Gently As She Goes (performed by Robin Wright-Penn)
What We Need Is A Hero
I'm Here To Kill Your Monster
I Did Not Win The Race
A Hero Comes Home (performed by Robin Wright-Penn)
Second Grendel Attack
I Am Beowulf
King Beowulf
He Has A Story To Tell
Full Of Fine Promises
Beowulf Slays The Beast
He Was The Best Of Us
The Final Seduction
A Hero Comes Home (End Credit Version)(performed by Idina Menzel)
In a legendary time of heroes, the mighty warrior Beowulf battles the demon Grendel and incurs the hellish wrath of the beast?s ruthlessly seductive mother. Their epic clash comes to the big screen in Beowulf, directed by ... more »Oscar winner Robert Zemeckis. The grand and powerful score is by Alan Silvestri, Oscar nominated for Forrest Gump and The Polar Express, Grammy® winner for the latter and nominated for Back To The Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and a manytime BMI and ASCAP Award honoree. Highlighting the score and soundtrack album is "A Hero Comes Home," performed by the critically acclaimed Idina Menzel (RENT, Wicked).« less
In a legendary time of heroes, the mighty warrior Beowulf battles the demon Grendel and incurs the hellish wrath of the beast?s ruthlessly seductive mother. Their epic clash comes to the big screen in Beowulf, directed by Oscar winner Robert Zemeckis. The grand and powerful score is by Alan Silvestri, Oscar nominated for Forrest Gump and The Polar Express, Grammy® winner for the latter and nominated for Back To The Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and a manytime BMI and ASCAP Award honoree. Highlighting the score and soundtrack album is "A Hero Comes Home," performed by the critically acclaimed Idina Menzel (RENT, Wicked).
CD Reviews
The best new score I've heard in years
Stuart M. Paine | Arlington, VA USA | 12/03/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"BEOWULF is a massive work from Alan Silvestri, and of his big scores it's the best listening experience since THE MUMMY RETURNS and arguably his greatest work since JUDGE DREDD. One hears similarities to parts of MUMMY, DREDD, VOLCANO, and THE ABYSS, but BEOWULF is more lyrical than any of them. In it, Silvestri absolutely succeeds in convincing that he's evoking a time distant and primal.
Right out of the gate, the "Beowulf Main Title" combines Silvestri's familiar pounding tympani with one of his most interesting deep-voiced melodies - the kind he normally does with his trademark powerful brass but which is here presented on synthesizer. It's built off a flatted 6th mode with a 3rd that shifts major and minor while a mixed choir interjects a simple and aggressive 2-note motive. In tracks 3 and 7, Robin Wright-Penn, to (again synthesized) "harp" accompaniment, plaintively and understatedly sings the ancient-sounding "Gently As She Goes" and "A Hero Comes Home". They're touching and beautiful performances. Silvestri returns to these melodies repeatedly, expanding and combining them, swelling them with orchestra and choir. In track 11, "He Has a Story to Tell", he gently deconstructs the "Hero" melody so that it sounds almost as if it were from CONTACT. All three themes get a full workout throughout this 45 minute score which seems less like a series of filmic episodes than a cohesive single work - a kind of choral symphony. BEOWULF may be the most mature work of Silvestri's career.
And, the pop version of "Hero" which closes the disc is an exhilarating encore. Not only is it gorgeously scored, but Idina Menzel can really sing! She goes straight for the notes and hits them dead-on and without over-vibrato. She also clearly enjoys the melody just as it is and does not use it as a vehicle for self-indulgent showing off.
Highest recommendation.
"
Beowulf Soundtrack - A Powerful Musical Interpretation
Mark | East Coast | 12/31/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Beowulf is a new 2007 version of a classic tale. Beowulf The score is a big part of the film, and Alan Silvestri has put together a power blend of old and new. This soundtrack is bound to appeal to Beowulf fans and music enthusiasts alike.
The score is very well put together and complements the movie experience. There is a lot of driving heart pounding composition, almost operatic in nature. And there are also soft pensive songs. In any case, the music is very well appreciated in a theatre, or in the comfort of well equipped surround sound.
Silvestri draws well from his previous credits, such as "The Polar Express" and "Van Helsing." Yet the score and songs of this film stand on their own and evoke a time long past in a heart felt and powerful way.
The "Beowulf Main Title" starts the film with a driving energetic beat combined with a deep melody. This and other tracks work well to communicate the urgency of the battlefield and the sea.
Yet the surprising and gentle songs sung by Robin Wright-Penn, "Gently As She Goes" and "A Hero Comes Home," are going to please audiences. They provide a stark contrast to the beating operatic pieces. Silvestri uses these melodies in refashioned ways throughout the film to amazing effect. The result is a cohesive score with stand out tracks that will certainly be near the top of his career accomplishments.
A strong pop version of the song "A Hero Comes Home" is sung by Idina Menzel during the credits.
Overall, this score is a key part of a great movie.
Enjoy!!!
"
Silvestri's Heroic Spin on "Beowulf"
G M. Stathis | cedar city, utah USA | 11/27/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Robert Zemeckis created something of an "animated" holiday classic with "The Polar Express" and Alan Silvestri was right there with a great score and notable songs. With "Beowulf" Zemeckis has upped the ante with a visually stunning reworking of the epic saga of the hero Beowulf and again Silvestri has tagged along to provide music for a modern interpretation of an eighth century tale. What Silvestri has produced is also a modern interpretation but of the classic adventure score not without a few appreciative nods to the late Basil Poledouris and his magnificent score for "Conan the Barbarian" (and a little reminder of "Starship Troopers") along with a rather healthy echo of Silvestri's own fine music for "Van Helsing." But there are a couple of surprises as well. Songs play a significant part in the film and on the soundtrack as well they should since the original epic poem of Beowulf was sung after all. Two songs are performed on screen and the soundtrack by none other than Robin Wright-Penn including a vocal of the main theme, "A Hero Comes Home", and they are delightful. There is also another version of the song "A Hero Comes Home" in a pop version by Idina Menzel (of "Wicked" fame) for the end credits and it is also quite good. Of course this whole project was intended to be over the top, and it succeeds on this level as an adventure film and a first rate score. Silvestri opted for something a little less than a classical approach (Poledouris went the other way with "Conan" as did Jerry Goldsmith and his wonderful music for yet another version of the Beowulf tale, "Thirteenth Warrior"), but his choral-synthesizer main theme with thundering percussion seems just the right fit for this fanciful tale of Norsemen, storm tossed dragon ships, and epic battles with mythical monsters. A heroic score for a heroic saga, it is all a good deal of fun. The score is a good fit on the screen and a worthy soundtrack. Nicely produced and packaged by Warner.
"
!3th Warrior on steroids
D. Redfeld | Los Angeles CA USA | 12/28/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I never thought I'd hear a score with more testosterone than Jerry Goldsmith's 13th Warrior, but here it is! Great opening theme with thundering chorus and plenty of brass packed in. However, the gentler moments of the score are really spectacular in true Silvestri fashion. It's nice to see a current film composer using few instruments at a time---it's almost unheard of!
Lovely orchestration all around and terrific production values. One of my favorites for the year!"
Great soundtrack with great themes
Michael Longstreet | Sacramento, CA USA | 04/15/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Alan Silvestri's score for the epic animated tale `Beowulf' starts out with a bang. Even though the "Main Title" is less than a minute, the track conveys the direction of the rest of the album. With a driving beat common to films of this type, Silvestri also lends the voices of men and women to chant to music to its final moment. This theme is heard over and over again during the course of the score, as Beowulf's theme.
One of the biggest uses of this theme is in "What We Need is a Hero." This track is from when we first meet Beowulf, sailing to Hrothgar's kingdom on a storm swept ocean. It is a great introductory track for the title character with nice use of horns and driving drums. But probably the best use of Beowulf's theme is in "I Am Here to Kill Your Monster." This track is when Beowulf and Hrothgar meet. Again using driving drums and a melodic undertone, the theme is broken up into rounds, with brilliant solos by French horns and blasting trombones. This track is my personal favorite from the album. Listening to the track easily shows the strength and honor that Beowulf and his Geats (Swedes) bring to Hrothgar's kingdom.
Silvestri brings the men's choir back in full force for "I Did Not Win the Race." There are some classic Silvestri moments in this piece. His tweaking of Beowulf's theme is heard as the choir and driving drums bring the track to a dramatic climax, finishing in a quiet soft melody as Beowulf meets the underwater woman.
The track "I Am Beowulf" is basically the finale of Beowulf's main theme, as it is slowly transformed into the sad melodic hero's theme instead (the same notes as "A Hero Comes Home"). When Beowulf becomes king, in the second half of the film, his theme is no longer as grandiose as it was during the first half of the film. The music, like him, has matured and become more melodic and less driving. I found Silvestri's transition between the two themes, which can be heard working against each other in "I Am Beowulf," to be brilliant and highly enjoyable. This is probably the sleeper track on the album, as it is not only a turning point musically, but also in the story of the epic tale.
Also beginning with "I Am Beowulf," is the theme of Grendel's mother. It begins there and continues through "The Seduction," and shows up again in "The Final Seduction." This is a soft, creepy melody that lends itself to a few moments of almost playfulness while Beowulf is in Grendel's cave, negotiating with the demon.
Sadly, the last hurrah of Beowulf's theme from the film is missing from the soundtrack. After Hrothgar's death, Beowulf is crowned king. When the camera pans across his crown, his theme is dramatically repeated, and the next time we see him he is older, as many years have passed. On the track "King Beowulf," Silvestri has included the music from Hrothgar's death, but it picks up again with the next track "He Has a Story to Tell," well after that scene has concluded. I would have liked to have seen this heroic track included in the album. This was Beowulf ultimate achievement, becoming king, but the thundering music of his theme is mysteriously left out.
"He Has a Story to Tell" eloquently displays the character's anguish, replacing the highly energized Beowulf's theme with the now dominant and soft "Hero Comes Home" theme. The track ends playing Beowulf's theme one last time, but it is in a slow soft tone, just to remind us that it's still there, but that is has lost its energy.
The music personifies Beowulf just as good as the pictures telling the story. From the strong Geat warrior able to take on anything to the tragic cursed king who is being replaced by the Christian symbols throughout his kingdom and has outlived his usefulness.
That is when we get "Beowulf Slays the Beast," which brings many of the elements from "Second Grendel Attack" and "I Did Not Win the Race" and combines them into one last driving force, lasting 6:02, the longest on the album. The use of men's and women's choirs is at its height here, while both Beowulf's theme and the hero theme are absent. Beowulf's battle with the dragon is the climax to the film, and it works well as a climax to Silvestri's great score as well.
Silvestri culminates all emotion into "He Was the Best of Us," where the sad, melodic hero's theme is the dominant theme. This is a sad, but powerful piece, as this track serves as the backdrop for Beowulf's death and burial at sea.
There is also a nice treat on the album, which includes the two songs sung by Robin Wright-Penn while in the mead hall during the first half of the film. "Gently as She Goes" and "A Hero Comes Come" are nice soft pieces, nearly devoid of other instruments. Only a fife and harp accompany the songs. These two tracks are a nice treat to the score.
The final track, and the one that serves as the film's end credits, is "A Hero Comes Home (End Credit Version)" as performed by Idina Menzel. This is a great piece. This is one that you definitely want to crack up your stereo and blast this tune. It starts out with the powerful preamble of the hero's theme and driving drums, and then forms itself into the new age sounding lyrical genius of Menzel's version of "A Hero Comes Home." I remember overhearing some of the people walking out at the end of the movie saying that they thought the end credit song was a horrible choice and it didn't match the film. I couldn't disagree more. This is a great track and sums up Beowulf perfectly. He's a romantically tragic character with the flaws that make him seem more human than epic hero. If you listen to the words, this song is Beowulf! Overall, a fantastic album!
Track Listings (16) - Disc #1