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“No small part of the critical and commercial
success of THE PRINCE OF EGYPT was the film's award winning music.
A combination of evocative score and inspirational vocal numbers,
the soundtrack helps to carve the film's highs and lows and propels
the epic story forward and is also an entertaining stand-alone
listen.”
|
 How
Do You Tell the Worth of a Score?
by Christopher Coleman
Dreamworks SKG Pictures debut film
might have been many different types of films, but the choice making it a
animated feature film may have been the most intriguing of choices.
Investing some four years of development and production time into an
animated film is something we might expect from the king of western
animation, Disney, but upstart new-studio-on-the-block, Dreamworks SKG?
Well, with founders Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen
such an auspicious launch isn't really so surprising.
The producers pulled out all the stops
with an all-star cast for voice talent like: Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes,
Sandra Bulloch, and Jeff Goldblum, teams of the best background artists,
traditional and computer animators all signing on to the project.
Oscar winning composers Steven Schwartz and Hans Zimmer were brought on to
provide the score and vocal pieces. With a line up like that, how
could they miss?
Well, they didn't miss. THE
PRINCE OF EGYPT was critically praised and commercially successful.
The film distanced itself from the ever-thinning productions coming out of
Disney Studios, not only in regards to the subject matter, but in its
depth and detail. On every front, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT succeeded and,
even with the great advances in computer technology since its debut,
remains a true triumph in animation a decade later.
No small part of the critical and
commercial success of THE PRINCE OF EGYPT was the film's award winning
music. A combination of evocative score and inspirational vocal
numbers, the soundtrack helps to carve the film's highs and lows and propels the
epic story forward. At the same time, the music remains an
entertaining stand-alone listen. The score's backbone is forged upon
a handful of memorable themes crafted by Schwartz and Zimmer.
It's been well documented that Hans
Zimmer was hardly alone in his duties for this score. Just about
every member of the Media Ventures crew has a credit line: John
Powell, Gavin
Greenway, Harry Gregson-Williams, Jeff Rona. They are all in there
and this score of such richness and variety clearly demonstrates it.
That said, just as the soundtrack does, we'll give the main credit to
Zimmer for writing his portion of the score.
Visually, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT has many moments of
power and wonder which the animators, directors, and producers have
depicted in stunning fashion. Hans Zimmer matches their brilliance
with his accompanying score. Suffice it to say that the best scenes are
matched with the best pieces of music. "The Burning Bush" and "The Red Sea"
are probably the two most recognizable events of Moses’ early life and
Hans Zimmer masterfully scores these occurrences with majestic and miraculous
melodies deserving of such powerful images. Prominent within these two tracks is Zimmer's
"God" or "Miracle" theme. Played gloriously on light synthesizers or
vocalized by choir or powerfully belted out by full orchestra, it is one
of those pieces of music that stays with the audience long after departing
the theater or pressing the stop-button.
Composer Steven Schwartz's
contributions are nothing to shake a staff at either. For the PRINCE
OF EGYPT, he exceeds his double-Oscar-winning-work for POCAHONTAS.
Schwartz devises a number of catchy themes that go beyond their vocal
performances. "Deliver Us" (2), "All I Ever Wanted" (5) and
"When You Believe" (1, 14) all contain major themes that Zimmer and
company then integrate throughout the score. ["When You Believe"
went on to earn Steven Schwartz the Oscar for Best Original Song.]
Further, Schwartz's "Through Heaven's Eyes" (7) and "Playing with the Big
Boys Now" (9) are entertainingly stand-out pieces in their own right.
So whether its Zimmer or Schwartz being heard to at any given moment of
the film or soundtrack, the music is just plain solid and a delight to
listen to.
 THE PRINCE OF EGYPT is really a return
to the type of music once churned out by the dozens in years gone by: bold fanfares, powerful marches, balanced by intimate melodies.
For fans of the music from Disney classics such as THE LITTLE MERMAID,
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST or THE LION KING, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT will hardly
disappoint. The score performs flawlessly within the film itself and
garners a 10/10 in that respect. But for a couple pop songs two
many, this soundtrack would have received that same rating.
For the complete score, two more tracks
can be found on THE PRINCE OF EGYPT: COLLECTORS EDITION (out of print, but
circulating the internet auction market).
Read more on this edition
Rating: 9/10
|
Track |
Track Title |
Track Time |
Rating |
|
1 |
The Prince of
Egypt (When You Believe) * |
5:04 |
**** |
|
2 |
Deliver Us |
7:15 |
***** |
|
3 |
The Reprimand |
4:05 |
***** |
|
4 |
Following Tzipporah |
1:00 |
**** |
|
5 |
All I Ever
Wanted (with Queen's reprise) |
2:51 |
***** |
|
6 |
Goodbye
Brother |
5:33 |
***** |
|
7 |
Through
Heaven's Eyes |
3:41 |
**** |
|
8 |
The Burning Bush |
7:17 |
***** |
|
9 |
Playing with
the Big Boys |
2:52 |
**** |
|
10 |
Cry |
3:50 |
**** |
|
11 |
Rally |
0:42 |
**** |
|
12 |
The Plagues |
2:40 |
**** |
|
13 |
Death of the First Born |
1:06 |
***** |
|
14 |
When You
Believe |
4:55 |
***** |
|
15 |
Red Sea |
5:14 |
***** |
|
16 |
Through Heaven's Eyes* |
5:05 |
*** |
|
17 |
River Lullaby* |
3:57 |
*** |
|
18 |
Humanity* |
4:32 |
*** |
|
19 |
I Will Get
There* |
4:20 |
*** |
| |
Total Running Time (approx) |
75 minutes |
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