Customer Reviews

Piercing The Celluloid Veil

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This CD is filled with excellent orchestral writing, arranging, and performing. I recommend sitting back and letting your mind's eye get carried away with it's lush and emotional movie sound track-type music. (I just noticed that the liner notes suggest this, too. Guess this CD makes it point.) It's a great blend of excellent orchestral composition and film sound track-type music. Although I'm not aware of which major films he may have scored, this CD solidly demonstrates that Mark Wolfram is most worthy of being a household name in film scoring along with the best of 'em! I highly recommend it.

If you are a movie lover, then you probably love film music, especially the classic scores written by such past giants as Miklos Rosza or present day titan John Williams. Well, if you hunger for more richly orchestrated film-style music, this album will fill the bill very nicely--and there's more where it came from, as Mark Wolfram is a very active contemporary composer.

The Sinfonia of London is a top-notch collection of London's best orchestral musicians, and under Mark's direction they give the kind of polished performance you would expect. The music itself covers a wide variety of cinema-influenced styles, all expertly handled by Maestro Wolfram. And the sound quality of the recording is excellent. Break out the popcorn!

Mark Wolfram has scored a real winner with 'Veil'. Musically and emotionally, it can be turbulent and - more often - soothing all at the same time. Its impact is very similar to what I experienced the first time I heard the score for 'The Piano'. 'Veil' is what you want to listen to in a darkened room while wrestling with a problem, or simply unwinding after a long day. My only criticism is that the cuts are too short. I'm left wanting more! Please hurry with your next offering, Mr. Wolfram.

Close your eyes and listen to Mark Wolfram's Piercing the Celluloid Veil and you are at the movies, sitting in the third row on the left. Eminently evocative, stimulating to the imagination, wholly engrossing, and productive of many images, this CD will take you away with vision after vision.

Listening to this recording was an astonishing experience for me. I followed the suggestions in the liner notes, turned off the lights, added candles and just listened. I am a writer, though not a screen writer. Immediately a story began to play in my mind's eye. I got characters, action, a plot and everything. In fact, I am going to write that story and dedicate it to Mark. Bravo! And thanks for the inspiration.

This album is a delicious smorgasbord of wonderful musical tidbits of every flavor and texture. which anyone who loves the sounds of the movies will love. It was expertly conceived, recorded and edited, and will treat the listener to every imaginable feeling in the Vistavision universe. One wonders what the chef will cook up next!

I love the title of this CD - and it fulfills its promise, actually "piercing" the veil of movie-music and making us realize it stands alone. Better yet, it brings its own imagery. Films without music would be amazingly empty. But it turns out music without film is surprisingly full - at least it is when Mark Wolfram composes it. He has the gift of truly great composers - the ability to translate emotion into music, and when we listen, the emotions course through us. Anyone who loves film score CDs will love this and play it over and over again, whether as background for a lovely evening, or as a listening adventure in your favorite recliner. The most visual musical experience you can imagine, this CD has it all! The listener is transported from the tense jeopardy of a crime drama to the soothing amblings of a long awaited trip home. He takes us through every genre - modern crime, historical, science fiction, soap opera, epic, and everything in between. It's as though we journey from Siberia to the great American plains, from the high Rockies to down and dirty streets. Wolfram takes us from contemporary symphonic passages to historical interludes to futuristic sojourns; from tension to humor, from macabre to benign. Is there anything Mark Wolfram CAN'T compose? I suspect not. I wonder why we don't see his name more often on the big screen? I know we will.

This CD is a wonderful compendium of music that sounds like it could have come from some terrific motion pictures - a true potpourri of styles. The orchestral music is rich and lush, evocative of romance, terror, sadness, excitement and joy. Unfortunately, since amazon took down the sound samples, you can't hear any of that here.

A marvelous inovative musical work. It should be included in all important collections.