Customer Reviews

Cirque Du Soleil: Quidam [Enhanced CD]

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It is with sorrow I give the Quidam soundtrack two stars. Were it not for a few redeeming qualities, it would have received only one. I am not a Cirque "fanatic" but a viewer who appreciates the music as much as the acrobatic performances, and thus I expect (hope) that any Cirque soundtrack would correspond to the original performance.

I am not unfamiliar with the Quidam CD; in fact, I have listened to it many times over the past several years. It was not until I ripped the audio from my DVD that I realized how incredibly different the official soundtrack is from the actual show. A review of each track follows.


---DVD PERFORMANCE ACTS---

German Wheel
Diabolos (spools)
Aerial Contortion in Silk
Skipping Ropes
Clowns
Aerial Hoops
Handbalancing
Spanish Web
Statue
Cloud Swing
Banquine

Various Interludes, including John Gilkey's Acts



---CD TRACKS---

1. Atmadja: The opening of the show, sung by 11-year-old Audrey Brisson-Jutrás. This track is identical to the performance and has very beautiful, rich acoustics. As it is in the show, the track is very short.

2. Incantation: Theme of "German Wheel". Like much of the CD, the orchestrations are whittled down to a bare minimum and the instrumentation here is flat and dull. The male vocal (sung by Mathieu Lavoie) is missing, taking away greatly from the tribal feel of the piece. The last 40 seconds pick up with fuller strings, but at this point, it's a bit of a lost cause.

3. Marelle: An interlude between acts in the performance, sung by Brisson-Jutrás. Identical to the show, also very short.

4. Rivage: A techno vocal piece sung by both Brisson-Jutrás and Lavoie. Fits very well with Quidam's musical themes but is not actually present in the DVD version of the show. Heavily syncopated with drums and electric guitar. The chorus is a little repetitive but the music is sweeping and enjoyable.

5. Zydeko: A clownish version of "Skipping Ropes". It is performed without seriousness and with ghost-like instrumentals. The beauty of the original score is entirely absent and is oddly spliced between "Zydeko" and "Innocence" on the album. The running time is a joke at 1:19 and it may as well have been left out.

6. Let Me Fall: One of the few redeeming qualities of the soundtrack! A credit to the album, this is the theme to "Aerial Contortion in Silk" but with added lyrics. Haunting, tender, and emotional.

7. Innocence: At 1:56, this tiny portion of "Skipping Ropes" is incomplete and dragging in tempo. It is incredibly difficult to appreciate at such a ridiculous length and needs to be part of the full score.

8. Carrousel: The first minute is the introduction to "Clowns" but slowed to an agonizing pace. Just when the listener feels like he or she is going to be thrust into the fun, toe-tapping theme of the comic relief, the music suddenly changes to the serious vocal interlude between Skipping Ropes and Aerial Hoops. A female singer is added. I'm pleased this interlude was included but it does nothing to redeem a fallen album and the "Clowns" tidbit seems, like the rest of the soundtrack, "thrown in" in an poor attempt to put some of the show music onto a disc.

9. Séisouso: A beautiful piece from Aerial Hoops. This is one of the few real tastes of the live performance that stays true to itself...sort of. Thankfully a fuller orchestra peeks through, and Brisson-Jutrás's contributions are always appreciated, but an accordion? This instrument is disjointed and is a strange addition to an already perfect score. It needed no change from the original.

10. Réveil: Finally! A piece that made it directly from the performance to the soundtrack. This is the theme to "Statues" in all it's breathtaking glory. The full orchestra (having been thrust underground until now) makes its debut here to great relief.

11. Quidam: The brief finale orchestration is transformed into an uninspiring, English-vocal piece. Listening to it feels like the creators are trying to tell the story to new audiences, clarifying that Quidam is "everyman, anyman." The chorus is repeated way too many times. Okay to hear once a year but no more.



---TRACKS CUT FROM CD---


Diabolos
Skipping Ropes (what exists does not count
Clowns (what exists does not count)
Handbalancing
Spanish Webs
Cloud Swing
Banquine

Various Interludes
John Gilkey's Acts, including Coat Rack Mambo




---FINAL TAKE---

My 2-star rating comes from the following:

Out of eleven mind-blowing acts, we are given the full, unaltered music from two.(Banquine and Diabolos, recorded live, are included on a "special release" version). Audrey's interlude pieces are beautiful, but their short duration are not nearly enough to bring the CD out of despair. These and "Let Me Fall" but these are small concessions when over two-thirds of the performance score is missing.

The rest of the tracks are painstakingly short, spliced together, and generally cheap skeleton imitations of the originals. The orchestrations are sparse and uninspiring. The entire album is generally confused and bears little resemblance to the actual show. Now that I've taken the audio from the DVD (something that even novices can do with free programs online or "came-with" software like Windows Movie Maker) I will be transferring "Let Me Fall" to my iPod and selling this CD at my next garage sale. Shame on Cirque for not giving its viewers a soundtrack worthy of such an amazing show.

Quidam's music can best be described as both an eclectic and esoteric mix. It would be very difficult to categorize the music on this CD into any one genre. From the rocking Zydeko to the beautiful song Seisouso, to the eastern European sounding Rivage, this CD will have something for everyone. And it is a must have for anyone who has seen Quidam.

Cirque Du Soleil (Quidam) wouldn't be such a hit without it's soundtrack. You can recapture the experience of the dark but lively mood through the tracks on this CD. Definately a collectible.

As the very first Cirque du Soleil show I ever saw, Quidam will always hold a special place in my heart. The music, just like the show, is saturated with emotion, passion and a hint of something darker and more surreal. I've always felt that part of the theme of Quidam was to look past the surface into the real core of a person or a situation so you can understand more about it. That way, the situation, or more importantly the person, are no longer anonymous. They have a personality and exist beyond just a shell. The music of Quidam, composed by Benoit Jutras, takes this concept and enhances it with its over-worldly mystery and surreal feel.

Oddly enough, the Quidam soundtrack is actually one of the shortest Cirque du Soleil soundtracks out there. Not only that, but much of the show's music seems to be missing. This may have something to do with the fact that Quidam tends to have re-occurring melodies and similar songs, which serve to amplify some of the themes. However, there are still other songs that the CD leaves out. Also, on a personal note, it's always bugged me that the version of the song "Quidam" on the soundtrack features English and French vocals, while the live version (at least on the DVD and from what I can recall) are solely in French and the CD version of "Let Me Fall" is in English while the live version is in a different language (French, maybe?).

The overall sound of Quidam feels very different from other Cirque productions. Not only is it darker, but it features youthful female vocals (provided by Audrey Brisson-Jutras here) along with background male vocals (provided by Mathieu Lavoie here). The youthful, childish female vocals give the music a more innocent feel but can make the Quidam world seem stranger and more twisted with such an odd concept of innocence mixed with something darker. Highlights of the soundtrack include the sinister "Incantation," the emotional "Let Me Fall," the somewhat twisted "Steel Dream," and the inspirational (as in, always manages to bring tears to my eyes) "Quidam."

While I have to overlook a few things, the Quidam soundtrack stands as one of the most provocative and surreal Cirque soundtracks out there. Filled with a sense of dark innocence and human redemption, Quidam's music will always be a personal favorite, and an amazing journey.

It is missing the track "Gopher Mambo" by Yma Sumac. A most important track to remember the jungling/hat rack set.

I immediately wanted to buy this CD after watching Quidam. It refresh my memory every time I listen to its music!
Worth buying!