Search - John Zorn, Uri Caine :: John Zorn: Filmworks XXI

4 1/2 stars-- two excellent scores.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 11/04/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's been a long time since John Zorn's put out an album that I've had to hide the cover of at work, but "Filmworks Volume XXI: Belle de nature/The New Rijsmuseum" fills that void. Containing two quite different scores for two quite different films, while the songwriting on this record is fairly standard Zorn, the two scores, particularly the first one, illustrate the real strength of the composer: the ability to get unbelievable performances out of his musicians.



Certainly at the fore of those musicians who Zorn gets great performances out of is guitarist Marc Ribot, part of a trio of guitar, harp (Carol Emanuel) and bass (Shanir Blumenkranz) for French erotica "Belle de Nature" (which also lends the aformentioned non-work-safe cover). The score is full of gentle, lilting melodies, stated either by Ribot or Emanuel or some combination thereof. Each of the melodies is remarkably delicate but filled with an unerring sense of haunting and foreboding. But it's Ribot who consistently steals the show, performing with unnatural sensitivity ("Masque en Sole"), expressiveness ("Fouet d'Epines") and melancholic urgency (standout cut, "Orties Cuisantes", Ribot's overdriven solo ranks among his finest works).



The second score couldn't be a more dramatically different film, "The New Rijksmuseum", about the renovation of Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum. Fittingly, it gets a dramatically different score featuring performances by the composer (harpsichord, glass percussion), Cyro Baptista (percussion), Kenny Wollesen (vibes, percussion) and Uri Caine (harpsichord, piano). The score is full of pulsing rhythms and an odd metallic feel, but also the harpsichord, an instrument that by its nature always sounds like antiquity for me (a point no doubt not lost on Zorn). There's remarkable agility in the performances, whether they be on the harpischord ("Conversation") or one of the percussive pieces (the unnervingly elegant "Restoration").



As a whole, "Filmworks XXI" is a satisfying package, ranking among the best of Zorn's film scores. It's not quite the masterpiece some of his other sountracks have been (Filmworks XIII: Invitation to a Suicide and Film Works, Vol. 19: The Rain Horse spring immediately to mind), but it is nonetheless a fine record. Highly recommended."

Entrancing and fun

crown of indica | saint paul,mn,usa | 04/10/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is Zorn's blissful, earthy music for the first half of the disc and his jazzy music for the latter. The last half would go perfectly with the film "Man With the Movie Camera".



The soundtrack to the lesbian s&m film(haven't seen this particular one yet, but a few of the others from the same director are excellent btw)incorporates harps and has plenty of delicate sounds that evoke some kind of feeling of discovery."

You can't stop John Zorn

J. GARRATT | 11/17/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Zorn's score to "Belle de Nature" is so very delicate that there is something about listening to it that makes me nervous. Not nervous in the sense that the music creates tension, but I get the feeling that the whole arrangement is barely hanging together; a guitar, a harp, and a bass. Lushness overshadows percussiveness, and I feel a musician's anxiety when they are barely holding on to the tempo. At one point I think Marc Ribot and Carol Emanuel do actually fall out of synch! But it's only for a microsecond. Still, it bugs me!



I like Emanuel's performance and Marc Ribot is always a deal-maker for me. If he's involved in a project, I will listen to it. Hands down. This soundtrack to a film involving some woman writhing around naked in the woods makes for some captivating listening, should you choose to listen closely. I particularly like "L 'Air et les Songes."



The "Rijksmuseum" is something else entirely. Some moments it's minimalist percussion ("Storage"). Others it's minimalist baroque ("Meeting"). In most other movements the style falls anywhere in between, all around the spectrum. Almost makes me want to see the film itself.



And good old Uri Caine handles the duties. The elusive enigma that is Uri Caine coupled with Cyro Baptista. Good results, very good.



Volume 21 is another quality installment that will get plenty of mileage out of me within the coming years."