The Scarlett Letter

The last great John Barry score seems to be and forever will be Dances with Wolves. Of course I hope I'm wrong but personally I find his latter entries less stimulating then the classics of Bond and the romantic epics. This score has the sound we all know and expect of John Barry and it is known and nothing new for the casual fan of film music. I'm not the biggest fan of John Barry, I find him an excellent composer and no doubt have missed essential soundtracks of his generation but the more I listen to his soundtracks, the more I expect and get the same. He can always make it memorable when the melody swells or the theme is of magnificent quality but mostly I'm beginning to find his scores the same. The Scarlet Letter, with all its thematic beauty and overall mood setting towards Dances with Wolves is just that, thematically excellent but nothing that I haven't heard before. John Barry can and will always be the man of the impeccable strong theme but the more I face the task, the harder I discover the originality behind it all.

The score starts actually non Barry like, with a primitive flute and vocal accompaniment composed by Peter Buffett, before the warm sound of John Barry would welcome the listener with open arms. The main theme, sharing the most resemblance with the love theme of Dances with Wolves is good but not all I hoped for. The love theme of Dances with Wolves was always my least favorite theme of the three but of course the least is still one of the best in its quality, just not something truly brilliant. 'The Bird / The Swimmer' returns again with Peter Buffett's contribution and the 10 minute 'Agnus Dei' is based on Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings, a welcome and great performance but simply too long for my liking. Still one of the things that John Barry keeps doing like the best is a track such as 'Love Scene', with its romantic love performance and warm sound, it is definitely one of the best tracks on the disc. And moments to remember are 'The Birth', 'Poor Fatherless Child' with a good secondary theme and its percussion laden battle music (also close sounding to Dances with Wolves) in 'The Round-up' and 'The Indians Attack'. While this is still excellent (the drums truly rattle like the best), the theme repeats itself time after time in the three tracks, 19, 20 and 21, a bit too many for my taste if you ask me, though the last has the best performance of all.

One last warm ode to John Barry's talents is witnessed in 'The Letter has Served a Purpose' before the 'End Title' appears with all the recurring themes. There is nothing wrong with The Scarlet Letter, Barry admirers and fans of all ages and times will like, adore and treasure it. But truth be told, I've heard better for my tastes, it repeats a bit too much the material or overall sound and the score's length doesn't help in this task too, 70 minutes. John Barry has become a bit too much stretched in his musical style, it really doesn't differ in sound and that is the pain I feel the most when listening to The Scarlet Letter. Thematically perfect and a strong mood is always a dream come true for some but I need something more, perhaps more diversity in the style or a better theme to get my attention more with the begin. Its simply in the case of The Scarlet Letter a question of taste, you like the theme or overall sound then by all means Barry's composition will not disappoint you. And while I find the score a dream for background listening, the sound doesn't do the trick for me, at least when I personally favor others in its genre. The Scarlet Letter is a welcome score for Barry fans and a pleasing listen, with the benefits or distractions that come with it.

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Tracks

Single Disc

1. Main Title * / The Arrival / Search For Home (6.16)

2. Hester Rides To Town (1.05)

3. The Bird / The Swimmer * (3.07)

4. A Very Exhilarating Read (2.10)

5. I'm Not The Man I Seem (2.39)

6. Agnus Dei (Based on Adagio for Strings) ** (10.51)

7. I Can See What Others Cannot (1.04)

8. Love Scene (6.44) Excellent Track

9. Are You With Child (2.06)

10. A Small Act Of Contrition (2.24)

11. The Birth (2.05)

12. I Baptize This Child / Pearl (2.01)

13. She Will Not Speak (3.24)

14. Dr. Rodger Prynne (1.40)

15. Hester Walks Through Town (1.50)

16. Poor Fatherless Child (2.08)

17. An Attempt At Rape (3.00)

18. The Savages Have Killed Him (1.50)

19. The Round-Up (1.54)

20. I Am The Father Of Her Child (2.16)

21. The Indians Attack (2.47) Excellent Track

22. The Letter Has Served A Purpose (2.35) Excellent Track

23. End Title (4.13)

* Composed by Peter Buffett

** Written by Samuel Barber, Performed by Robert Shaw and the Festival Singers

Total Length: 70.24

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=== Link to Composer Site: John Barry ===