Continuing with our catch-up of weekly recommended scores, here’s a round-up of scores that caught my attention over the week ending, 2nd June 2023.
Romeo × Juliet (2007) – Hitoshi Sakimoto (Columbia Music Entertainment)
Romeo × Juliet (ロミオ×ジュリエット) (dir. Fumitoshi Oizaki, Masanori Takahashi, Michio Fukuda, Yukio Takahashi, & others) is a Japanese anime TV series running over 24 episodes that is loosely based upon William Shakespeare’s classic play. The score, written by Hitoshi Sakimoto (though other resources credit a number of additional composers too), is an expansive orchestral score with some excellent interplay between various sections of the large orchestra (e.g., strings and woodwinds). And there’s a strong emotional aspect to the music too, when the required, with strong moments from smaller ensemble of players. It’s well worth seeking out.
Mysteries of Egypt (1999) – Sam Cardon (Treble V Music)
Mysteries of Egypt (dir. Bruce Neibaur) is a short IMAX docu-drama film that acts as part travelogue, part documentary, and part drama. The score, written by experienced composer Sam Cardon (who has written music for several large-format films), features orchestra (Northwest Sinfonia session orchestra), instruments evocative of the film’s location, and voices. These elements all combine to create a melodic musical journey along the Nile Basin highlighting the awe, majesty, and beauty of the region. The score has been released previously on CD at the time of the movie’s release and it’s good to now have Cardon’s score more widely available via the digital format. Note that it’s the Northwest Sinfonia and Kurt Bestor rather than Sam Cardon that are tagged in the digital albums.
Reel Music 