ROB ROY – Carter Burwell

Original Review by Alan Rogers (First uploaded at maintitles.net)

Directed by Michael Caton-Jones and starring Liam Neeson and Jessica Lange, Rob Roy is a story set in Scotland of the 1700s and follows Robert Roy MacGregor (Neeson) as he tries to improve the lot of his village by borrowing money to buy cattle to herd to market. When this money is stolen and his chief creditor, the Duke of Montrose (John Hurt), seizes MacGregor’s lands, Rob Roy wages a private feud against Montrose, leading the Scot becoming a Robin Hood-type character to defend his family and honour. Carter Burwell landed the scoring duties for this tale about the Scottish outlaw turned folk hero.

Burwell mixes orchestra with staple Scottish/Irish/Celtic accoutrements such as Uilleann pipes, bodhran drum, penny whistles and fiddle, as well as the Scottish folk band Capercaillie, to fashion a score that achieves the right balance between the needs of the story (conventional orchestra) and to remind the audience of the locale (pipes, drums, whistles, etc). Burwell’s score centres around Rob Roy’s theme, heard first on fiddle and whistles and then by full orchestra in “Overture: Rob Roy/The Rieving Party”. This theme surfaces time and time again throughout the score but particularly in the first few cues where it helps paint a picture of an idyllic life where home, stability and romance dominate. This idyllic setting of the theme bookends the score as we again hear grand and uplifting statements of the main theme in the final two tracks (“Love and Death Suite” and “Robert and Mary”) as the film draws to a conclusion. Within the intervening tracks Burwell varies the theme nicely between the full orchestra and the ethnic instrumentation. 

MARO – Aram Mandossian

Original Review by Alan Rogers

In the world of independent film – and away from the spotlight (and control) of Hollywood – film-makers are able to experiment more easily. With Maro, a short fantasy film from 2008, director Michael P. Tedford tells the story using a minimum of dialogue (there are only 3 lines in the 38-minute film). As a consequence, music makes a more prominent contribution to the overall production. The film itself tells the story of the eponymous Maro (played by Sam Brittan) and his quest for love. I have not seen the film but it seems Maro must overcome both physical obstacles and inner personal struggles (don’t they always) in order to achieve his goal of true love.

Scoring the film is Aram Mandossian, a composer who has scored dozens of scores for both film (features as well as shorts) and television. Although this is an independent film, Mandossian is able to use a large orchestra and gives the movie a very full-sounding, very thematic and melodious score that is full of emotion. As is the composer’s want in his compositions, he also includes influences from his Middle Eastern roots as well as Renaissance instruments that add colour to the already rich orchestral sound. Although the score is memorable in terms of there being recognisable themes (e.g., “Main Title”), what lingers in the memory most is the siren-like vocals of soprano Carin Gilfry. First heard in the “Main Title”, her mesmerising voice wafts in and out of tracks such as “The Locket” and “Angels and Demons” as if the listener is in some sort of dream-like state. It is not until the cue “Underwater” is it that we hear a full statement of the vocals, accompanied by an emotional solo violin. This cue is a highlight of the score.