A Respectable Trade (Music from the Drama Serial)

Product Details
Composer: Philippa Gregory
Audio CD (November 21, 1998)
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: Soundtrack
Label: BBC Worldwide Music
Condition: Used (Very Good)
Rating: #####
Availability: In Stock
Price: RM28.00


Track Listings
1. Opening Titles
2. Frances' Theme
3. Love Fulfilled
4. Tragedy
5. Get Mehuru
6. The Rose Sails
7. Lord and Lady Scott Visit
8. Gag Muzzle
9. Josiah and Frances Meet
10. Samuel's Poem
11. The Slave Ship
12. Mr. Kedge
13. The Merchant Venturers Triumph
14. Moving to Queens Square
15. Josiah Humiliated
16. Mehuru Goes to Whiteleaze
17. Searching for Matthew
18. First Attraction
19. Mehuru and Bates Fight
20. Our Future
21. First Kiss?
22. Queens Square
23. Mehuru Returns
24. Frances is Pregnant
25. Marriage
26. Two Sides of the World
27. Parting
28. Rape
29. The New Hot Well
30. Frances Sees the Slaves
31. Learning English
32. Whose Child?
33. Pavement Gavotte
34. Eye Contact
35. Bible Story
36. Closing Credits


Nott is probably most famous for the bouncy brass band march he wrote for the main titles of the cult Wallace and Gromit animated shorts, so the beautiful, emotional music in A Respectable Trade may come as something of a surprise to those unfamiliar with his other works. The series, based on Philippa Gregory's acclaimed novel, tells the story of Mehuru, an African nobleman stolen from his home and sold into slavery in 18th Century England, who falls in love with his new owner Josiah Cole's wife, Frances. Eschewing the hackneyed ethnic rhythms that lesser composers would no doubt have used to portray the racial elements of the story, Nott instead has chosen to compose to the film's English setting and write in a lush, modern, classical style. However, Nott's dilemma in writing for a subject as controversial as the slave trade was that he could not afford to overload the more traumatic scenes of slaves being chained together in bowels of ships and women being raped with over-the-top music which might trivialise and, in some cases, sanitise the horrors of the story. He overcomes this by scoring those scenes with admirable restraint, relying on solemn violins, rumbling timpanis and the occasional tolling bell to depict the drama and tragedy of the events unfolding, and the resulting cues ("Gag Muzzle", "The Slave Ship" and "Two Sides of the World") are all the more effective because of it. The more passionate element of the story, the forbidden love between Frances and Mehuru, is captured by two absolutely gorgeous recurring themes that highlight Nott's real flair for lush string writing. The first, "Frances' Theme", is delicate and attractive, yet slightly melancholy, and features a lovely oboe solo. To me, the theme describes the character of Frances as being a woman repressed and dominated by her husband, overcome with desire for a mysterious, exotic stranger, but who is destined never to be with the man she loves due to circumstances beyond her control. The score's full-blown romantic theme, first presented in "Love Fulfilled" and prominent in several other tracks, begins with an idyllic, pastoral melody, but builds up to stunning a full-orchestral climax. For me, these two themes sum up the entire score, and the story - a combination of all-encompassing love and lust, tinged with a sadness and regret. These two themes admittedly do tend to dominate the score and, as you would expect, many of the middle-album cues where the themes are not present are scored simply with slow, solemn strings and subtle woodwinds. To his credit, Nott tries to break the musical monotony by experimenting with occasional dips into English Baroque which convey the comedic aspects of the story well. He makes great use of this style of writing in a number of cues, most notably the stately "Lord and Lady Scott Visit", the pompous march for "Mr. Kedge", and especially "Marriage", which features an effective harpsichord solo. There are two powerful percussion-led action cues in "Get Muhuru" and "Mehuru and Bates Fight", the latter of which is slightly reminiscent of some of John Barry's Bond movie work and, as the story is set in and around the seafaring port of Bristol, some of the cues invoke images of the ocean, most notably the dramatic "The Rose Sails", which rises and falls with every eddy, and the majestic "The Merchant Venturers Triumph". Nott's style of orchestral grandeur and huge, sweeping themes is sure to bring him more fans and accolades as time goes by. If the music for A Respectable Trade is anything to go by, then there is no doubt in my mind that the name Julian Nott will be gracing the opening titles of movies on many a cinema screen for years to come.


Average Customer Review: ####