Christus Apollo

Jerry Goldsmith | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 26, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Telarc
• ASIN: B00006313F
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #114,585 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Music For Orchestra

2. Part I

3. Part II

4. Part III

5. Part IV

6. Fireworks

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Whatever happened to the future? It's a compelling question, one that can't help coming to mind when one addresses some of the forceful music on this anthology of concert music by film-scoring legend Jerry Goldsmith. The star attraction here is a modern LSO-London Voices recording of Christus Apollo, the cantata Goldsmith fashioned from sci-fi master Ray Bradbury's epic 1969 poem that fused the idealism of the first moon landing with ruminations about human evolution and Christ visiting other galaxies. While Bradbury's prose (narrated here with appropriate gravitas by actor Anthony Hopkins) occasionally lapses from pondering to ponderous and never quite escapes the shadow of Kubrick's/Clarke's even more cosmologically/philosophically oblique 2001: A Space Odyssey, Goldsmith's music imparts a sense of drama and purpose to the text that seems to span centuries.

Using a then-chic dodecaphonic technique, the composer applies his mastery of color and dynamics to ensure that the music never lapses into tone-row clichés, invoking the medieval as often as the futuristic. But even if Goldsmith now admits the 12-tone system has become an ironic anachronism, it detracts nothing from the dark, rhythmic fury of the 1970 "Music for Orchestra" that opens the set. It's music with sonic parallels to some of the composer's great sci-fi scores: Planet of the Apes, Alien, et al. The disc's "Fireworks" bookend (written for Goldsmith's 1999 debut concert series with the L.A. Philharmonic) gratifyingly displays a composer who's embraced postmodernism with similar zeal. Brassy flourishes lead to a pulsing, colorful piece of program music that celebrates the musician's Los Angeles roots and heritage. --Jerry McCulley

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Goldsmith without the movie, December 2, 2002

By 

Stephen (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Christus Apollo (Audio CD)

I bought this at first to see what Goldsmith would do without the background of the motion picture to back him up. I knew that he would be able to do it, I just wanted to see what it was like. I came out throughly satisified that he can accomplish the task.

All works here are commissions. The first, as other reviewers have implied, invokes Planet of the Apes and Alex North's 2001. Very discordant and atonal, the piece will saisify anyone who loved Planet of the Apes.

Christus Apollo, which forms the core of the recording, is the penultimate of his genius. With Ray Bradbury supplying the words and the lovely narration by Anthony Hopkins, the genius of Apollo is brought to life and the mind is filled with images of man striding the heavens to fulfill his destiny.

The last piece is one that shows that Goldsmith can write with such beauty and poetry that can bring tears to the eye, which Fireworks did when I first heard it. It is Blue Max brought to the 90's and invokes one to think of looking to the sky and seeing what is there and what can be. Fireworks is well worth the price of the whole thing to me and is a must in any Goldsmith fans collection.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Goldsmith...without pictures, April 7, 2002

By 

Brian G. Joy (Logan, UT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christus Apollo (Audio CD)

Jerry Goldsmith is one of classical music's most outstanding composers of the twentieth century and a master of both abstract and programmatic music. His mastery of programmatic music has been long known from his prolific and spectacular film legacy, but his abstract music has been neglected until now. This album is a wonderful introduction to this side of his work, and now I want more.

The three pieces on this disc give a good cross-section of musical styles. Although Goldsmith states that he composed "Music for Orchestra" and CHRISTUS APOLLO using 12-tone techniques, his strong lyricism and signature treatment imbue both works with an immediate accessibility seldom found in serial music. He also is able to create quite different worlds in each, the first being tumultuous and the second being devotional in nature.

"Music for Orchestra" was written during a time of personal distress, and Goldsmith channelled this into his composition. It is a firestorm of sound. Goldsmith's confident direction and the London Symphony Orchestra's strong playing combine to give a powerful performance.

The title work of this disc is a four-movement cantata based on a text by Ray Bradbury. Written in 1969, CHRISTUS APOLLO brings Christian mysticism into the Space Age. The musings by the narrator of what a Christ would experience on another planet are answered by the chorus and mezzo soprano. This interplay of voices celebrates the universal nature of the divine. Goldsmith's music gives a sense of timelessness to the work, sounding simultaneously modern and ancient. Anthony Hopkins' smooth reading of the narrator and Eirian James' rich mezzo blend well with the London Voices' mesmerizing presentation.

"Fireworks" was written as a finale piece for Goldsmith's first concert series with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl-complete with fireworks, surprisingly enough. It evolved to become a celebratory work commemorating Los Angeles, his home town. The joyous nature of his feelings are readily apparent. It is an exuberant work that brings the disc to a brilliant close.

This disc is a continuation of Jerry Goldsmith's tradition of great music. Whether you are a novice to his music or a die-hard fan (like me), this music will inspire. It is another reason in a long list of why Jerry Goldsmith is one of the great musical voices of our time.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great disc. All Goldsmith fans must buy this CD!, May 14, 2002

By 

Joseph (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Christus Apollo (Audio CD)

Music for Orchestra is very similar to Jerry's Planet of the Apes, and therefore, is quite atonal and dissonant. I personally like it, but if you haven't heard it before, you should probably listen to POTA again and decide if you like it!
Christus Apollo sounds very silly and very dated. Its similar in tone to Music for Orchestra. In my opinion, its the weakest (but also sadly the longest) piece on the disc.
And Fireworks, a fantastic 8 minute concert piece, is worth the price of the disc alone. Goldsmith calls it a celebration of his life and career, and it shows. Its not as musically complex as the first two pieces, but it is a lot more fun. Easily my favorite of the three. It strongly reminds the listener of Jerry's scores to Lionheart and Bad Girls. Its a great slice of Americana; the way Legends of the Fall was.
The performance by the LSO is absolutely flawless. Can't praise them enough, and Goldsmith's conducting is fabulous as always.
This is an essential CD for all Goldmsith fans, and makes one wish he'd written a lot more concert pieces in his illustrious career.