Mao's Last Dancer
Christopher Gordon
" East and West meet one another thanks to Christopher Gordon's magical voice "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the download only release
Mao's Last Dancer is a 2009 Australian biographical film, directed by Bruce Beresford, based on ballet dancer Li Cunxin's autobiography Mao's Last Dancer. Considering the movie needed a wide variety of musical styles, director Bruce Beresford went for composer Christopher Gordon. Gordon himself saw in this a wonderful opportunity, not only did he write various tracks from the script, he also was given the opportunity to work with the actors to warrant the musical authenticity of the musical on screen played works. Sony Classical released this score on CD in 2009, and Lakeshore Records now releases it digitally in 2010, for those who missed one of the best scores of the last year.
The score couldn't begin any better with "Out of the Well", namely it gives Gordon the opportunity to open immediately with the Chinese instruments, setting down the tone of the score as the era of the film. That tone continues in "Village Life" which itself is expanded through an additional set of hand drums.
The first real sign of the beautiful theme is discovered in the equally beautiful "Family". Here the time is given (unlike the other shorter tracks) to develop to a full arrangement of the family theme (aka main theme). Another touching moment comes from the delicate piano in "Pas de Deux", and another comes from the utterly beautiful dancing strings and flutes in "Becoming a Dancer". "Dance of Longing" is a sorrowful dramatic track.
But the true fun lies in the moments where Gordon can push these eastern themes up a notch, by inserting a full orchestral western sound to it, namely his sound. "Turning Points" might prove it shortly, but it's a dream to hear his typical trumpet calls behind this eastern sound. And in "Madame's Model Ballet" he pushes the sound even further to a full propulsive rhythmic dance.
As it is custom to these motion pictures, classical music is a vital part for the authenticity of the motion picture. And so easily accepted pieces from Burgmüller, Minkus, Mozart and Tchaikovsky brighten up this already powerful soundtrack. It even gave room for Christopher Gordon to compose a series of piano exercises in "Sirhc Nodrog's Book of Ballet", as a quirky piano and percussion jazzy repertoire in "Free Dance".
The return of the dramatic piano work in "Pas de Deux (Reprise)" and the experimentation of all the Chinese instruments in "Brush Dance Zhang Ban Qiao" lead to the stunning finale of this disc. First we discover true heart and emotion in "Break Up and Reunion", giving ample time to the main theme to prove its worthiness once again. But that isn't what's best about this finale, no that we discover in "Village Dance and Finale", delivering both an authentic dramatic conclusion and a bold Hollywood send off, a climax in Christopher Gordon style (enough for me to see this movie alone for this beautiful finish).
Once again, Christopher Gordon has given us a reason to invest time and money in his musical repertoire, because Mao's Last Dancer is once again a winner in all categories. Eastern music has been doing very well lately, but having both styles combined as one makes it even better. Authentic Chinese instrumentation colors an already beloved score to a peak, especially once Gordon lets loose his western rousing voice during it. And when that happens, we welcome you to movie music magic.
Tracklisting
1. Out of the Well (2.22)
2. Village Life (1.40)
3. Lullaby (0.51)
4. Story of the Frog (1.04)
5. Family (3.04) Excellent track
6. The Archer (2.12)
7. Pas de Deux (2.29)
8. Turning Points (1.16) Excellent track
9. Giselle: Hunt and Peasant's Dance (Burgmüller, Arr. Gordon) (2.22)
10. Sirhc Nodrog's Book of Ballet (4.52)
11. Madame's Model Ballet (2.08) Excellent track
12. Becoming a Dancer (3.05) Excellent track
13. Free Dance (2.40)
14. Dance of Longing (4.03)
15. Don Quixote: Pas de Deux (Minkus, Arr. Gordon) (2.54)
16. Sonata in D K576: Andante (Mozart) (6.49)
17. White Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky) (2.16)
18. Black Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky) (2.09)
19. The Consulate (5.27)
20. Pas de Deux (Reprise) (1.39)
21. Brush Dance 'Zheng Ban Qiao' (3.22)
22. Break Up and Reunion (2.55) Excellent track
23. Village Dance and Finale (3.20) Excellent track
Total Length: 64.59
The score couldn't begin any better with "Out of the Well", namely it gives Gordon the opportunity to open immediately with the Chinese instruments, setting down the tone of the score as the era of the film. That tone continues in "Village Life" which itself is expanded through an additional set of hand drums.
The first real sign of the beautiful theme is discovered in the equally beautiful "Family". Here the time is given (unlike the other shorter tracks) to develop to a full arrangement of the family theme (aka main theme). Another touching moment comes from the delicate piano in "Pas de Deux", and another comes from the utterly beautiful dancing strings and flutes in "Becoming a Dancer". "Dance of Longing" is a sorrowful dramatic track.
But the true fun lies in the moments where Gordon can push these eastern themes up a notch, by inserting a full orchestral western sound to it, namely his sound. "Turning Points" might prove it shortly, but it's a dream to hear his typical trumpet calls behind this eastern sound. And in "Madame's Model Ballet" he pushes the sound even further to a full propulsive rhythmic dance.
As it is custom to these motion pictures, classical music is a vital part for the authenticity of the motion picture. And so easily accepted pieces from Burgmüller, Minkus, Mozart and Tchaikovsky brighten up this already powerful soundtrack. It even gave room for Christopher Gordon to compose a series of piano exercises in "Sirhc Nodrog's Book of Ballet", as a quirky piano and percussion jazzy repertoire in "Free Dance".
The return of the dramatic piano work in "Pas de Deux (Reprise)" and the experimentation of all the Chinese instruments in "Brush Dance Zhang Ban Qiao" lead to the stunning finale of this disc. First we discover true heart and emotion in "Break Up and Reunion", giving ample time to the main theme to prove its worthiness once again. But that isn't what's best about this finale, no that we discover in "Village Dance and Finale", delivering both an authentic dramatic conclusion and a bold Hollywood send off, a climax in Christopher Gordon style (enough for me to see this movie alone for this beautiful finish).
Once again, Christopher Gordon has given us a reason to invest time and money in his musical repertoire, because Mao's Last Dancer is once again a winner in all categories. Eastern music has been doing very well lately, but having both styles combined as one makes it even better. Authentic Chinese instrumentation colors an already beloved score to a peak, especially once Gordon lets loose his western rousing voice during it. And when that happens, we welcome you to movie music magic.
Tracklisting
1. Out of the Well (2.22)
2. Village Life (1.40)
3. Lullaby (0.51)
4. Story of the Frog (1.04)
5. Family (3.04) Excellent track
6. The Archer (2.12)
7. Pas de Deux (2.29)
8. Turning Points (1.16) Excellent track
9. Giselle: Hunt and Peasant's Dance (Burgmüller, Arr. Gordon) (2.22)
10. Sirhc Nodrog's Book of Ballet (4.52)
11. Madame's Model Ballet (2.08) Excellent track
12. Becoming a Dancer (3.05) Excellent track
13. Free Dance (2.40)
14. Dance of Longing (4.03)
15. Don Quixote: Pas de Deux (Minkus, Arr. Gordon) (2.54)
16. Sonata in D K576: Andante (Mozart) (6.49)
17. White Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky) (2.16)
18. Black Swan Lake (Tchaikovsky) (2.09)
19. The Consulate (5.27)
20. Pas de Deux (Reprise) (1.39)
21. Brush Dance 'Zheng Ban Qiao' (3.22)
22. Break Up and Reunion (2.55) Excellent track
23. Village Dance and Finale (3.20) Excellent track
Total Length: 64.59