Henry V: Original Soundtrack Recording (1989 Film)
Composer Patrick Doyle's first film score accompanied Kenneth Branagh's first movie as director. For both,Henry V(1989) is a triumph. Branagh's vision of the play is a far darker, more realistic depiction than the morale-boosting patriotism of Laurence Olivier's 1945 classic. Doyle's score had to follow in the footsteps of William Walton, but undaunted, the first-timer rose to the challenge magnificently. Briefed by the director to follow "Shakespeare's golden words" and be "as bold as possible," Doyle produced music of epic scope, lyrical passion, and descriptive imagination. The score has a real flavor of opera--a trait that would become familiar in all of this composer's later work--as Doyle underscores the great speeches (notably the St Crispin's Day speech) with a tangible sense of drama, but one that is always sensitive to the nuances of the words. Set-pieces such as the death of Falstaff and the visceral Battle of Agincourt stand out, but the entire score feels operatically through-composed, unified by Doyle's strong instinct for melody. The melodramatic climax of his "Non nobis, Domine" (that's the composer singing at the beginning) unashamedly rivals "Land of Hope and Glory" for--as Branagh puts it--"hummability." Quite how they coaxed Sir Simon Rattle and the CBSO into the studio remains a mystery, but the result is one of the best performed, most orchestrally luxurious soundtracks ever recorded. Patrick Doyle's later scores may be more refined (tryHamlet, for example), but none quite match the sheer exuberance of this debut.--Mark Walker, Amazon.co.uk