May 15, 2009

  • Review: Gold hears a Who!

    For fans of the BBC's Dr.Who it is no surprise that the rebooted franchise has great music.  Music fans simply need to know that whether you "get" the new Who or not, Murray Gold's scores for the series continue to be some of the finest television music being written today. 

    Silva Screen (the label that brings you those re-recordings of great film music) is the sole place to find Gold's music right now and they have released this third CD featuring music from Series Four (i.e. season 4).  As with the previous two discs, this one features an amazing amount of music--some 76 minutes worth.  Gold's style is to bring a real cinematic quality to the scoring of the show.  He takes Ron Grainer's original theme and leaves it mostly untouched here, instead ramping it up by adding a contemporary rock overlay to the classic theme.  That's about as "old-fashioned" as one gets as Gold's music moves through moments of light comedy, almost lounge music in style, to compelling action cues.

    The most impressive music though on this set of selections from the series, are the choral and vocal pieces.  "Songs of Captivity and Freedom" is perhaps one of the composer's finest pieces.  It is a deeply moving emotional work that has great musical power as it continues to build over its four-minute playing time.  It also displays Gold's ability to craft a gorgeous melodic idea and score it appropriately.  It is in the sophisticated scoring and harmony throughout the disc that makes for an engaging listen.  The depth of almost sacred emotions is also felt in "The Greatest Story Never told" with some nods to Alfred Newman no doubt audible to fans of his religious-based film scores. 

    The music is given a great depth by the use of the BBC Wales Orchestra (would that they made some other film score discs!) and the sound is superb throughout.  Alongside some of Guy Gross's music for Farscape (mostly available through La-La Land), these scores for Dr. Who are among the finest and most listenable discs for sci-fi TV--and maybe even for film.  With fine thematic writing and a well-sequenced disc presentation of the music, one can sit back and enjoy the amazing ride Gold takes us on....here's to more Gold!