Bright Star [Soundtrack]

Various Artists (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 13, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Lakeshore Records
• ASIN: B002L5GQ3W
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,952 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Negative Capability

2. La Belle Dame Sans Merci

3. Return

4. Human Orchestra

5. Convulsion

6. Bright Star

7. Letters

8. Yearning

9. Ode to a Nightingale

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the Human Orchestra alone makes this a highly desirable recording, October 19, 2009

By 

Horatio Guttersnipe (London, England) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bright Star (Audio CD)

This is a short soundtrack, it only plays for 23 minutes roughly and yet that only reminds me of the short life of John Keats who died in his mid twenties. The whole soundtrack is beautifully composed, I cannot over state it enough really, the intensity of the music strikes anyone who listens to it, even if only fleetingly and this is not only the beauty of the score but that it is laced with dialogue from the film which makes this soundtrack very moving indeed and makes you think back to your own first love.

This is an ideal recording to give as a gift to your girlfriend or boyfriend, perhaps this soundtrack was put together to be used for that very purpose.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Short and with dialogue... What a disappointment, October 25, 2009

By 

J. P. C. Wit (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bright Star (Audio CD)

Three stars COULD have been five, because the music itself is perfectly beautiful.

BUT...

The dialogue, though fitting and moving in its own right, really should not have been put on top of the music. It's all over. I'm guessing that's Campion's choice and frankly in my opinion, a poor one. If I wish to hear the music and the dialogue, I'll just watch the movie with my eyes closed.
But then, the other reviewers seem to really like it.

What to do, what to do?

Well, considering the cd is less that 24 minutes in length (with one track featuring ónly dialogue) how about having the CD feature the music both with and without music, it would fit easily. That missed opportunity is the other star taken. What an absolute shame.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Lovely music, obscured by the album presentation, April 4, 2010

By 

Jon Broxton (Thousand Oaks, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bright Star (Audio CD)

A lush, but ultimately tragic costume drama based on the life of 19th century romantic poet John Keats, Bright Star tells the story of the passionate but ill-fated relationship between Keats and a flirtatious, forward-thinking fashion designer Fanny Brawne, which would be cut short by Keats' death in 1821 at the age of just 25. Directed by Jane Campion and starring Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish as Keats and Brawne, Bright Star has received a great deal of critical acclaim for its lead performances, with Cornish especially tipped for Oscar recognition.

The music for Bright Star is by young Australian composer Mark Bradshaw, who collaborated with director Campion on several short films, and wrote music for several Australian theater productions prior to working on this, his first major feature film. The gimmick of the album is that all but three of the cues on Lakeshore's album are overlaid by recordings of lead actors Whishaw and Cornish reading some of Keats' most famous poetry. While this makes perfect sense in the context of the film, and allows fans to be reminded of the film's most romantic content, it unfortunately detracts enormously from Bradshaw's music, often obscuring some of the most beautiful writing on the CD, notably "Bright Star" and the conclusive "Ode to a Nightingale", which would otherwise have been wonderful, especially with the addition of solo vocalists in the latter. Bradshaw's music - that we can hear - is rooted in the `contemporary classical' style, with a small chamber orchestra augmented by a solo harpsichord, solo violin and low synth drones, which give the whole affair a dreamy, slightly timeless air that is quite appropriate given the quixotic nature of Keats' poetry.

The opening "Negative Capability" and, later, "Letters" are the best examples of the general air of the score, more textural than theme-driven, and never truly embracing a full romanticism, instead remaining aloof and distant. Later, "Return" and "Convulsion" continue the distant style, with more shifting cello chords, some quite stark and abrasive, while "Bright Star" is more lyrical, with a wandering solo violin theme lamenting Keats' impending demise. The best track on the album is the gorgeous "Yearning", which after a few moments of narration presents an extended sequence of unsullied orchestral music for a weeping violin that is simply sublime. An album for fans of the film, then, but those seeking only the music will probably be left disappointed due to the unthoughtful album presentation.