Published on May 19, 2000
Here in the halls of the Pierce Memorial Archives, there is a
group of people who occasionally drop in to see what new goodies
I’ve received in the mail. Sometimes, they don’t recoil in disgust
– I consider that to be a good day.
One of these people, Carmen, came in the other day, and I
happened to flip the soundtrack to
Gladiator her way to look at. (I had just re-discovered I
had this disc.) She looked at it and said, “I just saw the movie,
and I absolutely loved the music!”
I can’t claim to have seen the movie (gimme a break, I’ve got
property taxes to worry about now), but I have to agree with
Carmen: the music that is featured on this soundtrack is
breathtaking, even if it’s a little too quiet at times.
This work, created by Hans Zimmer and former Dead Can Dance
member Lisa Gerrard, is so powerful that the music could actually
stand on its own without the benefit of the Ridley Scott film. If
you’ve ever wondered what classical music would sound like in the
21st Century, this is it – and it’s insanely beautiful.
Normally, I’m not crazy when musical works segue into one
another – but in the case of
Gladiator, this works well. It almost allows for a natural
ebb and flow of the music, allowing the listener to experience the
entire gamut of emotions that one can experience listening to
music. From the gentle build of “Progeny” and “The Wheat” to the
full-force onslaught of “The Battle,” Zimmer and Gerard seem to
know the right moments to steer the listener’s thoughts and
feelings.
That said, there are a few times when I wish the volume of the
mix had been cranked up just a little bit. On the more fully
orchestrated pieces like “Barbarian Horde” and “Am I Not
Merciful?”,.the balance is perfect, but on the more gentle pieces
like “The Wheat,” “To Zucchabar” and “Reunion,” it wouldn’t have
hurt the overall composition to have raised the overall volume a
notch or two in the mix.
Zimmer is no stranger to the world of film scoring; his name
might be best known for his work on Disney’s
The Lion King. This is only Gerrard’s second film scoring
project (the other being
The Insider), but it doesn’t take Caesar Augustus to figure
out that this partnership is just beginning to come to fruition. It
is my sincere hope that Zimmer and Gerard will work together again
in the near future; what they could come up with is simply too
exciting to imagine.
Gladiator is the kind of soundtrack that will have you on
the edge of your seat – even if you’ve never seen the film. It is
one of the best overall soundtracks I’ve heard in a long time, and
is well worth picking up for your collection.