King David


Trunksong Music (0050086094479)
Movie | Released: 1997 | Format: CD
 

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# Track   Duration
1.Israel and Saul3:09
2.Samuel Anoints David2:00
3.The Enemy Within3:14
4.Psalm 82:34
5.Goliath of Gath3:52
6.Sheer Perfection4:32
7.Saul Has Slain His Thousands3:55
8.You Have It All3:07
9.Hunted Partridge on the Hill6:55
10.The Death of Saul5:15
11.How Are The Mighty Fallen4:10
12.This New Jerusalem4:22
13.Entry into Jerusalem (Incorporating Psalm 24)2:20
14.Never Again3:22
15.Warm Spring Night3:31
16.When in Love3:18
17.The Caravan Moves On5:28
18.Absalom My Absalom4:01
19.The Long Long Day - This New Jerusalem (reprise)4:31
 73:36
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King David - 10/10 - Review of Tom Daish, submitted at (English)
I know this isn't a soundtrack, but it's so good I felt it was worth promoting. King David isn't really a musical in the traditional sense. It is sung all the way through and the album is a collection of highlights from a couple of live performance. There are no orchestral cues (at least not on the album), but there are still a few songs missing. It is more along the lines of an oratorio, or other such religious choral work, but being by Alan Menken the songs are much more in the Broadway/Disney style that we've come to expect. Unlike an Andrew Lloyd Webber music, the style of the musical is pretty consistent throughout and features delicate solo performances as well as exciting choral numbers.

The opening is a short selection of songs setting up the story leading up to the confrontation with Goliath. The song for that incident is suitably menacing for Goliath and somewhat more sublime for David as he lays down his more pacifist attitude (although he ends up doing rather better than Goliath with the minimum of force!) Sheer Perfection is a beautiful song sung by Michal, David's Wife and is one of several superb solos sung by David or Michal. Others include the laid back and sultry jazz of Warm Spring Night as well as Never Again and When in Love. Absolom, My Absolom is a wonderfully mournful ballad as David mourns the death of this son. There are many more strident and confrontational sections apart from the above mention Goliath Incident. Hunted Partridge on the Hill and The Caravan Moves On are both confrontations and both help to propel the narrative along quite effectively. The latter being especially good.

The swinging production numbers aren't in short supply either. Saul Has Slain His Thousands is probably the best and is Alan Menken at his foot tapping best. Entry Into Jerusalem suffers slightly from sounding like a happy-clappy hymn. I've never felt Sacred words go well with upbeat music, even when in this case, the music is very good indeed. What is meant (I think) to be the centrepiece of the work is This New Jerusalem which is the only track that could be described as hymnal in the traditional sense and it is a truly stirring and triumphant song and the reprise forms a perfect coda to the story, especially after the touching The Long Long Day which is sung as David dies.

The critic in the New York Times reviewed the work and said he didn't think that the life of David was meant to be so boring. I can't possibly think what he was talking about as this is a perfect mix of upbeat and catchy production numbers combined with gentle solo tracks and tells the story very well. If there is no other reason to buy it, then the fact that the lyrics are in English means you can understand what is going on rather than the more traditional Latin lyrics from more classical religious musical productions. If you can't get enough of Alan Menken's Disney scores, then I seriously suggest you to try this as an example of a modern oratorio with a Broadway slant (a strange combination I suppose!) then it's certainly worth checking out.


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