"Kingdom of Heaven" - Harry Gregson-Williams

Kingdom of Heaven

Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams

Release date: April 26, 2005

Amazon page.

Amazon users rating: 4,5 out of 5 stars.

DOWNLOAD



All About Soundtracks Review:
Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven, instead of calling for the bombast talents of Hans Zimmer, as in Gladiator, called of a different approach which was handled by Harry Gregson-Williams.
Actually, Kingdom of Heaven can be considered, in terms of instrumentation and mood, a superior cousin of Gregson-William’s more recent Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. This is a very consistent, solid score, from start to end; however, it will take some time to sink in. If you let it though, you’ll be amazed.
(Read more.)


Williams employs electric cello and violin that provide an amazing authentic sound for the era of the Crusaders. The percussion is diverse and gives also an ethnic feeling to the music. The brass is not bombastic as in Zimmer’s Gladiator. And, at last but not least, the chorus is huge and powerful, and makes some incredibly beautiful appearances.
The main theme is more subtle and yet more powerful than Williams’ theme for Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and it assures the consistency of the score, being present in almost every track. The chords of the theme are slowly presented by the ensemble in A New World, and the theme itself is presented more clearly in Ibelin. However, it can be heard since the first track, Burning The Past, until the well incorporated song at the end, Light of Life.
Cues that will help the score sinking in are To Jerusalem and Battle of Kerak. Even in the action cues, Williams does not blow everything up on your face (or ears), instead infuses orchestral beauty with a sense of adventure and hope, even the darkest moments – listen to Wall Breached.
The stand-out appearances of the chorus are made in the highlights Terms and Better Man.
This score is so consistent in quality that actually every is as great as what we would call highlights in, for example, Gladiator. There not much more to say, but there’s a lot to listen to and discover for yourself.

Ups: authentic score for the period of the movie; exciting and beautiful from start to finish.

Downs: takes some time to sink in, maybe more than one listening.

Noteworthy tracks: Burning the Past, Crusaders, Swordplay, A New World, To Jerusalem, Sibylla, Ibelin, The Battle of Kerak, Terms, Better Man, Wall Breached, Path to Heaven.

Score note: 9,5/10

Preview:
Track 5 - To Jerusalem


Find more videos like this on Soundtrack Fans