Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Mamma Mia, it's Nicholas Cage, the Italian ice-cream vendor. Not really of course, but judging by his accent only a few steps above 'Allo 'Allo, it could well be. Actually, I haven't yet enjoyed the pleasures of Captain Corelli's Mandolin (as it were), not really being a great fan of old fashioned romance and being just a fraction too cynical, I decided to give it a miss. However, the film's appeal is obvious with some beautiful Mediterranean scenery, some pretty people swooning wildly and a David Lean style epic love story set against a wartime background (replace the Mediterranean for Hawaii and you have Pearl Harbour methinks), it was always going to draw in the punters.

Stephen Warbeck is of course most famous for his Oscar winning Shakespeare in Love which was a pleasant, albeit slightly glue-like effort that tended to smother the film just a little where a lighter touch might have been preferable, but it was popular enough to win and certainly enjoyed by members of my non-soundtrack loving household. However, the more serious nature of Captain Corelli makes his striking brand of romance considerably more apt for the film. The album starts in fine style with the sumptuous Pelagia's Song which forms the main theme, although Warbeck uses it modestly. This certainly serves to heighten the impact of the vocal version in Ricordo Ancor which is performed in fine style by the much lauded Russell Watson, who appears to have taken over from Roy Orbison as 'The Voice.' The track is almost certainly the highlight of the album, measuring up to, if not almost eclipsing the similar type of offerings penned by Patrick Doyle for some of his scores.

Of course a film in which a mandolin is a pivotal piece of the story was always going to have a score with the instrument strummed against the orchestra. To his credit, Warbeck doesn't insist on using it in every track, which is certainly pleasing for me, not being a great fan of said instrument. Having said that, when played more like a guitar and with less of the customary flicking between notes, it is certainly more pleasing. Having said that, when Warbeck does use an acoustic guitar, notably during Agii Fanentes and, unsurprisingly, The Guitar, the difference with the warmer sound is actually quite striking. The middle section does tend to drag a little, with a seemingly endless parade of moody string interludes broken only by the lightness of the guitar solos.

As well as a generous helping of Warbeck's music, there are a few source cues in the shape of the La Scala Songs and Santa Lucia which certainly at the requisite local colour, as well as break up the thickly orchestrated underscore. Having said that, I don't especially care for the style, but given the inevitability of their inclusion, the short running time is probably just as well. Fans of Shakespeare in Love will love every minute of Warbeck's old fashioned romance, although I found it just a little stodgy to be truly satisfying, which isn't helped by the slightly bloated running time. Having said that, the main theme is wonderful, particularly during the aforementioned vocal performance and it seems that Warbeck has a definite career fighting off George Fenton and John Barry as the composer of choice for romance.