| THE MUSIC |
| CUE BY CUE REVIEW |
|
For a more detailed
review of the pieces that don't appear on the soundtrack album, please
visit the Unreleased Music section.
|
|
The soundtrack and the film
begin with the King's College Choir of Wimbledon and deep strings, underscoring
the birth of Elora Danan . When Queen Bavmorda commands
the capture of the film's prophetic child, Horner introduces us to Willow's
Theme -- played with a soaring panflute. A percussive piece, pierced by
intercutting panflute, underlies the attack of the midwife and the sending
of Elora Danan down the river. The King's College Choir returns as the
baby drifts into the village of the Nelwyns, where we are soon introduced
to the tuba-driven theme of the rotund Burglekutt (the village prefect
who makes Willow's life miserable). The cue is a rather long one, ending
only after Willow reluctantly takes the baby home and plans for the Nelwyn
festival on the following day.
The Nelwyn Festival music can be heard on the last track of the soundtrack album, as heard during the film's ending titles. In the film, the piece is followed by an attack on the village by one of Bavmorda's death dogs. This music, a percussive brassy piece, is not on the soundtrack. Horner continues the score after the Nelwyns choose a group to take the baby back to her own world (the world of Daikinis). A slow romantic version of Willow's Theme starts off the sadgoodbyes, captured on the soundtrack when Willow's Journey Begins. This cue covers the departure of the heroes (with bagpipes, no less) and their near capture by Bavmorda's minions. After a moment of relief, the panflute takes us back to a beautiful rendition of Willow's theme -- this time ending on a frightening, elongated note as the Nelwyns arrive at the eerie Daikini crossroads. A high, abrupt note marks the appearance of Madmartigan, who has been imprisoned in a hanging cage at the crossroads. There is no music while the Nelwyns contemplate their trust in Madmartigan. The next part of the score is a brief, non-melodic war drum sequence, played as Airk Thaughbaer's army passes through the crossroads. This piece is not on the soundtrack, and nor is much of the music that follows it: the decision to give Elora to Madmartigan, the beginning of Willow and friend Meegosh's trek home, and the rousing capture of Elora by the Brownies. But more significantly, the soundtrack does not cover the scene inside Cherlindrea's forest, in which Cherlindrea hands Willow her wand and asks him to find Fin Raziel. The music turns hauntingly choral here -- a hypnotic moment in Horner's score, and a glaring omission on the soundtrack. Willow sends Meegosh home and continues the journey with the unruly brownies. The heroes arrive at a tavern, where Horner offers an Irish-sounding tune that plays in the background (not on the soundtrack). The soundtrack coverage resumes with the rousing Escape from the Tavern, an exciting action cue with a frenzied pace and a dramatic finale as Madmartigan helps Willow escape from Sorsha and her troops. It introduces us to the movie's primary action theme, the one maligned for its similarity to preexisting classical music and used in countless film trailers. In a moment of unscored silence, Madmartigan and Willow headtoward a shared destination -- the island of Fin Raziel. The extended sequence beginning with their arrival at the island and ending with the appearance of Fin Raziel is not contained on the soundtrack album. It's an ambient piece, with woodwinds and chimes (similar to Horner's work in Vibes). More music not contained in the soundtrack follows, as Willow and Fin Raziel (who is in the form of an opossum, tranformed by Bavmorda many moons ago) are captured by Sorsha's troops. Madmartigan is also captured -- but the brownies are left behind. There is a brief unscored interlude in which Sorsha and Madmartigan openly display their hatred for one another (foreshadowing their love), and then there is another great moment of scoring which is sorely missed on the soundtrack -- a brief but sweeping cue in which Madmartigan lifts the exhausted Willow onto his shoulders and marches in chains behind Sorsha's wagons, into the snow camp of General Kael. A huge section of unreleased score begins while Willow tries to transform Fin Raziel into her human form from within the cage into which our heroes have been put. The brownies appear to pick the lock; Horner uses light, jaunty instrumentations for the brownies -- mostly hollow drums, clicks, and primitive woodwinds. The first highlight of this unreleased portion of the score underlies Madmartigan's infiltration of Sorsha's tent to rescue Elora. Unfortunately, the brownies smacked him with some Dust of Broken Heart -- and he falls instantly in love with the sleeping Sorsha at first sight. The love theme makes its first appearance and rises to a peak when, even under Sorsha's blade, Madmartigan confesses his love to her. The repressed princess succombs to the confession (and Horner's score) before General Kael (and Horner) burst into the tent. Then begins the second great highlight, and perhaps the most wanted unreleased cue -- the escape from the snow camp. It's genuine Horner, with full orchestral pallette in hand, as Willow, Madmartigan and Elora slide down the mountain on a shield. A great trumpet solo appears when the heroes shoot off one slope and soar through the air. This lengthy section of unreleased music ends with the heroes' landing at the bottom of the mountain, in an impoverished village. The next musical cue marks the storming of General Kael's army into the village. Here Horner offers an appropriately sinister fanfare, followed by brooding underscore as our heroes are hidden beneath the floor of a hut. Madmartigan is reunited with Airk, and the crying baby almost blows their cover. The music changes tempo when Sorsha is captured by Madmartigan and held as a hostage while the heroes plan to escape the camp. An ominous version of Elora's theme is heard as Airk Thaughbaer brings up doubt in Willow's mind of Madmartigan's loyalty. The theme turns uplifting, however, when Madmartigan (a rogue to this point) states his loyalty to Elora. The score picks up thepace again as the heroes get onto their horses with Sorsha, and race away -- with a triumphant version of the film's action theme. The Canyon of Mazes is entered, and soon into it, Sorsha begins questioning the things Madmartigan told her in her tent the night before. Horner presents a soft but unsure version of the love theme here, ending in upward scales on the flute. General Kael's three-note drone blares through the trumpets, until there's a brass crescendo at the appearance of Tir Asleen, the castle Fin Raziel has urged the heroes toward -- where a good king and queen are ready to take care of Elora. Or so they thought. Tir Asleen is desolate. Bavmorda has turned the entire population to stone. Horner captures the moment with eerie ambience. The main theme sneaks through very casually when Madmartigan discovers an oriental-looking suit of armor. Kael's army approaches as Willow prepares for battle -- the best battle ever scored in my humble opinion. The majority of "Tir Asleen" represents the best of Horner -- emotionally charged action music, driven with a pulsing beat, climbing and climbing, until an explosive cliffhanger of a moment in film scoring -- two seconds of silence (not observed in the film, I might add). Then the brass section takes us down from our perilous peak and lifts us up to an even higher, triumphant peak as Horner leads the orchestra into the grandest version of the main theme. The balance of the cue continues with the same intensity, until a highlighted drum solo in which General Kael charges alone into Nockmaar castle with Elora Danan. The movie and the soundtrack continue with the longest cue in Horner's filmography of released works. The cue begins with the best of the panpipe solos, a creepy introduction to Bavmorda's throne room. Outraged that her daughter has betrayed her and joined Willow's efforts, Bavmorda's Spell Is Cast, which transforms the heroes waiting outside Nockmaar into pigs. Horner aids her attempt with crashing orchestra, intercut with hopeful woodwinds as Willow and Fin Raziel (now a goat) hide in a tent and perform a shelter chant to protect themselves. Bavmorda begins the ritual to exile Elora into oblivion as Willow observes his entire army of allies (including Airk Thaughbaer's army) as tranformed swine. A desperate and sympathetic musical interlude begins as Willow nearly gives up hope -- before Fin Raziel convinces him to try one more time to tranform her. Horner takes the score into a climbing scale as Raziel makes a remarkable transformation back to her human self, a moment celebrated by the King's College Choir. Raziel and Willow return the army back to their human bodies and plan an attack. This portion of the score is very ambient and unobtrusive. The cue picks up again with blaring trumpets as the heroes enter Nockmaar castle. It is a very violent sequence of music, filled with highs and lows, moments of quiet suspense and thunderous atrocity. Most impressive moments in the score include the scene in which Fin Raziel is pinned beneath a fallen monolith, reaching desperately for her wand, and the fight between Madmartigan and General Kael. The movie and the soundtrack enter their final acts respectively with a strong progressive drum beat, over which Elora's theme is laid. Fin Raziel has been presumably choked to death, Sorsha has been knocked out, and Willow is left alone to save Elora from death and the world from Bavmorda's evil. He grabs Elora off the ritual altar and makes a dash for the door, before Bavmorda shuts the doors and Horner removes all melody from the score. This sequence in the score contains an interesting "clinking chain" sound while Bavmorda makes a mockery of Willow's fledgling powers. Willow The Sorcerer prevails, however. When he performs his old disappearing pig trick and makes Elora disappear, Bavmorda gets distraught and knocks over some of her ritual liquids. The ritual begins, only she's the one on the altar. Horner leads the orchestra into a devestating downward scale, until Bavmorda is sent to oblivion. The happy ending begins with an uplifting panpipe playing Willow's theme, as the hero leaves his friends at Tir Asleen and makes the journey home to his family. Once there, Horner poignantly underscores the reunion of Willow with his family, surrounded by the entire village. The score opens up, rising in register, until the end titles appear and we hear the Nelwyn Festival music. The festival music blends perfectly into the main theme, which in turn takes us to Willow's theme, before ending the movie and the score the same way it began -- with the lone voices of the King's College Choir. |