MovieScore Media’s latest documentary release is the classical chamber score composed by Leon Gurvitch for Non-Citizens. Written and directed Jordi Garcia Rodriguez, the film deals with the topic of migration, focusing on the people who are caught in the "Purgatory" where hundreds of immigrants from Central Africa are fighting for survival. The documentary contrasts the needs of people in Africa with the abstract, philosophical concerns of a European woman in Berlin in a curious mix of reality and fiction...

The soundtrack to Non-Citizens could so easily be a classical work in its own right. It's quite short, coming in at just 6 tracks (28 min, 57 sec) but what it lacks in duration it more than makes up for in quality.

"As an immigrant myself, I was really fascinated by the plot of the film," says composer Leon Gurvitch. "20 years ago I came as an immigrant to Germany leaving behind my past in Belarus, so I had first hand experience about what it feels like to be a stranger and start your life from a scratch on the new ground. As always my “modus operandi” is an old-school composing on paper, so I began to improvise and experiment sound fusion effects in order to express drama accompanying the life of the refugees. I wanted to use African percussion and mix it with modern classical music. As a result I composed 6 tracks with percussion sound elements. I was very happy to work together on this recording with my good friend and valuable colleague – an outstanding cellist Vytautas Sondeckis who enriched this soundtrack with his contribution."

Mostly piano based, this is a subtle, melancholic offering that works beautifully as a standalone album. The themes are rich and varied and there really is a lot to get your head around. It's an album that reaps rewards the more times you listen to it.

8

Darren Rea