The miniseries The Mists of Avalon is a sort of Arthur: The Woman Behind the Man; a sombre antidote to the glossy First Knight, which is only really notable for Jerry Goldsmith's terrific score. In some ways, Mists of Avalon has an equally good selection of actors, or rather actresses, in the shape of the always wonderful Anjelica Huston, as well as Julianna Margulies and Joan Allen. It's funny how much movie mileage has been made from the Arthur legend (and Robin Hood for that matter), clearly fictional English history is deemed more interesting than the real thing. Despite his popularity amongst film music collectors, Lee Holdridge rarely seems to get decent assignments any more, although in these days when epic television can be realised with relative ease and is often more than a match for feature films, there is certainly less stigma being attached to such a project. Indeed, the chances to write on a epic and dramatic scale are more likely to be found in endeavors such as this; I may be wrong, but I imagine writing music for Mists of Avalon has got to be more exciting, than doing yet another teenage romantic comedy where all your efforts get forgotten against a selection of teeny bopper pop crap.
Admittedly, Goldsmith's First Knight wasn't really much more than a heroic, period action score, but was done with great confidence and style, becoming Goldsmith's most memorable works in years. Holdridge's approach is somewhat more considered, more along the lines of Braveheart, with music that evokes misty glens and grubby peasants. The Celtic feel is immediately felt during the opening The Mystic's Dream, which bears favourable comparison with Enya's work on Lord of the Rings, but with a more dramatic and atmospheric arrangement. The mixture of pipes and percussion may be cliché, but it is potent. Although more of a drama, no filmed version of Arthurian legend is complete without a sprinkling of swordplay and again, the approach is more akin to Braveheart with brutal acoustic percussion overlaid with punchy brass, nothing complex, but very effective. One of the best of these is the final minute of A Night of Love - not a track title that suggests action, well, not that kind of action - which is sharp woodwind chords over percussion, very simple, but as exciting as a dozen drum machines. One piece of pure Hollywood can be found in Finding Excalibur, even throwing in a heavenly chorus for good measure - it almost comes as a surprise in a score that generally steers away from showiness.
A couple of quasi period dances are thrown in, notably Arthur is Born and Castle Dance, which are more like extensions of the score, rather than obvious pieces of source music. The album ends with another Enya style song, I Will Remember You Still, which, like the opening Mystic's Dream is quite lovely; a lesson in concluding a score with an entirely appropriate song. In hindsight, the mixture that Holdridge deploys could easily have worked for Lord of the Rings and The Mists of Avalon now seems like a strong prototype. True, there aren't the thunderous set pieces of Shore's magnum opus, but this is a quieter, more introspective enterprise. For the inter personal conflict and drama, Holdridge's music is generally much more affecting than Shore's, which happily presents the bigger picture, but never quite engages with the emotions of the characters and thus the audience. For such a long album, there is rarely a weak moment. There are a couple of cues that probably wouldn't be missed had they been omitted, but the pacing and variety is such that when it threatens to stagnate, something new comes along. Dramatic, atmospheric, occasionally epic, what more could you want? Highly recommended.