| Clocking
in at just a third of the film's total running
time, Hans Zimmer's score selections which appear
on the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END
soundtrack CD offer abbreviated highlights of
music he composed for the epic film, which nonetheless
deliver their own epic moments
HOIST THE
COLOURS
Alas the first
track on the disc, Hoist the Colours,
is an entry which deserves to be presented in
its full feature-length glory, as it's one of
the best score contributions across all three
PIRATES films. A distant bell tolls for
those unfortunate souls who face the gallows under
Lord Beckett's tyrannical rule, convicted of aiding
the cause of piracy. The shaky yet stalwart
voice of young Brendyn Bell starts the mournful
chant which is nevertheless uttered in defiance
of Beckett's cause to stamp out piracy in the
Caribbean. A chorus of voices join the young
lad, equally resigned to their fate yet never
bending in surrender for their belief in freedom
of the seas.
The liner note
introduction by soundtrack collaborator Mark Wherry
tells the tale of how Hoist the Colors
was actually written on-the-fly in a virtual conference
call between director Gore Verbinksi and Hans
Zimmer, before work had even begun on the DEAD
MAN'S CHEST score. The tune endured several
informal, rough-voiced development demos before
a final soundtrack recording put completed choral
and orchestral arrangements to Zimmer and Verbinksi's
music, with sea shanty lyrics by screenwriters
Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio. The result
is a daring, effectively atmospheric theme which
sets up the dramatic theme of AT WORLD'S END —
no less than the threatened extinction of Jack
Sparrow and the pirate's life for all at the hands
of the dreaded, ever-expanding East India Trading
Company. In the film, this tune is allowed
to expand into a defiant fanfare of voices, giving
the tune breadth and stirring emotion sadly truncated
in the CD version — you'll just have to
see it in the film to fully enjoy Hoist the
Colours as intended, though variations of
it appear throughout the score.
SINGAPORE
With Elizabeth's
venture into the hazy backwaters of Singapore,
the score enters the Far Eastern themes of Pirate
Lord Sao Feng's domain. Just as China Sea
pirates clash with Beckett's infiltrating solders,
so too does the orchestra battle thematically
in a collision of eastern and western musical
styles. Asian strings, winds and percussion
create a mood of mysterious tension, mirroring
the cautious distrust exhibited as Barbossa, Elizabeth
and Will attempt a fragile truce with Sao Feng
on his piratical turf. The orchestra rises
to the challenge as the dramatic action explodes
on screen, with featured themes dueling amid revelations
of betrayal and hidden agendas. The track
retreats from its fury as our pirate brethren
escape Singapore in flames behind them, until
snare drums hail the return of Jack's Theme, triumphantly
backed with chorus which invests the piece with
an lofty touch of bravado.
AT WIT'S END
The second longest
track on the CD, At Wit's End introduces
a new love theme for Elizabeth and Will which
features prominently in the score amid a variety
of diminished and swelling variations. Its
first appearance here tenuously builds at a sustained
pace amid high chorus voices which swirl in and
around a persistent rumbling of drums. Horns
and strings bring the love theme to its fuller
expression, rising and falling in point/counterpoint
with percussion.
The orchestration
falls back, unveiling the delicate music box melody
from DEAD MAN'S CHEST which illustrates the dramatic
flipside of unrequited, unresolved love as a key
motif in Davy Jones' subplot to the story.
Darker toned horns and percussion embolden the
music box theme before unfurling full-speed arrangements
hurtle the on-screen action up to and over the
edge
MULTIPLE JACKS
Davy Jones' Locker
appears as a netherworld void of purgatory in
which Jack Sparrow is lost and might well be going
a bit mad(der). The bizarre arrangement
and instrumentation scoring this scene supports
the eerie visuals with atonal percussion and electronic
effects played in a quirky measure. Jack's
theme from DEAD MAN'S CHEST is even fed back to
his screen presence in off-kilter tones and timing,
underscoring the illogical nightmare from which
Jack Sparrow cannot awaken despite help from his
only truly ally in the world — himself.
UP IS DOWN
To escape the
Locker, the entire crew of the Pearl must literally
pull together to reverse their standings if they
are to escape this land beyond death. Accordingly
Up is Down gathers up a second variation
of the love theme with an alternate theme for
Jack and rallies them together in unison and counterpoint,
adding strength and building momentum. Just
as the corresponding scene is one of the better
and more imaginative in expanding the mythic scope
of the feature film, this score track is definitely
one of Zimmer's better sea-faring compositions
across the trilogy soundtrack library. Up
is Down also garners a great deal of musical
enthusiasm as Jack discovers the secret to returning
himself, his crew and his ship to the living world
again. Yet accordingly as the track builds
to a suspenseful but heroic crescendo, per the
contradictory title and the on-screen climax of
the scene, the track ends in a quickly resolved
dissolution to silence as the drama's action sinks
in order to rise.
I SEE DEAD PEOPLE
IN BOATS
A lone oboe reed
plays out a slower, sadder variation on the Will
and Elizabeth love theme as the estranged couple
continue to struggle with the separation of their
souls in such close quarters aboard ship.
The mood deepens further as mournful chords and
a faint tolling bell punctuate the piece, setting
up a growing tension of uncertainty as the crew
sails into mysterious waters. Even hints
of Jack's Theme from DEAD MAN'S CHEST can't enliven
the mood as ghostly lights and figures sail past
the Pearl in an ethereal fog. Yet another
variation on the Love Theme turns the motif into
elegy for Elizabeth as the appearance of these
lost phantoms of the sea becomes all to personal
for her. Strings swirl and rise persistently
as do Elizabeth's emotions, eventually becoming
overtaken by the driving pulse of a motif appearing
in the prior track. A hit from Davy Jones'
pipe organ sets the final sting in place.
THE BRETHREN
COURT
Jack's off-kilter
theme heard on Multiple Jacks returns
briefly before resolving into a slightly heroic
chorus variation on Hoist the Colours,
an appropriate signal that the nine Pirate Lords
from around the world must meet and join forces
to preserve their world and way of life.
A plucky string interpretation of Hoist the
Colours give the theme a touch of Jack's
playful, drunken swagger, only to get echoed back
by a windy pipe performance which reveals the
more solemn side to the ultimately serious business
convening the Brethren Court on Shipwreck City.
PARLAY
Just as the dramatic
scene plays out like a pre-shootout staring contest
from a Sergio Leone western, so does Parlay
borrow heavily and joyfully from the repertoire
of Leone's film composer, Ennio Morricone.
All his signature motifs are here in the track:
the countdown strings leading to the confrontation,
the low chorus voices with brass and percussion
rolling in and out like desert thunder.
Zimmer resolves the short track with Morricone's
style of twangy guitar and howling harmonica counterpoints
as the chess match of wills plays out between
Beckett, Will and Davy Jones facing off against
Jack, Elizabeth and Barbossa on a sandy spit of
No Man's Land awash in an ocean of double-dealing,
treachery and revealed personal agendas.
In general, the scores for the PIRATES trilogy
enjoy a more lush and romantic relationship with
the stories, but in this particular scene, Morricone's
iconic motifs of personal conflict waged amid
a vast seascape suits this score perfectly.
CALYPSO
The mythic history
of the sea goddess Calypso is intertwined with
the destinies of the Pirate Lords at the Brethren
Court, as hints of Tia Dalma's theme accompany
the tale. Yet just as tempestuous as the
oceans can be, this track quickly builds into
a stormy mix of themes from the climax of DEAD
MAN'S CHEST, centered on the blustery topic of
betrayal and the price of past sins. Chanting
chorus voices mark the escalation of drums and
strings until a mix of high and low chorus voices
hint at the true-yet-changing nature of the goddess
Calypso, and how she will eventually touch the
destinies of Jack, Will, Elizabeth, Barbossa and
Davy Jones himself.
WHAT SHALL WE
DIE FOR
Facing long odds
against survival, a captain takes the stand against
all of Beckett's arrayed forces of the East India
Company armada, as thunderous drums beat out a
pace introducing a horn-based rendition of Hoist
the Colours. High and low strings join
in, adding a heroic signal of hope to the theme
this time as captain rallies crew to the cause
facing them across the reach of sea waters.
Chorus voices uplift the theme even more, expanding
beyond the ill-fated defiance of those who first
sang Hoist the Colours, and now singing
it proudly and willfully in the face of the pirates'
enemy. The pirates' course is set and the
score sails directly into the next track.
I DON'T THINK
NOW IS THE BEST TIME
As the feature
film engages full force in its third act climax
of action and plot, so too does the score, firing
all themes as if in a cannon fusillade blazing
between the Black Pearl and the Flying Dutchman.
Fittingly chorus and orchestra battle back
and forth with forceful variations on Davy Jones'
theme and salutes to motifs surround the Black
Pearl. As the storm rages along with on-screen
action, the arrangements grow more serious with
lower horns and brass, octave descents in the
chorus and marshaled battle calls from drums and
percussion.
Not only is this
track scoring the finale of AT WORLD'S END, it's
also Hans Zimmer's tour de force summation of
the entire PIRATES trilogy and it calls back on
nearly every major theme heard in the film series.
While you must listen intently at times,
you'll recognize motifs first scored in THE CURSE
OF THE BLACK PEARL as Barbossa, Jack and the crew's
history together aboard her fortify the ship amid
the maelstrom war. Concurrently Will and
Elizabeth battle the deformed denizens of the
Flying Dutchman while picking a poor moment to
reconcile their love for each other. Alas,
the story of AT WORLD'S END also counterpoints
their love with the betrayed and broken heart
of Davy Jones, whose theme variations clash with
Will, Elizabeth and Jack throughout the track.
The Love Theme returns on cue though events
and orchestrations of strings and horns spin around
it, as there is not yet any relief from the storm,
either manmade or supernatural. Thematic
recalls of the Black Pearl from the first film
lead up to a suspenseful interruption of the score's
track.
ONE DAY
A slow and somber
mix of strings lead into a variation of Will and
Elizabeth's love theme until horns herald a return
of Jack's original theme in a strident style with
chorus voices and triumphant strings. French
horns play the Love Theme in a more distant, melancholy
version than before as strings echo their take
on the motif from earlier in the score.
The full orchestra then elevates the mix of motifs
to a dramatic high before surrendering the theme
to a lone flute which flutters out the tender
finale in one of the score's best orchestrated
and arranged tracks.
DRINK UP ME HEARTIES
AT WORLD'S END
we finally reach the score's end, returning the
soundtrack and the story back to Jack Sparrow
with a short, playful sample of Jack's Theme,
giving way to a larger version of He's a Pirate
from the first film, emphasizing his enduring,
indomitable heroic nature. As the credits
roll, a faster arrangement of He's a Pirate
ensues, followed by soaring encores of the Love
Theme variations mixed with movements from Up
is Down. In the end, love and a rich
celebration of Will and Elizabeth's Love Theme
conquers all, concluding the 56-minute soundtrack
CD of PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD'S END
by Hans Zimmer.
A final word
about the bonus material included with this CD
in the form of a 23-page booklet insert featuring
complete score album credits, plus numerous production
and publicity still photos (including a few rare
making-of shots) from AT WORLD'S END. As
expected, the cover and interior art design are
first rate and the booklet makes a handsome addition
to the soundtrack release.
As with the film
itself, I would rank the score for AT WORLD'S
END second to THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL with
great credit going to Hans Zimmer for pulling
together so many musical themes and playing them
out amid a feature score which stands up well
to the visual story it supports and enhances.
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