(based on 1 reviews)

  Bleu Jean Management wrote:
Expressing the Inexpressible reviewed by Mark R. Hasan of KQEK in Canada.


CD: Expressing the Inexpressible (2007)

Review Rating: Excellent

Comments :

"It´s hard to come out from under the shadow of a cult TV series like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, but this compilation CD featuring selections from 8 scores by Douglas Romayne is both a superb promo for the composer´s skillful writing, and an addictive album, particularly for film music fans wanting music with a rich, elegant orchestral sound.

A number of the scores were written for short student films, and whether it´s a tribute to the filmmakers for inspiring the composer, or the composer transcending the innate limitations of student films (due to budgets, or a filmmaker´s own inexperience as a first-timer), Romayne reveals a very intuitive style.

The music from Freedomland...is centered around a gentle theme that unfolds like a soothing elegy, and in Beautiful, the theme goes through a number of gentle variations as Romayne switches from strings to woodwinds, and concludes the cue with a delicate turn towards a semi-tragic theme, using chamber string instruments and harp....

Quirky humour dominates Romayne´s score for Rocketboy... and the jaunty tempo of Something Unusual is enhanced by the use of expressive, woody vibes and chimes, while Accountant´s Dream introduces the film´s main theme on chimes, and an appropriately cheesy Ondes Martinot sample that recalls some of Danny Elfman´s cheeky music for Tim Burton´s early comedies...

Entity: Nine...deals with the work of a robotics engineer in peril, and contains a darker orchestral colour...Romayne has fun with some highly dramatic suspense writing, and goes for a fast, percussive rush in Home Invasion, giving the short film the sound of a larger budgeted film....

In Shelter...the theme of disparate if not disconnected characters during a rainy night is reflected by a sparse group of instruments and atmospheric, ambient chords, woven together by a repeated piano motif. The first 3 cues seem to express a kind of inconclusiveness, whereas a more complete melodic phrase dominates the electronic tonal undulations and strings in the final cue, Six Percent Chance.

For Sunday Paper p.2b...Romayne returns to the small orchestra sound of Freedomland, and uses warm tones to support his interplay between woodwinds and harp. Going for a looser though not quite free-form melodic style, throughout the 4 cues groups of woodwinds trade, vary or mimic parts, though the piano provides the most complete theme statement in the final cue, Morgana´s Gift.

...Tragic circumstances are the motivating factors in 2 shorts whose themes are showcased with single cues: The Truth About Faces, and Antebody. The former´s theme is a more optimistic cue, and forms a moody contrast to the lone Antebody cut, which emphasizes a sense of lone tragedy through the gentle combination of clarinet, oboe, and strings.

The family secret that two sisters are compelled to address in Beyond the Silence...is reflected through a series of unresolved cues that seethe with implied melodic direction that´s never achieved until the final cue...

The CD concludes with a bonus track, Suite for Beatrix, which assembles a set of charming cues that move from intimate to a much broader, vivacious scope. A full orchestral recap closes the suite, and while brief, it certainly leaves the listener with a deeper feel for Romayne´s writing.


This collection of film scores emphasizes character qualities, subtext, and humor over heavy action subjects, and it´ll be interesting to hear one of the composer´s feature-length scores, since he´s clearly versatile in writing both discreet and prominent cues with exceptional refinement..." - Mark R. Hasan, KQEK, 08.27.07


Read the full review on KQEK´s site: http://www.kqek.com/cd_lp_reviews/e/CD_0061_ExpressingInexpressible.htm