The Village: (James Newton Howard) The closest suspense and horror collaboration in the 2000's to the classic pairing of Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann is M. Night Shyamalan and James Newton Howard. Shyamalan seems to be obsessed with supernatural thrillers, and Howard has proven to be a successful partner in bringing the right atmosphere of suspense to the big screen for his films. Their fourth project is 2004's The Village, one of two films in 2004 reportedly originally titled "The Woods." Once again full of darkness and mysterious characters, Shyamalan's film tells the story of rural Covington, Pennsylvania in 1897, a town of less than 100 people that is confined within its boundaries by woods inhabited by a race of "mythical creatures." While two central characters pursue romance, the restless main character performed by Joaquin Phoenix seeks to end the town's historical policy of solitude by exploring the forest. By doing so, the delicate truce between village and forest is violated, and mysterious events begin to happen in both places. Unlike The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs, The Village is Shyamalan's first recent journey to a historical age, and to better capture the authenticity of that era, the director calls upon James Newton Howard to add a touch of period piece mastery to his usual suspense writing for Shyamalan's films. Howard's previous three efforts in the collaboration have not gained much attention in the mainstream, although they have remained popular within the nucleus of hardcore film score collectors. The reigning triumph of the trilogy is still The Sixth Sense, both in film and in score, although The Village figures to give The Sixth Sense a run for its money as far as the score is concerned. Howard employs the talents of teenage sensation Hilary Hahn, a sensational violinist with talent discovered at a young age and already performing on Sony Classical albums. Her innocent, elegant style is put to strong use throughout the entire length of his score for The Village.

Howard's unwavering foundation for The Village is built upon Hahn's violin and the piano performances of Randy Kerber. With their performances constantly meandering in the background (ones authentic for the period in the film), Howard establishes his thematic presence with the remaining majority of the orchestra's string section. Much of the score presents these three elements in soft, mysterious performances that literally blow in the wind and swell and sway from bar to bar. Woodwinds offer additional character when necessary, usually at the high ranges. The title theme is nothing short of outstanding, although its beauty impresses you with its subtle, but technically precise performances of violin and piano. Only appearing a few times in full, the under-emphasized theme occupies one full performance in the first cue as well as gorgeous moments in "Those We Don't Speak Of" and "The Gravel Road." That final spectacular performance in "The Gravel Road" is accompanied by delicate woodwinds in counterpoint, and these few, but remarkable cues provide more than enough enjoyment in the score as a whole. Given that the film is one of suspense, of course, there are several less elegant cues to keep us on the edge of our seats. In "The Bad Color," Howard sustains the cue with eerie sound effects produced by the orchestra, including the ambience of howling animals, wind chimes, and rustling chains, among others. The first half of "Those We Don't Speak Of" opens with a full strike of the orchestra and features disjointed and startling brass for two minutes. Two late cues, "The Forbidden Line" and "It Is Not Real" consist of the majority of pure horror writing, flowing from tingling sound effects to extended bass string notes and building into pounding percussion and distorted, wavering brass (there may even be an accordion sandwiched in there somewhere). As a whole, the score has frightening moments, and it unfortunately ends without any note of interest, but the piano, woodwind, and solo violin performances in between --and especially those with the full backing of the ensemble-- are pure magic. Be sure to listen to these moments at high volume to appreciate their subtle beauty, but also be sure to turn the volume back down before a terrifying blast destroys your system. Such is the nature of a good suspense score! ****
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