The Hours

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Binding: Audio CD EAN: 0075597969320 Format: Soundtrack Label: Nonesuch Manufacturer: Nonesuch Number Of Discs: 1 Publisher: Nonesuch Release Date: 2003-02-10 Studio: Nonesuch
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Editorial Reviews: How better to score a movie that takes place in three tangentially related time periods than with music that strives for timelessness? The hallmarks of Philip Glass's minimalism serve The Hours well. The film, based on Michael Cunningham's novel, tells the stories of three women--Virginia Woolf in the early 1920s, a housewife just after World War II, and a book editor in the present--whose days relate in different ways to Woolf's novel Mrs Dalloway. Yet rather than construct a sonic montage of these three time periods (perhaps some Ravel for Woolf, some Max Steiner for the housewife, some Enya for the editor), Hours producer Scott Rudin turned to Glass, a contemporary-classical composer who has had a substantial side career in film, most notably with Koyaanisqatsi. The familiar Glass sounds--the endlessly layered violins, the static melodies, the glacial rhythms--all lend a consistent aural foundation to a story that moves fluidly back and forth in time. The music is scored for orchestra, string quartet and piano. Those plentiful strings lend a thick cushion, a triumph of tonal suspension, for the piano part, which Michael Riesman plays coolly, emphasising what are often single notes separated by thoughtful silences, as well as short sets of scales cascading in slow motion. Not only will these compositional themes be familiar to fans of Glass's work, so too will several of the melodies. Some sections of the score are derived from his albums Glassworks and Solo Piano and from his opera Satyagraha which, incidentally, involved the stories of three legendary men active in different eras. --Marc Weidenbaum
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: Golden Glass Comment: Philip Glass has written some wonderful film scores (Koyaanisqatsi, Mishima, Kundun) but I was absolutely blown away by his score for 'The Hours'. Every single cue is a gem culminating in the final one (track 14) where the music arcs from a slow beginning to a glorious climax where piano chords play against a wash of strings. The music is at once uplifting and melancholic. A masterpiece. Customer Rating: Summary: A score that holds a meaning Comment: It must be said without a doubt that Glass made the film 'The Hours' with the music score. Without it, this would not have produced what the film is. It has true meaning to it. Everytime i listen to it i feel a sense of sadness and loss, but at the same time, an overwhelmly sense of relief to know what life really is about. What decisions we take is up to us. This music score protrays all of that. LISTEN TO THE MUSIC, YOU WILL ADMIRE WHAT GLASS HAS DONE Customer Rating: Summary: I think this is going to become a reference work Comment: This review comes late, but having recently heard the Riesman piano CD of the same soundtrack, and reviewing it, I feel that I should offer my take on the original. The 'new' piano version has made me realise how much I find this recording to be one of Mr Glass's most emotionally charged pieces, and a fitting accompaniment to a magnificent film. A combination of rich string arrangements and Michael Riesman's piano provide a pulsating, melodic and poignant soundtrack that made all the difference to the movie. Everything seems very restrained, yet everything is powerful in the music - there is a sense of drive and purpose that arises from gentle beginnings. Five stars. Customer Rating: Summary: A re-review! Comment: I hope this is allowed but I must in all honesty re-review this CD. Do you know about worms? Well this music finally wormed its way into my consciousness and I now find it absolutely wonderful. Coupled with the recently viewed film I give both unreserved praise. It's true that certain music takes time to work its magic whilst other music gives instant impact then become unsatisfactory over time. So there it is an admission of guilt, The Hours is simply excellent - a worm indeed. Customer Rating: Summary: Uplifting and Hopeful Comment: I have several Philip Glass CDs but this is my favourite. It's beautiful, haunting music in its own right but when one has seen the film it becomes remarkable. Glass's music perfectly captures the themes of the film: of coming to terms with mortality in both of its aspects, living and dying. Glass also manages to write music that is both timeless and yet captures the three time periods in which the book and film are set. Like several of Glass's works, music for The Hours seems to ripple over one. One feels in it rather than listening from the outside. This is a great work from one of our greatest comtemporary composers. More Reviews