Search - Carl Davis, Melvyn Tan, Nicholas Bucknall :: Pride and Prejudice: The Original Soundtrack from the A&E Special Presentation

Only very slightly disappointing! - Feeling incomplete...

Nickibockers | 02/29/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I had hoped when I bought this soundtrack that I would hear all the wonderful songs played in the film. I eagerly opened it and listened through and heard... mostly repetition!
The chapter summaries included bits of some dance songs, like transposed snippets of Mr Beveridge's Maggot for piano, but there was not one complete song to be had, and I was disappointed.
Don't get me wrong! I love the sparkling, quick-paced Pride and Prejudice theme! But I thought it would have been nice to have included the songs played and sung in the film - maybe more professionally than some of the characters, say, Mary, had performed, but having it on the soundtrack, even if only orchestrally, would have been nice.
Where was the first dance song at the Red Lion on this soundtrack? I loved those country dances! Where was Lizzy's pianoforte performance of Mozart's aria "Voi Che Sapete"? Where was Georgiana's performance of Beethoven's charming "Andante Favori"?
It would have made the soundtrack so much richer and more complete if only they had included these songs!As it is, this soundtrack absolutely sparkles, especially with Melvin Tan's fabulous performance at the pianoforte. The use of a pianoforte is a detail that I highly praise. I am a big "period instrument" enthusiast and love that Carl Davis chose to use the proper piano appropriate to the era. His music is lively, playful, dark at times, but never despairs, and is all around excellent. We get all the character themes nicely displayed in this soundtrack, so we do not miss out of that, at least.
An extremely fine score, but a somewhat lacking, though enjoyable, CD."

Music as Elegant as Darcy's and Elizabeth's Love

randomartco | 11/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For those who loved A&E's version of Pride and Prejudice, the soundtrack is just as good. Listening to this CD will instantly sweep you back into the movie. This CD is great to listen to when driving or when you need to be up-lifted. I highly recommend this soundtrack to anyone who loved the Pride and Prejudice miniseries, or the novel. Sit back, relax, and enjoy Pride and Prejudice all over again."

Disappointing, bland P&P music

randomartco | 05/20/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"With all the great dance music in the BBC's fabulous production of P&P, you'd think this would be a great CD. Unfortunately, and suprisingly, none of the dance music is included! Instead, the entire CD is the background music used throughout the series which, after a very little while, all sounds pretty much the same. This is very tame, fairly bland fare -- may be OK as background music for a tea party, but otherwise not worth the effort, or price."