it gets specific colour when the Budapest Radio Choir joins the party. And the end result is simply brilliant. Best to describe it is listening to the first and last track. In "Storm of Judgment / Main Title" you receive an extremely dark approach but at the end of "End Titles" it is heard in pure emotional colour alongside a sensational uplifting piece of music.
But there is a lot more in Animal Farm. Richard Harvey combines various styles of music. First of all he combines brief song interpretations with an orchestral growing version of that specific song. "Old Major's Last Words / Beasts of the World" opens with a solo voice before growing into a choral version with orchestra, creating a stirring effect. "We Can Help Ourselves" has first darker piano and a string effect that both mimics Pacific Heights and Presumed Innocent before it grows again into a song theme version of the previous track.
The song version technique is at its best during "Glorious Leader Napoleon! / Squealer's Song". Not only due to the choral mass that rises above it, but due to the additional main theme version that lends a hand in making it such memorable! But of course this isn’t everything that’s good about Animal Farm. We have two big action tracks as well. "The Battle of the Barn" is just 2 minutes long but contains a great action version of the song theme of track 4 and it moves again into the song theme with the solo voices. And "The Big Battle" is even much better than the previous one. Here 2 minutes are spend on building the excitement before the action begins. Great choral statements of the song theme (again of track 4) are used to the fullest effect.
Nonetheless, not everything is bright and cheery. There is also a distinct large portion of character development and they usually portray the villains of the animals if you can call it that. It isn't terribly exciting but at occasions it’s staggering nonetheless. "Boxer's Fate" proves to have a great dramatic explosion of the main theme alongside stunning additional piano, fulfilling the needs of this soundtrack lover extremely well.
Mostly the dark sections lean a bit on the sound that John Williams used in the first Star Wars score (when portraying the sand people through tuba's and lower trumpets). Well here we receive the same and occasionally it sounds Williams' like as well. "Dumb Animals .." and "The Pigs Take Control" are examples of this sound.
But nothing beats the stunning optimism and the sound of freedom. Tracks 7 to 9 grow to a colourful delight when the choir performs the main theme proudly in "In the House / Commandments". Further examples are "The Song of the Graceful Duck", a solo operatic vocal unleashing a furious bombastic cue, creating true mayhem (but in a mesmerizing kind of way). And "We Were Never Free" by then transforms the threatening dark main theme of the first track into a heavenly glorious finale. This track is also available on Varèse's second compilation.
Basically it are moments like these that show you the true colour of Animal Farm. But time after time you start to discover new hidden treasures. The song versions at first, followed by the wonderful action tracks and even the character development and darker material starts to make an impression on you. Easily put, Animal Farm is one of the best scores I’ve heard yet. It captures magnificence and both dark/light colour to entertain you throughout the listen. My advice is simple. Explore Animal Farm of Richard Harvey, it is totally worth it!
Tracklisting
1. "Storm of Judgment" / Main Title (1.44) Excellent track
2. "Dumb Animals ..." (2.28)
3. Meeting in the Barn (2.04)
4. Old Major's Last Words * / "Beasts of the World" (2.51)
5. "We Can Help Ourselves" (3.33)
6. The Battle of the Barn (2.08)
7. "At Last we Were Free" (2.43) Excellent track
8. In The House / Commandments (3.20) Excellent track
9. The Harvest and the Flag (2.58) Excellent track
10. The Pigs Take Control (2.33)
11. The Big Battle (5.44) Excellent track
12. Snowball Banished (1.22)
13. "Long Live Animal Farm" / The Windmill (4.15)
14. "Let Me Explain" (1.07)
15. Jones Destroys the Windmill (2.02)
16. "Glorious Leader Napoleon!" * / Squealer's Song (2.30) Excellent track
17. "All Hens Are Criminals!" / The Pigs Get Drunk" (2.14)
18. "Guilty!" (1.53)
19. Boxer's Fate (4.51)
20. "More Equal Than Others" (4.17)
21. The Song of the Graceful Duck * (2.25)
22. "We Were Never Free" (2.41) Excellent track
23. End Titles (3.41) Excellent track
* Contains fragment of Solo Voice or Song
Total Length: 66.23
There are of course similarities to make with Babe of Nigel Westlake. This you can not ignore. Both scores have a different feel whilst creating some small similarities with or without the mere fact of pure coincidence. Babe used the enchanting melody of "If I had Words" and it became an orchestral climax through Westlake's adjustments. Richard Harvey's main theme is somewhat darker but it gets specific colour when the Budapest Radio Choir joins the party. And the end result is simply brilliant. Best to describe it is listening to the first and last track. In "Storm of Judgment / Main Title" you receive an extremely dark approach but at the end of "End Titles" it is heard in pure emotional colour alongside a sensational uplifting piece of music.
But there is a lot more in Animal Farm. Richard Harvey combines various styles of music. First of all he combines brief song interpretations with an orchestral growing version of that specific song. "Old Major's Last Words / Beasts of the World" opens with a solo voice before growing into a choral version with orchestra, creating a stirring effect. "We Can Help Ourselves" has first darker piano and a string effect that both mimics Pacific Heights and Presumed Innocent before it grows again into a song theme version of the previous track.
The song version technique is at its best during "Glorious Leader Napoleon! / Squealer's Song". Not only due to the choral mass that rises above it, but due to the additional main theme version that lends a hand in making it such memorable! But of course this isn’t everything that’s good about Animal Farm. We have two big action tracks as well. "The Battle of the Barn" is just 2 minutes long but contains a great action version of the song theme of track 4 and it moves again into the song theme with the solo voices. And "The Big Battle" is even much better than the previous one. Here 2 minutes are spend on building the excitement before the action begins. Great choral statements of the song theme (again of track 4) are used to the fullest effect.
Nonetheless, not everything is bright and cheery. There is also a distinct large portion of character development and they usually portray the villains of the animals if you can call it that. It isn't terribly exciting but at occasions it’s staggering nonetheless. "Boxer's Fate" proves to have a great dramatic explosion of the main theme alongside stunning additional piano, fulfilling the needs of this soundtrack lover extremely well.
Mostly the dark sections lean a bit on the sound that John Williams used in the first Star Wars score (when portraying the sand people through tuba's and lower trumpets). Well here we receive the same and occasionally it sounds Williams' like as well. "Dumb Animals .." and "The Pigs Take Control" are examples of this sound.
But nothing beats the stunning optimism and the sound of freedom. Tracks 7 to 9 grow to a colourful delight when the choir performs the main theme proudly in "In the House / Commandments". Further examples are "The Song of the Graceful Duck", a solo operatic vocal unleashing a furious bombastic cue, creating true mayhem (but in a mesmerizing kind of way). And "We Were Never Free" by then transforms the threatening dark main theme of the first track into a heavenly glorious finale. This track is also available on Varèse's second compilation.
Basically it are moments like these that show you the true colour of Animal Farm. But time after time you start to discover new hidden treasures. The song versions at first, followed by the wonderful action tracks and even the character development and darker material starts to make an impression on you. Easily put, Animal Farm is one of the best scores I’ve heard yet. It captures magnificence and both dark/light colour to entertain you throughout the listen. My advice is simple. Explore Animal Farm of Richard Harvey, it is totally worth it!
Tracklisting
1. "Storm of Judgment" / Main Title (1.44) Excellent track
2. "Dumb Animals ..." (2.28)
3. Meeting in the Barn (2.04)
4. Old Major's Last Words * / "Beasts of the World" (2.51)
5. "We Can Help Ourselves" (3.33)
6. The Battle of the Barn (2.08)
7. "At Last we Were Free" (2.43) Excellent track
8. In The House / Commandments (3.20) Excellent track
9. The Harvest and the Flag (2.58) Excellent track
10. The Pigs Take Control (2.33)
11. The Big Battle (5.44) Excellent track
12. Snowball Banished (1.22)
13. "Long Live Animal Farm" / The Windmill (4.15)
14. "Let Me Explain" (1.07)
15. Jones Destroys the Windmill (2.02)
16. "Glorious Leader Napoleon!" * / Squealer's Song (2.30) Excellent track
17. "All Hens Are Criminals!" / The Pigs Get Drunk" (2.14)
18. "Guilty!" (1.53)
19. Boxer's Fate (4.51)
20. "More Equal Than Others" (4.17)
21. The Song of the Graceful Duck * (2.25)
22. "We Were Never Free" (2.41) Excellent track
23. End Titles (3.41) Excellent track
* Contains fragment of Solo Voice or Song
Total Length: 66.23