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Composed by
RACHEL PORTMAN

Rating
* * * *

Album running time
40:41

Performed by
UNNAMED ORCHESTRA
conducted by
DAVID SNELL
Piano
JOHN LENEHAN

Orchestration
RACHEL PORTMAN
JEFF ATMAJIAN

Engineered by
CHRIS DIBBLE
Produced by
RACHEL PORTMAN

Released by
 SONY CLASSICAL
Serial number
SK 89031

Artwork copyright (c) 1999 Miramax Film Corp.; review copyright (c) 2005 James Southall; special thanks to Christian Kühn

 

THE CIDER HOUSE RULES

Lovely if derivative drama score

A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

This charming adaptation of John Irving's popular novel was particularly nice, but probably not quite so good as Miramax managed to persuade Oscar voters; and the studio's favourite composer of the time, Rachel Portman, teamed up with director Lasse Halstrom again to write an equally charming score.  It was her first since Jonathan Demme's Beloved (for which the word "departure" was surely invented) and marked a crowd-pleasing return to the kind of sumptuous melodic writing which so endeared (and, indeed, endears) her to so many film music fans.  (It wouldn't be fair of me to not also mention that it also features all of her less endearing traits - the main theme is only slightly altered from Jerry Goldsmith's Rudy, which was obviously the temp-track; it's repetitive to a fault, though the album is rather short so that isn't too much of a problem; and everything is so simplistic.)

Having said that it's so simplistic, now let me contradict myself by saying that perhaps that's what makes the score so accessible.  Portman is sometimes referred to as the modern-day Georges Delerue and, while I would refute that claim (she isn't nearly in his league), there are certainly the foundations of similarities, and they are evident in the orchestration here: done by Portman herself and Jeff Atmajian, it's reminiscent of latter-day Delerue.  The piano, clarinet and oboe almost seem to be playing off one another, in gorgeous fashion, frequently accompanied by John Barry-style string-and-horn harmonies. 

The whole score is lovely, and impressively each piece works perfectly well by itself.  Indeed, one of the more impressive things about The Cider House Rules is that you can imagine just about any one of the eighteen tracks being taken and used in isolation in a compilation. While, as I mentioned above, there is a great deal of repetition, because the score is a short one this actually allows it to retain a good sense of fluency, with it actually progressing rather intelligently progression from one place to another while allowing individual tracks to retain an identity of their own.  "Semsitive piano syndrome" isn't really a problem - Portman's too classy for that.  It's beautiful stuff, perhaps not quite so impressive as her next score for Hallstrom (Chocolat), but certainly one of her finest scores.

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Tracks

  1. Main Titles (2:10)
  2. Homer's Lessons (3:43)
  3. Young Girl's Burial (:42)
  4. Homer Asks Wally For a Ride (1:27)
  5. Homer Leaves Orphanage (4:37)
  6. The Ocean (:59)
  7. The Cider House (4:13)
  8. Wally Goes Off to War (1:48)
  9. Lobster Dinner (:51)
  10. Burying Fuzzy (1:35)
  11. Homer and Candy on the Dock (2:21)
  12. Rose Rose is Pregnant (1:16)
  13. Abortion (1:50)
  14. Pickers Leave (1:16)
  15. Dr Larch Dies (1:37)
  16. Homer Returns to the Orphanage (3:42)
  17. Good Night, You Kings of New England (1:06)
  18. End Credits (4:36)