The Island of Lost Souls
Jane Antonia Cornish
" a complex monumental tour de force "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
The little you know of something the better because only then expectations can rise to the top. This is because you sometimes expect too much of a certain thing that it's pretty hard when that certainness can't satisfy you entirely. Enter the case in point De Fortabte sjæles ø or in Engish, Island of Lost Souls. A Swedish-Danish co-production that attempts to cash in on success of The Lord of The Rings trilogy.
In the good tradition a big fantasy movie must carry a big fantasy score. Enter Jane Antonia Cornish as the equally unknown female composer that must get the job done. Apart from some orchestration duties on more known projects as Big Fish and Tomb Raider 2, it's the mere fact that you question yourself if the young unknown composer can hack it. Truthfully one listen alone can put down a statement that shatters all your illusions because Island of Lost Souls is not something to pass over quickly. We're gonna speak now only of one thing and that is detail. The simplest thing in here sounds like the hardest thing in another score. I can't quite emphasize enough the staggering complexity of the action music presented here. Now we must also speak of one other thing which is the size of this score. If you want your scores to pack more than they can handle then I guess Island of Lost Souls is everything you're looking for. I mean this score is huge and bold, exciting and raw. It only forgets to do one thing. Tie the thematic lines together. Where it explodes in sheer massiveness, it bursts out in atonal detail as well. And where LOTR tied the ideas together it makes Island of Lost Souls one big detailed yet hard flowing listen. It's where the thematic moments take over that you witness the grandness of it all.
Island of Lost Souls starts exactly with that statement. A big brassy main theme silences you through its power (most will pick up the Barry/Incredibles influence rather soon) and when choir is joining the force you know enough of the scope that this entire project carries. However it's evident that there is a lack of cohesion at times especially since the rather dissonant second part. You must accept the atonality, the hard strikes, the mere massive bombast that is partly abrasive and partly power. Escape Through the Forest shows this perhaps the best.
A great main theme version builds up that heroic momentum until that specific moment alters the tone of the music, this through whirling strings, flutes, brass and a big marching rhythm. After a while this is massively entertaining but the first times you'll remind yourself how much you wanted the theme to expand. It's however the scope of this piece that makes you reconsider. The little moments of silence are found in Lulu's Theme and listen quite nicely until the rather complex action music (often reminding me of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) takes over in Shadows. The same problem however is found in Richard to the Rescue. At times carrying the thematic stamp, at times blowing your mind through the sheer complexity of things. All damn exiting yet hard to swallow.
This hardiness is expanded in the large Final Battle cue where everything is joined for a final assault. The themes, the orchestration, the atonality, the big bold fanfares at the end. They all join forces to bring a track of massive proportions. However everything flows smoothly together for the final track. Soul Bridge & End Title is a wonderful soaring piece that holds a distinct line between theme, pace and rhythm. There isn't a moment where a trumpet or flute halts the continuation of the themes. And the music is all saturated in the grandest James Horner fantasy sense you can imagine. This is THE track to amaze your friends with if they are arguing that the fantasy genre is dead. It's actually sad that the entire score doesn't follow the tonal flow of the final track. However I'm as the next one. If a score goes more detailed than another I only applaud the choice and the dare of the composer. But there is still a line to be hold. You can throw everything together and make a grand powerful piece. But in all that chaos and violence you need a thematic line. Island of Lost Souls has this and then abandons it because it needs to spell atonal exciting fantasy.
Considering this it can't make me completely satisfied. Yet when listening you're witnessing a complex monumental tour de force that unfolds the voice behind Jane Antonia Cornish. With the level of brilliance that is presented in Island of Lost Souls I honestly don't know how she can push the envelope further in the future.
In the good tradition a big fantasy movie must carry a big fantasy score. Enter Jane Antonia Cornish as the equally unknown female composer that must get the job done. Apart from some orchestration duties on more known projects as Big Fish and Tomb Raider 2, it's the mere fact that you question yourself if the young unknown composer can hack it. Truthfully one listen alone can put down a statement that shatters all your illusions because Island of Lost Souls is not something to pass over quickly. We're gonna speak now only of one thing and that is detail. The simplest thing in here sounds like the hardest thing in another score. I can't quite emphasize enough the staggering complexity of the action music presented here. Now we must also speak of one other thing which is the size of this score. If you want your scores to pack more than they can handle then I guess Island of Lost Souls is everything you're looking for. I mean this score is huge and bold, exciting and raw. It only forgets to do one thing. Tie the thematic lines together. Where it explodes in sheer massiveness, it bursts out in atonal detail as well. And where LOTR tied the ideas together it makes Island of Lost Souls one big detailed yet hard flowing listen. It's where the thematic moments take over that you witness the grandness of it all.
Island of Lost Souls starts exactly with that statement. A big brassy main theme silences you through its power (most will pick up the Barry/Incredibles influence rather soon) and when choir is joining the force you know enough of the scope that this entire project carries. However it's evident that there is a lack of cohesion at times especially since the rather dissonant second part. You must accept the atonality, the hard strikes, the mere massive bombast that is partly abrasive and partly power. Escape Through the Forest shows this perhaps the best.
A great main theme version builds up that heroic momentum until that specific moment alters the tone of the music, this through whirling strings, flutes, brass and a big marching rhythm. After a while this is massively entertaining but the first times you'll remind yourself how much you wanted the theme to expand. It's however the scope of this piece that makes you reconsider. The little moments of silence are found in Lulu's Theme and listen quite nicely until the rather complex action music (often reminding me of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) takes over in Shadows. The same problem however is found in Richard to the Rescue. At times carrying the thematic stamp, at times blowing your mind through the sheer complexity of things. All damn exiting yet hard to swallow.
This hardiness is expanded in the large Final Battle cue where everything is joined for a final assault. The themes, the orchestration, the atonality, the big bold fanfares at the end. They all join forces to bring a track of massive proportions. However everything flows smoothly together for the final track. Soul Bridge & End Title is a wonderful soaring piece that holds a distinct line between theme, pace and rhythm. There isn't a moment where a trumpet or flute halts the continuation of the themes. And the music is all saturated in the grandest James Horner fantasy sense you can imagine. This is THE track to amaze your friends with if they are arguing that the fantasy genre is dead. It's actually sad that the entire score doesn't follow the tonal flow of the final track. However I'm as the next one. If a score goes more detailed than another I only applaud the choice and the dare of the composer. But there is still a line to be hold. You can throw everything together and make a grand powerful piece. But in all that chaos and violence you need a thematic line. Island of Lost Souls has this and then abandons it because it needs to spell atonal exciting fantasy.
Considering this it can't make me completely satisfied. Yet when listening you're witnessing a complex monumental tour de force that unfolds the voice behind Jane Antonia Cornish. With the level of brilliance that is presented in Island of Lost Souls I honestly don't know how she can push the envelope further in the future.