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Eastern Promises
from: Sony Classics
Our Price: $18.97 Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0886971668728
Format: Soundtrack
Label: Sony Classics
Manufacturer: Sony Classics
MPN: 716687
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Sony Classics
Release Date: September 11, 2007
Studio: Sony Classics
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Editorial Review:
This soundtrack marks composer Howard Shore's 12th collaboration with director David Cronenberg, and it's safe to say the two men have an almost symbiotic relationship at this point. Like its immediate predecessor, A History of Violence, Eastern Promises is a crime drama; this time around, however, it is set not in a very American town but among Russian gangsters in London. Shore evokes the milieu by incorporating "slavic" touches from a cimbalom (a type of hammered dulcimer), a balalaika (a triangular stringed instrument), and a tárogatóto (a woodwind) in his orchestrations, but thankfully he doesn't overdo it and turn the score into cheesy folklore. This is a taut, somber CD, where the main themes are performed by a solo violin (check out in particular "Nine Elms"). But the most arresting track may well be the slow, majestic "Slavery and Suffering", a traditional revolutionary song performed by the Red Army Choir. --Elisabeth Vincentelli
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Wonderful!
This is my first Howard Shore CD so I'm not bias one way or the other about his music. I loved this disk from beginning to end. A terrific example of comtemporary thematic composition featuring just the proper degree of ethnic instrumentation and flavor. I saw the film and it is a bit dark, but Shore music rarely hints at the extreme violence depicted and is simply beautful. Emotionally and technically the LPO and all featured artists are quite up to the task of Shore's compositions, thank you very ... Read More
Rating:  - Promises Kept: Shore's Somber Score for "Eastern Promises"
David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises" proved to be one of the grittiest and darkest films of the year engaging a topic that is simply gut-wrenching. Howard Shore's approach to the film is at once somber and tense. His focus on strings, especially solo violin, through most of his score gives background to characters in a very dark setting. The tone is in great part Russian (including of course some traditional source music and instrumentation), as befits the plot and several characters. As a soundtrack ... Read More
Rating: - More bittersweet minimalism from Shore
This score was much better than Howard's work for A History of Violence in my opinion because it wasn't forced,but had a nice,steady flow to it--what I think he's best at.As usual,the music stands alone much better if you experience it in the context of the film first,but it's still great mood music.The music tends to be spacious over-all,and then brought into focus by the amazing violin soloist:it's like velvet rubbed against the soul.
Rating: - The newest masterpiece from Howard Shore has arrived!
I will try not to sound cheesy, but i can't help myself, when a new Shore-composition comes out. The master of music has turned to the softer, more simple melodies, and that is most understandable, after the grand opera of the Lord of the Rings. Shore transforms easily to the small pieces of Cronenberg, his long time collaborator of two decades. The Maestro (And I grant only him and John Williams the title "maestro")uses hungarian and russian folk insteruments, such as the tarogato and the cimbalom, and they ... Read More
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