An English language Italian fantasy from co-writer/director/actor/composer Piergiuseppe Zaia, Creators: The Past is the first instalment in a proposed trilogy that tells the story of eight gods – The Creators – who rule the universe and who each govern their own planet, one of which is Earth. But an object that contains the entire history and memories of humanity is lost and a girl is entrusted to finding it. A wacky storyline, some over-the-top special effects and an international cast – including William Shatner and Gérard Depardieu – provide the inspiration for Zaia’s score which is, in its own way, quite entertaining but lacking in much depth.
Zaia’s approach to scoring the film seems to be to go grand with the result that, over the album’s hour-long playing time, the music never seems to let up. Strings, brass and percussive rhythms dominate and Zaia throws in a variety of vocal performances – solo soprano, male and mixed choirs – to create what sounds like trailer music. The album’s opening track, “Bolero”, begins with the ubiquitous strings playing a sweeping passage that recalls the vastness of space. Then we hear a solo soprano voice who suddenly belts out a full-on operatic performance that, to me at least, sounds completely out of place. This solo voice appears several times over the course of the score, including “Rise Again”, where the vocal part is joined by a grand pipe organ and enthusiastic air guitar which generates a full-on rock opera moment. This rock opera feel is best illustrated in “The Story of Jesus” (Jesus, incidentally, played by the director). For this cue, piano slows the tempo and we hear a melody that feels respectful of the track’s subject matter, only to morph into a grand pedestal-topping electric guitar solo.
It is when the vocal parts are prominent that the score is usually at its most interesting. The male voices in “The Path – Enimod” and the mixed voices in “Deus audi” are highlights and give the score a religious feel to it. The previously mentioned “The Story of Jesus”, along with “Faith Master” and “Lord Kal” with slow the tempo are a welcome break from the onslaught of Zaia’s score. “Lord Kal” is noteworthy with its use of piano and solo strings and provides one of the most emotional passages of the album. The album ends with a song performed by Kazakh singer-songwriter Dimash Kudaibergen.
Having said all of this, Creators: The Past has many entertaining tracks – the ostinato string rhythms and male choir combination of “Cavete demoni” is one example that comes to mind – but the score feels like a series of musical ideas that don’t really develop over the course of the album’s running time; and the music feels very derivative. On balance, Creators: The Past – which is an award-winning score (so what do I know!) – is worth checking out but may not sustain many revisits.
Rating: **
- Bolero (2:57)
- Kronos (3:45)
- Air Tango (3:01)
- The Path – Enimod (3:19)
- Cavete demoni (1:44)
- Coelis mortem ite (1:57)
- Faith Master (2:14)
- Domine (3:32)
- Misery (1:26)
- Deus audi (2:40)
- Defeat The Scorpion (2:50)
- The Story of Jesus (2:34)
- Lord Kal (1:53)
- Requiem (2:25)
- Air Dance (2:18)
- Hiders (1:57)
- Rise Again (2:12)
- Now (2:38)
- The Provocation (2:17)
- Battle of The Oranges (2:21)
- The Clash (2:30)
- The Traffickers (2:58)
- The Secret of Venice (2:53)
- Across Endless Dimensions (performed by Dimash Kudaibergen) (3:54)
Running Time: 62:15
Sony Classical (2020)
Reel Music 