Enigma (Score)
Director Michael Apted's tale of the English code-breakers whose secretive, largely unheralded efforts contributed much to the Allied victory in World War II obviously had little use for a bombastic Hollywood action score. And while veteranJohn Barryhas helped redefine the genre during his long association with the James Bond series, his brooding orchestral cues here (performed by members of the Concertgebouw Orchestra) serve to color an interior, largely cerebral story line. The composer's distinctive string arrangements have long been a Barry signature, and here their dolorous tones serve to conjure up an atmosphere of mounting intrigue and tension amid his trademark melancholy romanticism. If melody is not the driving concern, astute listeners may hear echoes of the sensibilities ofMichael NymanorHoward Shore's collaborations with David Cronenberg at work; more likely it's Barry's own dramatic--and widely influential--instincts coming full circle.--Jerry McCulley