House of Sand and Fog [Soundtrack]

house of sand and fog [soundtrack]

On this CD:

House of Sand and Fog, film score
Composed by James Horner
Performed by Hollywood Studio Symphony
Conducted by James Horner

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
A California real estate dispute may hardly seem the foundation for riveting drama, but in director Vadim Perelman's adaptation of Andre Dubus II's novel it becomes an unflinching, yet crucially non-judgmental study of disparate characters caught up in a spiraling conflict where home is considerably more than a place to live. Composer James Horner takes the medium-budget project as an opportunity to break with much of the melodic expectations of his Hollywood fare, coloring the film's more personally-scaled drama with an introspective score that turns on masterful musical evocations of mood and emotion. Horner begins with a deft electronic/orchestral synthesis ("An Older Life") that both recalls some of T-Dream's more evocative cinematic moments and subtly sets up the score's melancholy emotional tone. From there he relies heavily on autumnal, string writing (reminiscent of Copland and Barber) and spare piano flourishes, seasoned with inventive rhythmic touches, to carry its moody tone forward. While it may draw on some of the same minimalist and post-modern influences as A Beautiful Mind, it has a wholly different emotional cast; a dark, but deeply rewarding musical journey. --Jerry McCulley

House of Sand and Fog,James Horner,Varese Sarabande,Film,Film Music,Original Score,Pop,Soundtrack,Soundtracks & Film Scores

House of Sand and Fog [Soundtrack]

Average customer rating:

A True Gem!
typecasting the composer
Quite Good
Serves the Movie Well
One of the best of 2003

House of Sand and Fog
James Horner
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Movie Scores | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

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Angels in America

ASIN: B0000YEF20
Release Date: 2003-12-09

Tracks:

An Older Life
The Waves of the Caspian Sea
Old Photos, New Memories
This Is No Longer Your House
Two People
Kathy's Night
Parallel Lives, Parallel Loves
Behrani's Thoughts - Long Ago
Break-In
The Dreams of Kings
The Shooting, A Payment for Our Sins
We Have Travelled So Far, It Is Time to Return to Our Path
A Return to the Caspian, And to the Iran of Old

Amazon.com

A California real estate dispute may hardly seem the foundation for riveting drama, but in director Vadim Perelman's adaptation of Andre Dubus II's novel it becomes an unflinching, yet crucially non-judgmental study of disparate characters caught up in a spiraling conflict where home is considerably more than a place to live. Composer James Horner takes the medium-budget project as an opportunity to break with much of the melodic expectations of his Hollywood fare, coloring the film's more personally-scaled drama with an introspective score that turns on masterful musical evocations of mood and emotion. Horner begins with a deft electronic/orchestral synthesis ("An Older Life") that both recalls some of T-Dream's more evocative cinematic moments and subtly sets up the score's melancholy emotional tone. From there he relies heavily on autumnal, string writing (reminiscent of Copland and Barber) and spare piano flourishes, seasoned with inventive rhythmic touches, to carry its moody tone forward. While it may draw on some of the same minimalist and post-modern influences as A Beautiful Mind, it has a wholly different emotional cast; a dark, but deeply rewarding musical journey. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews:

A True Gem!.......2007-02-02

As most of us who collect and enjoy scores and soundtracks know, sometimes we stumble across one that is in a class of it's own.

This is one of those!

Listen to the samples provided by Amazon and KNOW that this is a wonderful listen, beautifully constructed, and DEFINITELY one of Horner's finest!

typecasting the composer.......2006-07-02

Yes this is a beautiful, worthy listen but, sorry fans if you're looking for an original musical statement from Horner - this ain't it! On the plus side, if you loved "A Beautiful Mind" (sans the Charlotte Church motif), you'll love this too. It's the same score.

Quite Good.......2006-05-30

This soundtrack has many lovely, touching, and often times tragic tracks that echo the themes of the movie. The dark, earthy, smooth and rich tracks are beautiful and a pleasure to listen to. The soundtrack gives an overall sad but still uplifting feeling. I particularly like the third track, New Photos, Old Memories, and the last two. They appear (from what I can tell) to be in chronological order, but I'm not positive. Overall, this soundtrack is worth the buy. If you liked the movie, you'll enjoy the soundtrack, which is very true to the film, and includes all of the melodies present in the film. It finishes, just like the Shakespearian-esque tragedy, with a haunting, uplifting piece with bells and the main theme. The main theme is nice, but is played too often. Even if you haven't seen the movie, or didn't like it, take a look. I recommend it.

Serves the Movie Well.......2004-07-17

I agree with many here who say that much of James Horner's music has sounded the same of late, but that this soundtrack is exceptional. Quiet, elegant, melancholy, moving: not words you'd use to describe a movie soundtrack, especially a wide-release flick like this, these days. I even agree that some of the pieces remind me of Gorecki. "The Waves of the Caspian Sea," for example, sounds remarkably like the Polish composer (one of my favorites, too), to the point that I almost expect to see his name in the credits. Overall, truly haunting and beautiful.

One of the best of 2003.......2004-03-27

James Horner has never been my favorite composer. I think he borrows heavily from himself without ever stating anything new. This isn't always a problem if the composer takes his "internal themes" and transfers in an invigorating way to new material. But for me, Horner doesn't do that. With this score for THOSF, Horner really hits one home. I actually had to look at the cd just to make sure it really said "music composed by James Horner", this is so beautiful and different for him. As others have said, all of the tracks really are beautiful. This isn't the type of score you put on as background music nor something you listen to to Not think. This score is emotive and heavily melancholic. It reminds me of Gorecki's Symphony No.2, and if you know that piece of music, you know there's no a higher compliment I can pay this score.

(BTW, if you're interested in a composer doing new and exciting things check out Danny Elfman's score for The Hulk, his score that should've been nominated over his mediocre one for Big Fish.)

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