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NEW YORK (www.whirledmusic.com) - In light of the announcement that came out of Buckingham Palace last week, it may appear as though Gary Pozner knew something we didn't know when he timed the release of his latest CD. With titles like "Royal Crisis," "The Doomed Queen," and "Death to the Royals," The French Revolution, released this week by Whirled Music, seems a most appropriate soundtrack for France's neighbors across the pond. But instead, this crowning achievement of Gary Pozner's composing career to date is the soundtrack for The History Channel's original film, also entitled The French Revolution.
The French Revolution Original Soundtrack, which follows in the footsteps of Pozner's The Quest for King Arthur and Russia: Land of the Tsars (for which Pozner received an Emmy nomination), is an excellent display of this composer's vast arsenal of polished musicality and raw talent. After a brief French horn introduction, the CD's opening track, "Birth to the Republic," wastes no time in setting a lively and energetic pace for the remainder of the album.
Pozner's theme in this piece is a simple melody that is recapitulated expertly in "Royal Crisis" and "Storm the Bastille." "The Doomed Queen" introduces a new theme, one that evokes a certain melancholy with brief moments of hope, but ultimately, the promise of an unavoidable downfall.
In "Death to the Royals," the former keyboardist for Tom Tom Club displays his penchant for piano, though the simple melody line in this piece is a far cry from Pozner's rock-n-roll days.
Four particularly memorable tracks of The French Revolution Original Soundtrack are "The Great Terror," "The Rise of Robespierre," "Agnus Dei," and "The Streets of Paris Ran Red." All four tracks embody "mini-journeys" within the journey of this story, using original themes and variations, with each piece having its own arch and strong development.
Rather than simply being underscore, these, and indeed most of the tracks on this album, stand alone as excellent pieces of music, whether or not one has seen the film for which they were written.
The French Revolution Original Soundtrack by Gary Pozner is available through Amazon.com, CD Baby (https://www.cdbaby.com), Screen Archives Entertainment (https://www.screenarchives.com), and Whirled Music. For more information, please visit https://www.whirledmusic.com.