Magdalene

Review by Thomas Glorieux:

Cliff Eidelman is still considered by many to be a talented composer, yet what many don't see anymore is the orchestral scope he can deliver when the movie requires it. And usually those were scored when he was in his prime time years. Magdalene and Triumph of the Spirit are the ones I discovered of his first year, and many translated that way after it. Magdalene was the first and it seems that Eidelman surely received the project any newbie dreamed off, a dramatic orchestral and choral score performed by 120 musicians of the Munich Symphony Orchestra. All nice that way and its choral accompaniment receives gothic awe when it needs to but one thing Eidelman fans know is that its theme is still the centerpiece and joy of the score. The theme itself is good and grows more then before but it is the overall classical inspired tone that leaves me enjoying more of it. Magdalene remains one of Eidelman's favorites (recording to the liner notes) and probably one of his finest compositions but music needs to hit a spark and perhaps this classical influenced piece of music doesn't do it fully for me. Of course, that is just a matter of taste and people who enjoy both a classical and film score will no doubt see the virtue of Intrada's release.

Eidelman's piano has become somewhat obsolete (due to the lucky break of performing the score with a large orchestra) but still appears when it has to, just to make it more emotional than before. The orchestra's performance itself is solid but sometimes misleads me in thinking they made an error or a miss interpretation. But its performance is good, the sound perhaps then makes it lesser in its functionality, by not letting the emotion to shine when its powerful entrance requires it. Eidelman in the whole uses classical bars from Mozart (bombastic in the first and seventh track or more restrained like the begin of 'Father Mohr') and even O Holy Night appears gently in the music, of course logical in the short 'Silent Night'. But it is the overall feeling of hearing perhaps too much classical inspired music that keeps me from enjoying it to the bone. The music itself is very good and offers both a main theme, best heard in 'Freedom in Salzburg' and its emotional theme (with choral accompaniment) during the final minutes of 'Mohr's Farewell'. So everything is here to make the music work but I'm just not fully entertained by its outcome, its a bit the same feeling I had with Henry V, good music and having the highlights to prove it but it just isn't my thing.

Perhaps the best moments are the begin track, which opens in full gothic awe with choral war tones in 'The Revolution' and the dramatic themes that receive their fullest spark during both the aforementioned tracks 'Freedom in Salzburg' and 'Mohr's Farewell' but overall it is the musical tone that leaves me a bit in agony, because after all Eidelman's depth is fantastic, just as it was with Triumph of the Spirit. The 44 minutes coming of Intrada will be most welcome for the devotees of his music but still it is a bit tricky to hear one soundclip and not spot its classical inspired roots. When you hear the themes, it is hard not to like them eventually but it is the style that follows its outcome that decides overall the pleasure of Magdalene. Perhaps a better recording could have made this score work in its moments and for al my disappointed sins, Magdalene of Cliff Eidelman is still one of his fullest scores in technique and feel, I just can not be swept away by its classical edge of music.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. The Revolution (2.23)

2. The Death Of Hans (4.08)

3. Magdalene In Love (1.05)

4. Father Mohr (3.46)

5. Going To Heaven (2.33)

6. The Archbishop's Entertainment (1.52)

7. The Aftermath Of War (4.45)

8. Christmas Time (1.58)

9. Absolve Me Of My Sins (4.01)

10. Temptation (2.42)

11. Silent Night (0.48)

12. Freedom In Salzburg (1.56)

13. Magdalene's Prayer (5.11)

14. Kyrie Eleison (1.30)

15. Will You Forget Me (1.10)

16. Mohr's Farewell (4.32)

Total Length: 44.48

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=== Link to Composer Site: Cliff Eidelman ===