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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Excellent CD
I bought this version of the soundtrack after having the original for many years. This has more music and it's fantastic.
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Finally found this audio after years of searching!
This audio was the background music for the movie Somewhere in Time. My three sisters and I watch this movie for years and have seen it on tv. The music was so appealing, we just had to have it. But to find it was another matter. Then one day on amazon there it was!! I was delighted and ordered three of them to give as gifts to my sisters. Now we are all delighted with this sudden find and thank Amazon for getting it for us.
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Extending the Theme of Rhapsody on a Theme from Rachmaninoff
Golden Globe nominee, not winner, just nominee, for oringial score in 1980. What a tragedy! This entire score is breathtaking and deserved the Golden Globe (and the Academy Award in my opinion). The fact that it remains popular today is a testament to what a beautiful composition this is.
I love classical music and, generally, I find film scores to be boring, regurgitated or unoriginal, trite or cliche. But this work by John Barry is stunning. It is minimal in the use of mainly the string section and piano, but the power and the emotion conveyed is simply amazing. Barry's respectful tribute to the 18th variation from Rachmaninoff's wonderful compostion Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is a wonder and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Lynda Cochrane (on piano), Edwin Paling (on lead violin) and John Debney (conducting) perform flawlessly. It is all too obvious that this performance meant something special to all involved. The music, the solo work, the recording and mixing; all are done to perfection (if perfection is possible). I have not one complaint about this recording.
The orginial release of this soundtrack has never been remastered and the decision to simply re-record the entire piece was a wonderful stroke of genius. The entire film's score is contained on the disc, including Rachmaninoff's piece which bled through the entire film with Barry's work touching so heavily upon the theme of the piece. The score is so powerful, that I believe it actually carried the film (just my humble opinion). Fact is, the music, especially Rachmaninoff's piece, were a huge part of the film; a living, breathing character in the film.
The film, although somewhat unorthodox (a historical/sci-fi/time travel/love story?)and different from the book, was enjoyable, but the soundtrack is simply amazing and is what deserves the attention years later.
This soundtrack, revisited here in 1998, is a much clearer and crisper version of the original release. If you love Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (particularly the 18th variation, which is the string and piano portion most often associated with that composition), then this soundtrack is for you. Barry has built upon that piece perfectly and Debney and his orchestra have recreated that perfection beautfifully. The entire score centers on the piano and the string section with a only few brief forays to the percussion, woodwinds and the brass. The darker movements, such as 'June 27th', 'Room 417', or 'Whimper' will delve in to moments of assistance from these supporting portions of the orchestra, but still maintain the overpowering depth of the strings and the piano.
Barry managed to do what classical compsers had done for centuries, but modern composers and film-score writers continually fail to do, when he took the theme, the basic elements, of a previous piece and used it to weave a longer, more complex composition that, in this case, is a somber yet uplifting score that is emotionally draining to hear. I often sit and listen to this soundtrack and feel my emotions move in waves of joy and melancholy, highs and lows. This is an amazing composition that is as good as any other piece composed for film that I have ever heard. I would equate this piece to the scores for "Glory" or "The Last Of The Mohicans".
The sound on this disc is spectacular, clear and unflawed in any way. It is, in every way, better than the original release, which I do also have but now never listen to any longer.
I cannot stress enough that if you enjoy Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody, or if you enjoyed the original release of this soundtrack, you must buy this CD. It is a must have.
As a classical music lover, I recommend this score to those who love classical string pieces, classical piano pieces, or Rachmaninoff. This piece is a wonderful addition to my collection and it is a benefit to the world of composition for orchestra.
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A beautiful recording
When I first got this CD I wasn't sure if I liked it as well as the original soundtrack recording. Some of the pieces were edited for the soundtrack so sometimes it was a little disconcerting to hear a song start or end differently than I had heard it done before (I've been listening to the original on cassette for over 20 years)but gradually I got used to it and came to appreciate the music the way it was originally written. This a beautiful and haunting soundtrack that I never get tired of hearing. I put it on and am instantly transported to Mackinaw Island...
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Reading music.
I recommend "Somewhere in time" to anyone who enjoys listening to relaxing music, particularly for reading.
EVA
