Nicolay ARTEMYEV
The Barber of Siberia
OST
SONY SK 61802
[66:20]
Crotchet
Amazon
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This historical drama was clearly a composer's dream. Lush scenery, epic
themes (and length - 185 minutes!), set-piece scenes (e.g. a carnival on
a frozen lake), and Richard Harris as a slightly mad inventor. There's a
large variety in style from Artemyev, but not so much that this feels like
a range-demonstrating demo.Most lastingly impressive for this reviewer is
the sumptuous waltz of "Surprise At The Ball", but the jaunty scherzo of
"Cadets and Maidens", the orchestrated so as to be geographically correct
"Welcome To Russia", and the imposing weight of "The Prisoner's March" should
not be forgotten either.
This is to be recommended as something decidedly outside of the Hollywood
norm.
Reviewer
Paul Tonks
