Plague and the Moonflower
Richard Harvey
" The plague of loving it too much "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
Richard Harvey was a composer that caught my attention when I heard his celebrated voice on Animal Farm for the first time. Others will have spotted his work the first time in The Lion King or in The Da Vinci Code. But there's another work that caught my attention namely his oratorio for Plague and the Moonflower, a 12 movement story of trying to survive in a dark world of greed and pollution. And this becomes celebrated once you hear Richard Harvey's score surrounding it.
This is no movie score! But a movie composer still puts his touches and style over a concert work (like John Williams did for his symphonies). So the music moves forward with various themes, but now in an orchestral tapestry of ideas and meanings. And Richard Harvey is also celebrated because he succeeds in giving Plague and the Moonflower a meaning that stands firm with the play.
It starts with "Prologue". Soft scoring, lovely piano, vocals and a returning element namely narration (from Sir Ben Kingsley to be exact). At a specific point the narration will not be your friend, but it does provide you with a sensible explanation overall. However no narration stops the fun of "Intrada". Here we have brass fanfares (classical baroque style), racing strings and a wonderful almost heroic theme which shows itself a lot in this album. And the true joy is, you'll hear another theme which will truly explode at the very end of this CD.
"River Stories" brings back the narration but in between music that offers us choir, theme variations, solo classical vocals (which has The Sum of all Fears written all over it) and solo trumpet which brings us forward to "Deserts of the Nile" (another narrated piece).
"A Child's Carol" is a very beautiful track. Simply extract the vocal beauty of LOTR in this one and you'll get the picture. There's some action with the trumpets, Latin chants, guitar and most of all the theme of track 2. "Demon Dance" is an acquired taste. This is at one end a spectacular dark hasted piece. Yet it is also a dissonant piece near the very end. So too is track 7 with its atonal flutes, organ and trumpets after the narration. The wonderful guitar playing (variation on track 2's theme) makes "Ancient Lands" happen rather heroically, while "The Master Builders" brings again the choir and orchestra together.
The 15 minute "Plague and the Moonflower" has several moments of narration. But in between these narrative pieces Harvey's music becomes truly alive. We have pan flutes, choir with orchestra, solo violin and solo vocal. "Chorale and Epilogue" brings back the ideas of track 2 and here the choir truly delivers 3 minutes of divine beauty.
And I warned you about "Finale / Rejouissance!". Here the festivity theme of track 2 is back but now growing from solo guitar to the wonderful exuberant mix of choir and orchestra. This is the real climax of this entire oratorio.
This entire play, presented in 68 minutes is a real piece of art. It has supreme moments, classical influences which still listen more like film music, and above all a voice to celebrate. The narration might not work wonderfully all the time but it makes sense. And luckily all the important music isn't narrated whatsoever. For people who want a listening experience that says more then words alone, Plague and the Moonflower works wonders after various celebrations.
Tracklisting
1. Prologue (3.08)
2. Intrada (4.24) Excellent track
3. River Stories (10.04)
4. Deserts of the Nile (4.01)
5. A Child's Carol (5.07) Excellent track
6. Demon Dance! (2.52)
7. Plague Lives! (4.07)
8. Ancient Lands (6.03)
9. The Master Builders (5.05) Excellent track
10. Plague and the Moonflower (15.45) Excellent track
11. Chorale and Epilogue (4.58) Excellent track
12. Finale / Rejouissance! (3.48) Excellent track
Total Length: 67.49
This is no movie score! But a movie composer still puts his touches and style over a concert work (like John Williams did for his symphonies). So the music moves forward with various themes, but now in an orchestral tapestry of ideas and meanings. And Richard Harvey is also celebrated because he succeeds in giving Plague and the Moonflower a meaning that stands firm with the play.
It starts with "Prologue". Soft scoring, lovely piano, vocals and a returning element namely narration (from Sir Ben Kingsley to be exact). At a specific point the narration will not be your friend, but it does provide you with a sensible explanation overall. However no narration stops the fun of "Intrada". Here we have brass fanfares (classical baroque style), racing strings and a wonderful almost heroic theme which shows itself a lot in this album. And the true joy is, you'll hear another theme which will truly explode at the very end of this CD.
"River Stories" brings back the narration but in between music that offers us choir, theme variations, solo classical vocals (which has The Sum of all Fears written all over it) and solo trumpet which brings us forward to "Deserts of the Nile" (another narrated piece).
"A Child's Carol" is a very beautiful track. Simply extract the vocal beauty of LOTR in this one and you'll get the picture. There's some action with the trumpets, Latin chants, guitar and most of all the theme of track 2. "Demon Dance" is an acquired taste. This is at one end a spectacular dark hasted piece. Yet it is also a dissonant piece near the very end. So too is track 7 with its atonal flutes, organ and trumpets after the narration. The wonderful guitar playing (variation on track 2's theme) makes "Ancient Lands" happen rather heroically, while "The Master Builders" brings again the choir and orchestra together.
The 15 minute "Plague and the Moonflower" has several moments of narration. But in between these narrative pieces Harvey's music becomes truly alive. We have pan flutes, choir with orchestra, solo violin and solo vocal. "Chorale and Epilogue" brings back the ideas of track 2 and here the choir truly delivers 3 minutes of divine beauty.
And I warned you about "Finale / Rejouissance!". Here the festivity theme of track 2 is back but now growing from solo guitar to the wonderful exuberant mix of choir and orchestra. This is the real climax of this entire oratorio.
This entire play, presented in 68 minutes is a real piece of art. It has supreme moments, classical influences which still listen more like film music, and above all a voice to celebrate. The narration might not work wonderfully all the time but it makes sense. And luckily all the important music isn't narrated whatsoever. For people who want a listening experience that says more then words alone, Plague and the Moonflower works wonders after various celebrations.
Tracklisting
1. Prologue (3.08)
2. Intrada (4.24) Excellent track
3. River Stories (10.04)
4. Deserts of the Nile (4.01)
5. A Child's Carol (5.07) Excellent track
6. Demon Dance! (2.52)
7. Plague Lives! (4.07)
8. Ancient Lands (6.03)
9. The Master Builders (5.05) Excellent track
10. Plague and the Moonflower (15.45) Excellent track
11. Chorale and Epilogue (4.58) Excellent track
12. Finale / Rejouissance! (3.48) Excellent track
Total Length: 67.49