thepremier's Full Review: Troy by Original Soundtrack/James Horner
Music From the Motion Picture Troy
Music Composed and Conducted by James Horner
2004
For all its unique interpretations of the story of the Trojan War inspired by Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, I discovered that I enjoyed Troy as a movie. Before I saw the film, I was afraid that the soundtrack would be a copy-and-paste job of something similar to Gladiator. I was relieved and delighted by what I heard during the movie and decided I must acquire this soundtrack. Troy has a sound of its own.
The Tracks
There are 12 tracks with a total run time of 1:15:21.
1) 3200 Years Ago (3:36)
2) Troy (5:01)
3) Achilles Leads the Myrmidons (8:30)
4) The Temple of Poseidon (3:28)
5) The Night Before (3:28)
6) The Greek Army and its Defeat (9:38)
7) Briseis and Achilles (5:19)
8) The Trojans Attack (5:01)
9) Hector’s Death (3:27)
10) The Wooden Horse and the Sacking of Troy (10:02)
11) Through the Fires, Achilles… and Immortality (13:27)
12) Remember Me (4:18) Performed by Josh Groban with Tonja Tzarovska
Flavor
Troy sometimes sounds like it could have been written for the great sword and sandal epics of the 50’s and 60’s. It is appropriately grand, brassy, and larger than life. But there are also certain contemporary influences as well such as the use of a chorus or solo voice in non-lyrical singing and chanting. The flavor of the sound is slightly different from other epic movies of current (Lord of the Rings and Gladiator come to mind) while still keeping with the overall theme of epic scores.
Troy has a more tribal or ancient sound to the music, probably because the story is set so long ago. The instruments and melodies sound more primitive, and there is frequent voice work in the form of ritualized chanting and moaning. That flavor is demonstrated from the start, as the first track features percussion and ethereal chanting during the movie’s prologue and opening scene.
There are a few musical themes that occur frequently through the soundtrack in addition to the vocal chanting. One of the first is what I call the Trojan Flourish – an opulent, joyous, and very brassy theme that symbolizes the magnificence, the splendor, and the gaiety of the city of Troy. It is also used to represent the Trojan armies and Hector during the battle pieces. There is also a theme developed for Achilles, which is used when he is in battle, and a sort of love theme for Achilles and Briseis.
Track by Track
3200 Years Ago begins with an effective and absolutely primitive and archaic sounding choir of voices and percussion as the movie’s prologue takes us back in time and sets the tone of the movie. 3200 Years Ago takes us musically to an ancient, wild, and almost barren land and time, with a dark undertone prophesizing the tragic events that will occur.
Troy begins with a repeating melody that grows ever louder and grand which is used as we see the thousand-ship fleet of the Greeks sailing for Troy, which quickly turns into the “Trojan Flourish” as we see the incredible city of Troy for the first time with gorgeous aerial views.
Achilles leads the Myrmidons is the first battle piece of the soundtrack. It opens with a battle theme that will recur throughout the piece. After a quiet lull the action picks up again as Achilles’ warriors land on the beach of Troy with the battle theme again. This battle theme is short and brassy and it repeats itself in a loop several times – almost as if the melody were waves (of troops) crashing up onto the beach. It is also heard as Hector rallies the troops in Troy in the form of a solo trumpet fanfare as other instruments join in the call to arms. The battle takes place in the shadow of a temple to Poseidon, and there is a spiritual theme that sometimes occurs. As Achilles and his warriors start to make progress, Achilles’ theme, a noble melody played on trombone, comes in and the battle theme builds to a crescendo, as the Greeks are victorious in claiming the beach. The piece ends on a somber, if somewhat dark mood as Achilles desecrates the temple and ponders his destiny.
The Temple of Poseidon and The Night Before are both quiet pieces. The Temple of Poseidon features eerie spiritual type chanting invoking visions of white robed virgin priestesses making various offerings to statues of gods. The Night Before is a quiet and dark piece – the quiet before the storm.
The Greek Army and its Defeat is one of my favorite pieces, as it is the piece of music that accompanies the biggest, baddist, battle sequence of the film. The piece begins ala Jaws – low base strings and drums set against a haunting and repeating string melody. This will grow, and grow as the Greek horde approach the city and then erupts into the repeating battle theme which becomes ever more chaotic with slightly off kilter notes from the brass and wind instruments. The repeating trumpets and dancing flutes of the battle theme almost symbolize the masses and waves of men repeatedly crashing into each other, spilling and breaking over each other in a sea of utter chaos and carnage. A slight lull follows consisting of the string section and the percussion as the battle begins to go badly for the Greeks. The battle theme comes back again, this time sounding more tormented, pained, strained, and mechanical and more repetitious as the ranks of spearmen ram against each other, thousands of men acting as one machine, pushing with all their might in the butchery that is hoplite warfare, struggling to gain an inch of advance. Symbols and chimes crash like the soldiers’ armor and spears. The Greeks are forced to retreat, with dark strings and percussion – which is soon punctuated by the brief appearance of the “Trojan Flourish” as the victorious Trojans repulse the attackers. The piece ends with quiet, ritualized voice.
Briseis and Achillles is a quiet, cute, little love theme that builds to a sweeping and lingering ending of string instruments.
The Trojans Attack is reminiscent of Achilles Leads the Myrmidons using similar thematic materials to carry the piece. As the Trojans launch a clever sneak attack against the Greeks at night, the Trojan Flourish returns in a slightly darker format as it is underscored with a dark voice that would represent how the attack would backfire against them. Achilles theme returns as (who we think) is Achilles emerges and rallies the troops and the theme gets taken over by the horn section and the timpani as “Achilles” is slain by Hector, only to be revealed that it is not the legendary hero under the armor by a mournful horn and soft strings.
Hector’s Death is an extremely well composed piece that begins with nothing but heart pounding drums and percussion as the legendary larger-than-life heroes clash with one another in a fierce duel. When Hector is bested, the voice and chanting start to take over in a crescendo. However, as Achilles proceeds to desecrate Hector’s body, the singing becomes a tearful and sorrowful lament to the fallen prince of Troy.
The Wooden Horse and the Sacking of Troy and Through the Fires, Achilles… and Immortality are both long pieces and complete the action sequences as well as the movie using similar thematic material already disused. Of particular interest are the dark and ominous chords that musically introduce the wooden horse, as well as the portentous music that is juxtaposed perfectly with scenes of (ill fated) jubilant revelry and partying as the Trojan people (incorrectly) celebrate their “victory”. There’s also a sweeping section preceding a great crescendo as the mighty Achilles is brought down by the bow of Paris
Finally, Remember Me is the song sung by Josh Groban for the end credits. At first I thought this song was part of an alarming trend of putting a familiar singer singing a song with lyrics into a movie that would otherwise have no place for such a thing to carry us through the ending credits. But this song actually keeps with the overall themes of Homer’s The Iliad namely the importance of being immortalized and having your name and legacy remembered. So it actually seems to have more relevance, as opposed to something like “Into the West” from LOTR Return of the King which seems more contrived (OK everybody, let’s all sing it!). Remember Me is a beautiful song instrumentally and vocally, if perhaps a little melodramatic, as the emotion and lyrics fit Josh’s lush baritone and the song is underscored by Tonja Tzarovska’s voice work and singing as well. There are certain instrumental themes that are borrowed upon and used in other places of the actual movie, so the song feels like it fits a little better than some other ending theme songs from other movies.
The CD liner is unfortunately rather sparse on the information side and is mostly filled with portraits of the film’s major players. Troy is a likeable soundtrack if you enjoy classical soundtrack music to epic movies, so fans of the music of Gladiator, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings and similar movies should find enjoyment in this soundtrack. While it is most likely not the best of its genre and probably not even the best of James Horner (others like Braveheart come to mind), I feel it is effective in its goals and that it has a clear and defined sense of style and grace.
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