Hamlet


Naxos (0747313106264)
Movie | Released: 2004 | Film release: 1964 | Format: CD
 

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# Track   Duration
1.Overture2:03
2.Military Music0:48
3.Fanfares0:14
4.The Palace Ball3:16
5.Story of Horatio and the Ghost2:21
6.The Ball1:11
7.The Ghost6:43
8.Hamlet's parting from Ophelia5:38
9.Palace Music1:00
10.Arrival of the Players2:03
11.Monologue (What a rogue and peasant slave)1:31
12.Hamlet's Monologue (To be or not to be)3:36
13.Royal Fanfare0:14
14.In the Garden2:29
15.Booth Fanfare0:20
16.Poisoning Scene6:20
17.The Flutes Play0:45
18.Ophelia's Decent into Madness (Song of Ophelia)3:40
19.Ophelia's Insanity2:32
20.Death of Ophelia3:39
21.Hamlet at Ophelia's Grave3:13
22.The Cemetery2:04
23.The Duel - The death of Hamlet - Hamlet's Funeral6:32
 62:12
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Hamlet - 10/10 - Review of Tom Daish, submitted at (English)
Living, as Shostakovich did, under one of the most oppressive regimes ever to rule a country, it's hardly surprising that the composer had to toe the line and in Communist Russia, that line was social realism. For a composer, that generally meant writing music that fulfilled some kind of celebratory function (cantatas to celebrate glorious revolutions) as well as composing for, essentially, propaganda films. Unsurprisingly, this work is rarely a composer's best and even a 20th century giant of composing such as Shostakovich wasn't immune. However, he was occasionally able to pen scores for films of greater significance and one such is Hamlet (rather curiously, also known as Gamlet). Despite apparently being a fine production and being relatively recent (1964), the film isn't really remembered today outside of Shostakovich's suitably intense score - one imagines that being in Russian is something of a stumbling block, not to mention the innumerable other versions from Branagh to Gibson to dear Larry Olivier.

Curiously, Shostakovich wrote music for Hamlet twice during his career, once as a ballet and here as a film score. The ballet is surprisingly boisterous and seems a million miles away from his film score. Indeed, the brooding and often intense score seems the most obvious (in the best possible way) realisation of the play in music. The suite extracted from the score highlights the faster moving parts such as The Ball and The Duel, but this is Shakespeare and it's the dialogues, monologues and soliloquies that are the play's essential elements. For these moments, Shostakovich's music takes something of a background role, providing a counterpoint to the text - To be or not to be is underpinned with pizzicato strings and solemn horn chords, simple but supremely effective. By shifting the emphasis and rhythm, the composer subtlety keeps the listener off balance. Low, plucked strings (difficult to tell if they are just double basses or something extra) accompany the Ghost's eerie appearance; Elfman fans may recognise some similarities with the Penguin's music from Batman Returns here.

If some of the above suggests that the music is unremittingly bleak and quiet, then be assured that even though some of the writing is a little low, it is punctuated by some of the feisty music found elsewhere in Shostakovich's ouvre. The fanfares cut through the tension with a rather imperious knife from time to time, while the more bracing interludes, including The Duel and the grandiose Arrival of the Players, pick up the pace and volume effectively. Similarly, The Poisoning Scene introduces some rather startling percussive effects and is topped with the kind of strings and brass punctuated action that will be in a surprisingly familiar mode to fans of some of Hollywood's more symphonic contemporary composers. Moments of lightness are few, but In the Garden is supremely fetching and one of the few moments of unadorned contentment.

The few tracks dealing with Ophelia introduce a creepy, but yet oddly comic harpsichord designed to recall her dancing as she descends into madness and then death, in a muted, yet rather moving passage for lower strings, capped by a solemn bell. The Russian Philharmonic under Dmitry Yablonsky perform with distinction throughout and are captured with crisp sonics that are splendid in both the intimate and more stirring passages. The notes are a touch brief, but still briefly lead the listener through the film in relation to the score. In any event, at Naxos' price, the album is a steal. It is hard going in places - this is a tragedy after all - and is closer in mood to Morricone's churning effort that Patrick Doyle's often rather warmer approach. However, Shostakovich always had a rather dry and ironic sense of humour which shows through frequently enough to prevent the experience becoming unbearably bleak. A superb release of an important score from one of the 20th century's finest composers.


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