Plaza Mayor Company Ltd release the original soundtrack to the movie A First Farewell. Isa Yasan is a Muslim boy from the countryside in Xinjiang, China. His mother was left deaf and mute from meningitis, and she frequently wanders away from home. Isa loves his mother deeply, and is torn among taking care of her, going to school and doing farm work. He is friends with a lively little girl named Kalbinur. They are taking care of an adorable lamb together. Isa's father decides to send Isa's mother to a nursing home, and Kalbinur's family makes plans to leave the village. Isa reads a story called 'A First Farewell' in school, and although he does not fully understand the idea of farewell, he will soon experience it himself...

Wenzi's score for A First Farewell is atmospheric and is certainly instrumental in setting the right mood for the film. However, as enjoyable as I found this, unless you're a huge fan of the movie you'll really need to invest some time getting to know the music, as it's not instantly accessible. It was only after the fourth of fifth play through that I really started to peel back the many layers and began to enjoy the music.

This is a beautifully poetic collection of themes - but they only really work if you play them in the order they're presented in, as the music grows and mature as the album progresses.

Fans of the movie will need no excuse to pick this up, and for those that enjoy deep, rich scores that are a little different, there's plenty to enjoy here.

7

Darren Rea