Something the Lord Made
Christopher Young
" Young is the Heart of the Score "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the limited release
Something The Lord Made tells the story of the extraordinary 34-year partnership which began in Depression Era Nashville in 1930, when Blalock hired Thomas as an assistant in his Vanderbilt University lab. Thomas' remarkable manual dexterity and scientific acumen shattered Blalock's expectations, and Thomas rapidly became indispensable as a research partner to Blalock during his daring forays into heart surgery. The film traces the groundbreaking work the two men undertook by attacking the devastating heart problem of Tetralogy of Fallot, also known as Blue Baby Syndrome, and in so doing they opened the field of heart surgery.
Composer Christopher Young took over from there and showed the people once again why he remains one of today's most sought after composers. Put shortly, Something the Lord Made is simply gorgeous.
People that hold a soft spot for James Horner music should pay attention, as it is a score that builds softly, but ends astonishingly in Horner fashion. The piano opening in "Something the Lord Made" and "Dr. Vivian Thomas" couldn't predict what is yet to come, and yet you should realize that in the hands of the right composer, one should never panic. And I'm believing more and more in the talent of Christopher Young.
After the soft opening of piano we are exposed to various pieces of chilling music. The soft jazzy "Class Three", "Me oh Me" and "Turning Blue into Pink" are relaxing and easy to listen to.
But the real beauty of Something the Lord Made comes when Young goes deeper. Deeper emotionally, deeper surgically. It begins with "An Expression of Faith" where we have a piano melody with strings, followed by "Towards the Great End" where the strings cut deeper. And in "Only God can Fix Hearts" the strings move to a crescendo.
And yet all this is still considered light, calm, sedative, for the main surgery is yet to come. After all this relaxation comes music that pours blood back into the heart. The emotional lovely "An Innocent Heart" is but a mere incision when we compare it with the main operation, the "Building a Bypass" and "What Exactly is God's Plan" cues. The first starts in pure Horner manner to grow to a mesmerizing emotional climax while the second just continues on the brilliance of that first cue.
I find it then also sad that there isn't more of that brilliance in the first part as well. I of course realize all too well what the music is trying to tell us. After all mere success wasn't realized from the start, so why make the music that enchanting if they haven't yet been successful. Yet I feel there's a significant difference if one would merely take those 2 long cues away. Then, would it still be the album one wants to keep heralding? I doubt it. But this doesn't take away that Christopher Young once again saved the day. He saved it because he has given music a heart and soul, emotion and blood, life in general. And Something the Lord Made suddenly became something that Christopher Young made possible.
Tracklisting
1. Something the Lord Made (1.57)
2. Dr. Vivian Thomas (2.06)
3. Class Three (2.48)
4. An Expression of Faith (2.41)
5. Towards the Great End (3.22)
6. Me oh My (1.39)
7. Only God can Fix Hearts (3.02)
8. Vena Cava (3.29)
9. Turning Blue into Pink (1.46)
10. An Innocent Heart (2.13) Excellent track
11. Building a Bypass (5.25) Excellent track
12. The Angel (2.25)
13. What Exactly is God's Plan (5.01) Excellent track
14. Thanks Be (2.56)
Total Length: 40.56
Composer Christopher Young took over from there and showed the people once again why he remains one of today's most sought after composers. Put shortly, Something the Lord Made is simply gorgeous.
People that hold a soft spot for James Horner music should pay attention, as it is a score that builds softly, but ends astonishingly in Horner fashion. The piano opening in "Something the Lord Made" and "Dr. Vivian Thomas" couldn't predict what is yet to come, and yet you should realize that in the hands of the right composer, one should never panic. And I'm believing more and more in the talent of Christopher Young.
After the soft opening of piano we are exposed to various pieces of chilling music. The soft jazzy "Class Three", "Me oh Me" and "Turning Blue into Pink" are relaxing and easy to listen to.
But the real beauty of Something the Lord Made comes when Young goes deeper. Deeper emotionally, deeper surgically. It begins with "An Expression of Faith" where we have a piano melody with strings, followed by "Towards the Great End" where the strings cut deeper. And in "Only God can Fix Hearts" the strings move to a crescendo.
And yet all this is still considered light, calm, sedative, for the main surgery is yet to come. After all this relaxation comes music that pours blood back into the heart. The emotional lovely "An Innocent Heart" is but a mere incision when we compare it with the main operation, the "Building a Bypass" and "What Exactly is God's Plan" cues. The first starts in pure Horner manner to grow to a mesmerizing emotional climax while the second just continues on the brilliance of that first cue.
I find it then also sad that there isn't more of that brilliance in the first part as well. I of course realize all too well what the music is trying to tell us. After all mere success wasn't realized from the start, so why make the music that enchanting if they haven't yet been successful. Yet I feel there's a significant difference if one would merely take those 2 long cues away. Then, would it still be the album one wants to keep heralding? I doubt it. But this doesn't take away that Christopher Young once again saved the day. He saved it because he has given music a heart and soul, emotion and blood, life in general. And Something the Lord Made suddenly became something that Christopher Young made possible.
Tracklisting
1. Something the Lord Made (1.57)
2. Dr. Vivian Thomas (2.06)
3. Class Three (2.48)
4. An Expression of Faith (2.41)
5. Towards the Great End (3.22)
6. Me oh My (1.39)
7. Only God can Fix Hearts (3.02)
8. Vena Cava (3.29)
9. Turning Blue into Pink (1.46)
10. An Innocent Heart (2.13) Excellent track
11. Building a Bypass (5.25) Excellent track
12. The Angel (2.25)
13. What Exactly is God's Plan (5.01) Excellent track
14. Thanks Be (2.56)
Total Length: 40.56