Schatten der Zeit
Gert Wilden Jr.
" The big issue with this score is the monotonous sound "Written by Joep de Bruijn - Review of the regular release
Like father, like son. Gert Wilden Sr., the father, scored a lot of popular German erotic films in the sixties and seventies, among them the smashing Schulmädchen Report series. Gert Wilden Jr., the son, started out doing mostly television films and slowly started writing more for regular film productions. Schatten der Zeit is a German production set in India which tells a tragic love story of two persons who cannot be together.
I think a composer is very wise if he introduces something familiar or some theme early on in the film, so that later on during the film, even if unconsciously, the audience can see the connection. The first cue of the score is the "Prologue", played by solo piano, violin and an Indian bamboo flute called the basuri, which is a rather good basis for bonding Western and Indian culture. Unfortunately, the composer didn't continue to write the rest of the score like this and instead relies more on an orchestra, including violin, flute and hobo. Ironically, at the sparse moments the basuri is used again, it's in counterpoint to a different instrument. You'd wonder what Mychael Danna would have done if he was hired for the film...
But Wilden does try to use Indian traditional instruments, even it you couldn't spot them straight away. The used Indian santur, an instrument with 70 snares, can produce a sound that could be very easily confused with various instruments from Asia till Iran. Indian elements are nonetheless poorly represented, yet there's enough to be pleased about, because, from an orchestral point of view, this is quite a satisfying score. However, the big issue with this score is the monotonous sound, which I otherwise don't often have anything against. It manages to turn this into a rather boring experience and overrules the attractive melancholic melodies and comfortable, slow pace.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with the performances by the Slowakian Radio Symphony Orchestra, but overall, this score doesn't deliver on CD. On screen the music did move me quite a lot more, especially when the theme for the two lovers is played. If you want to hear far better tragic love scores from recent German films, try Thomas Feiner's Was nützt die Liebe in Gedanken or Jan A.P. Kaczmarek's Aimée & Jaguar instead.
Tracklisting
1. Prologue / Factory Memories (5.13)
2. City Lights (1.10)
3. Masha's Song * (2.38)
4. Clandestine Exercises (1.26)
5. Farewell (3.31)
6. Full Moon at the Temple (3.52)
7. Bansuri Phantasy (1.44)
8. Shining Shoes ** (1.11)
9. Missing (2.51)
10. White Shoes (0.54)
11. The Letter (1.06)
12. Carlton ** (1.10)
13. In Search of Masha (2.19)
14. Ticket Booth (1.18)
15. Communication Breakdown (1.59)
16. Thinking of Masha (0.56)
17. Masha's Escape (0.57)
18. Another Farewell (1.11)
19. Behind the Door (3.02)
20. Dandy's Lover ** (1.21)
21. The Kiss (1.52)
22. Epilogue (4.39)
* Vocals by Tannishta Chatterjee
** Music by Werner Tautz / Performed by The Firehouse Jazzmen
Total Length: 46.20
I think a composer is very wise if he introduces something familiar or some theme early on in the film, so that later on during the film, even if unconsciously, the audience can see the connection. The first cue of the score is the "Prologue", played by solo piano, violin and an Indian bamboo flute called the basuri, which is a rather good basis for bonding Western and Indian culture. Unfortunately, the composer didn't continue to write the rest of the score like this and instead relies more on an orchestra, including violin, flute and hobo. Ironically, at the sparse moments the basuri is used again, it's in counterpoint to a different instrument. You'd wonder what Mychael Danna would have done if he was hired for the film...
But Wilden does try to use Indian traditional instruments, even it you couldn't spot them straight away. The used Indian santur, an instrument with 70 snares, can produce a sound that could be very easily confused with various instruments from Asia till Iran. Indian elements are nonetheless poorly represented, yet there's enough to be pleased about, because, from an orchestral point of view, this is quite a satisfying score. However, the big issue with this score is the monotonous sound, which I otherwise don't often have anything against. It manages to turn this into a rather boring experience and overrules the attractive melancholic melodies and comfortable, slow pace.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with the performances by the Slowakian Radio Symphony Orchestra, but overall, this score doesn't deliver on CD. On screen the music did move me quite a lot more, especially when the theme for the two lovers is played. If you want to hear far better tragic love scores from recent German films, try Thomas Feiner's Was nützt die Liebe in Gedanken or Jan A.P. Kaczmarek's Aimée & Jaguar instead.
Tracklisting
1. Prologue / Factory Memories (5.13)
2. City Lights (1.10)
3. Masha's Song * (2.38)
4. Clandestine Exercises (1.26)
5. Farewell (3.31)
6. Full Moon at the Temple (3.52)
7. Bansuri Phantasy (1.44)
8. Shining Shoes ** (1.11)
9. Missing (2.51)
10. White Shoes (0.54)
11. The Letter (1.06)
12. Carlton ** (1.10)
13. In Search of Masha (2.19)
14. Ticket Booth (1.18)
15. Communication Breakdown (1.59)
16. Thinking of Masha (0.56)
17. Masha's Escape (0.57)
18. Another Farewell (1.11)
19. Behind the Door (3.02)
20. Dandy's Lover ** (1.21)
21. The Kiss (1.52)
22. Epilogue (4.39)
* Vocals by Tannishta Chatterjee
** Music by Werner Tautz / Performed by The Firehouse Jazzmen
Total Length: 46.20