A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

Directed by Angelika Weber, Marie Ward tells the story of one of the earliest "feminists", a sixteenth century Englishwoman fighting for the right of women through hard work and dedication throughout Europe.  The director fought hard to persuade Elmer Bernstein to score the relatively low-profile movie, and it is to everyone's benefit that she succeeded.  One of his strongest and most dramatic scores, it is impressive from start to end and more than capable of standing up alongside his acknowledged masterpieces.

The main theme is particularly impressive; written for a larger orchestra than was common for Bernstein, it nonetheless retains his trademark deft touch and is truly lovely.  This was one of his earliest scores in which he used the ondes martenot, and it has a key part to play, seemingly offering the kind of spiritual sound appropriate to a story about a woman and a time and place in general in which religion was so important.  "Plea" is an extremely dramatic piece, filled with much anguish and implying much suffering, but doing so in a typically graceful way.  A lighter sound can be found in the truly gorgeous "Leonard and the Plots", effortlessly evoking the period in which the movie is set, and featuring a sublime section for solo oboe (performed by Klaus Konig).

Many of Bernstein's fans were not too pleased with his continued use of the ondes through much of his last couple of decades of scores, but there were times when it was simply sublime.  A couple of scores where it really added to the experience were Heavy Metal and Frankie Starlight (very different entities, of course) and this is another.  "Revelation" and "Dreams and Visions" both see it adding a beautiful haze to the music (and film) that couldn't have been put there by any other instrument.  A complete contrast is sandwiched in between those tracks, the Pelestrina-influenced "Return to England", a gorgeous piece for brassy orchestra based around a noble, rousing fanfare.  "Pilgrimage" adds yet another twist to proceedings, with some semi-comedic music which breaks things up nicely and "The Children" is a delightful little piece full of youthful joy and exuberance.

Bernstein's early score for The Ten Commandments was intensely moving and dramatic and, over thirty years later, exactly the same style is in evidence from time to time in Marie Ward as well - the intense "Martyrs" is an outstanding example of his mastery of his craft.  The rousing "Finale" is another, a superb end to a superb album.  It stands as a great testament to the composer's abilities to find the right approach to any kind of movie and write fine music in the process; it was released on CD in the first batch of Varese Sarabande's revamped CD Club, and copies are still available at the time of writing from their website.  Unmissable.

Tracks

1. At the Beginning (4:47)
2. Plea (3:21)
3. Sellinger's Round (1:33)
4. The Axe (3:49)
5. Quam Dilecta Tabernacula Tua (3:39)
6. Leonard and the Plots (4:03)
7. Revelation (2:14)
8. Return to England (1:50)
9. Rome / Laureate Dominum (3:53)
10. Dreams and Visions (2:49)
11. Pilgramage (2:51)
12. The Children (3:04)
13. Martyrs (1:45)
14. Illness (1:32)
15. Last Visit (2:20)
16. Finale (5:10)