Customer Reviews

Ulysses Gaze

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I originally heard this soundtrack of Theo Angelopoulos film on National Public Radios Hearts of Space program, and the CD has become one of my very favorites. The haunting music evokes at once the wistfulness, the sorrow, and the beauty of the story of an American film maker who travels to the Balkans in search of his past. The astonishing virtuoso viola of Kim Kashkashian is powerful, moving, and unforgettable. The simple Ulysses Theme, repeated with variations throughout the soundtrack, weaves a mood and a spell the sensitive listener will appreciate more with each listening. This is a great, great soundtrack. Buy it and you might just float away, as I did, on a sadly sweet, deep ocean of feeling and meaning.

Eleni Karaindrou's score to Ulysees' Gaze is no surprise. In the other ECM compilation of Karaindrou's Music to Films (see liner notes), there is the similar tone of elegies and lamentations. Karaindrou's Greece, it seems, is far removed from the hero worship that the universe has accorded Greece. Her Greece is the land of economic emmigrations, occupations and Exile: loss and sadness. It would be fair to say that Karaindrou's music would be a good accompaniment to the poems of Milosz, the novels of W. G. Sebald, and to a certain extent, a perfect accomplice to the bitter and angry ruminations of V.S. Naipaul. On Ulysees' Gaze the composer's music is given life by Kim Kaskashian's viola. If in a vacant and pensive mood, listen to this soundtrack. The elements of sadness, loss, and melancholy are pervasive, all of which combine to give the soundtrack its raw beauty.

Eleni Karaindrou, one of the leading contemporary Greek composers, is mostly known for her theatre and movie scores (33 plays and 16 films). In particular, since 1983, she has worked on seven films with the great, and somewhat controversial, film director, Theo Angelopoulos. The present CD is the result of her collaboration with Angelopoulos on his film, Ulysses' Gaze. This three-hour long film represents an enormous aesthetic achievement. Karaindrou's music is reinforced by the film images of stunning mystery and power, or is it the reversed? Actually, her music, full of ethereal melodies, aching with nostalgia, stands on its own. She mixes solo viola, oboe, accordion, trumpet, horn, cello, and string orchestra for a most lyrical and mystical sound. It is a wonderful recording, which I highly recommend.

Although I have both 'Eternity and a Day' and this album, I prefer the latter, as it has a more unified structure to the music, and seems less episodic. The beauty of the achingly yearning refrain on viola, which is gradually re-worked and re-presented throughout, in various orchestral combinations, lodges itself firmly in the heart. So: music for the romantic in us all, with a fine dusting of desolation to prevent the mix becoming too syrupy, enhanced by fine musicianship and production values (a given on ECM), throughout. Some reminders of Max Richter here, but a less sweet and more complex mix. Recommended.

This is a fantastic sound track. I love the orchestral arrangements, the cello, other strings, accordion, and the haunting vocals. You will love it! I use it for massage because it's very relaxing; moody, (without being depressing, unlike the movie!); It repeats a theme, or motif, but stays interesting throughout, by variations in different instruments, some haunting Greek religious singing or chanting, and so forth. I'd like to hear more by the Greek orchestra, the cellist and the composer.. they are all amazing!

Greek composer Eleni Karaindrou (b. 1942) wrote this soundtrack for a film that won the Grand Jury Prize at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival. The music features a haunting theme that is echoed again and again by the viola of Kim Kashkashian, accompanied by several Greek musicians on oboe, accordion, trumpet, French horn, cello, voice, and a studio string orchestra.

My daughter recognized right away that the musical theme of Ulysses' Gaze is quite reminiscent--at least in overall emotional and musical feeling if not note for note--of the theme for Schindler's List. Whether this is a case of creative coincidence or a case of creative borrowing one way or the other is not a subject I am prepared to pursue, but I am prepared to say that this CD has provided a haunting listening experience that I have repeated many times. Time simply seems suspended in the hour that this CD spans, and the viola and oboe playing are particularly noteworthy.

Actually the sound track for the Greek movie 'Ulysses Gaze" with an eclectic mix of instruments; of viola & cello, oboe, squash box, trumpet and french horn, overlaid by Kim Kashkashian's viola. This is the very opposite of many current frenetic sound tracks; a simple slow theme with 7 variations, many featuring an individual instrument to evoke a visual image: accordion for peasant music, the pure tone of oboe, the authority of trumpet, flowing one into the other, held together by the viola, to produce, somehow, utter tranquility.

The music is soaringly, achingly beautiful. First heard it on HOS while soaking in candle light and bubbles. It's great for quiet, contemplative times and is one of my all time favorites.

The lyrical, well performed and well recorded music found on the Ulysses Gaze CD earns a "strong buy" rating from this reviewer. A haunting and airy melody echoes throughout the tracks. Critics may fault the album for too little variation and too much repetition: some of the tracks sound very much the same. However, part of this reviewer's enjoyment stemmed from noticing subtle differences in orchestration, rhythm, and timbre (tambour?). I've not seen the movie, though intend to after listening to this score. I heard this on NPR's All Things Considered one evening in November 2010.

I love music that takes me someplace or makes me feel something. This CD does both. I feel a sadness through the music, but not everyone I talk to agrees. But everyone feels something! Because this is a soundtrack there are several variations on themes. I enjoy the varations. I recommend skipping the movie, though, too slow.