The Young Victoria [Import, Soundtrack]

Victoria Young, Ilan Eshkeri | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 10, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import, Soundtrack
• Label: 101 DISTRIBUTION
• ASIN: B001SZ28AG
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,127 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #7 in Music > Imports > Soundtracks
  • #93 in Music > Pop > Easy Listening > General AAS
  • #93 in Music > Pop > Easy Listening > General

Track Listings

1. Childhood

2. Go To England Make Her Smile (Alfred's Theme)

3. Down The Stairs (Victoria's Theme)

4. King's Birthday, The

5. Swan Song

6. King Is Dead, The

7. Buckingham Palace

8. Lord Melbourne

9. Albert Returns

10. Archery

11. First Waltz, The

12. Rainy Gazebo

13. Letters From Victoria

14. Constitutional Crisis

15. Riot

16. Letters From Albert

17. Marriage Proposal

18. Honeymoon

19. Assassin

20. Victoria And Albert

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Original soundtrack to the 2009 motion picture, composed by Ilan Eshkeri (Layer Cake) and performed by the London Metropolitan Orchestra. The film and soundtrack release feature an exclusive and brand new track from Sinead O'Connor. The Young Victoria is a dramatization of the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria's rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert. EMI. 2009.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Refined and elegant, January 12, 2010

By 

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

This review is from: The Young Victoria (Audio CD)

A British costume drama directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, The Young Victoria tells the story of the early life of the soon-to-be Queen Victoria, who ruled Britain for 63 years from 1837 until 1901, and enjoyed a great life-long love with her consort, Prince Albert. Emily Blunt plays Victoria as a young romantic, deeply in love with Albert (Rupert Friend), both before and after her accession to the throne. The film, which was co-produced by Martin Scorsese and Sarah Ferguson (formerly the Duchess of York), features a plethora of British senior actors in supporting roles, including Miranda Richardson, Jim Broadbent, Paul Bettany, Mark Strong and Julian Glover, has rich and opulent production design and costumes, and has a strong score by British composer Ilan Eshkeri.

As one might expect given the nature of the film, the score is very classical, very regal, very English, and very romantic; it's also very beautiful in parts, especially in the sequences which depict the budding relationship between Victoria and her handsome German prince. Several cues are direct adaptations of classical standards. The opening cue, "Childhood", features a stirring performance of the traditional British coronation anthem, Handel's Zadok the Priest, and "The King's Birthday" adapts several classic Strauss waltzes into an Edwardian party mix, while other cues intentionally invoke the stylistics and melodic strength of Antonin Dvorák, Henry Purcell, as well as a direct reference to Franz Schubert's "Swan Song" in the cue of the same name.

Eshkeri's main contributions are the two themes for the central personas, "Go to England, Make Her Smile" and "Down the Stairs". The two characters are defined by two specific instruments: shimmering harps for Victoria, and elegant pianos for Albert; at the beginning of the score they play in separation, eventually drawing together in a series of delightful duets to illustrate the couple's courtship and marriage; the sunny and idyllic "Honeymoon" and the conclusive "Victoria and Albert" are perfect examples of this. The music is gorgeous, and in addition to the main instruments makes wonderful use of tender strings, deftly textured woodwind performances, and just the tiniest hint of brass. Cues such as "Albert Returns", "Archery", "Letters from Victoria", "Letters from Albert", the stunning "Marriage Proposal" and the emotional "Assassin" are beautifully romantic, while later cues such as "Lord Melbourne" are lively pastiches of the classical style, and further highlight Eshkeri's talent for opulent thematic beauty.

Only in "Riot" does Eshkeri attempt anything a little more vigorous, adding a more urgent percussion element to slightly more frantic string writing. The song at the end, "Only You", performed with ethereal intimacy by Irish vocalist Sinéad O'Connor, is based on the main theme for Victoria, and is simply lovely, easily one of the best songs of the year. The Young Victoria really is the absolute antithesis of Eshkeri's other 2009 score, Ninja Assassin, and as much as the two scores highlight the composer's versatility and talent across multiple genres and styles, I much prefer the music heard here.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Award-worthy Musical Score~, January 11, 2010

By 

K. Grubb (Dallas, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Young Victoria (Audio CD)

I saw this movie, loved it and rushed home to download the soundtrack! Beautiful! Those who liked the Pride & Prejudice musical score will like this one, as much, if not more. My favorite tracks are: Childhood, Marriage Proposal and Honeymoon. Lovely! Indeed.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Where is the Swan song from the movie, April 27, 2010

By 

J. Daniels "The Young Victoria" (Norman Oklahoma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Young Victoria (Audio CD)

I really like the movie and the sound track. But where is the beautiful version of the swan song from the movie? It was sooo beautiful as soon as I finished the movie I went to get the sound track and was dissapointed that piece was not there or any of the other Classical pieces from the movie. ;(