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Geoffrey Burgon has an impressive reputation as both one of
Britain's leading contemporary film and TV composers. This
album includes suites from the BBC's The Chronicles of
Narnia (1988), Testament of Youth (1979), Bleak
House (1985), Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1979)
and Brideshead Revisited (1981)...
Not
that I'm a cynic, or anything. But it's blatantly obvious
why this album has been released now - to cash in on the new
The Chronicles of Narnia movie.
While
I totally understand Silva Screen's marketing ploy, and am
glad that a limited amount of Geoffrey Burgon's music has
been collected together on one CD, I'm a little disappointed
that some of Burgon's more famous work wasn't included.
It
would have been a must own album if tracks from his time on
Doctor Who, Silent Witness, Cider with Rosie
and The Forsyte Saga had been included. And, while
I know this album represents "The Television Music of
Geoffrey Burgon", it would have been great if some of
his score for the Monty Python movie Life of Brian
had been included too.
Okay,
I know I'm probably being a little greedy, but a Burgon collection
is a one off event. It's very unlikely that we'll see another
release of his work - which is a great shame - and I can't
help thinking that more could have been made of this release.
Still, beggars can't be choosers, and this album does present
the listener with some fantastic pieces of music.
The
album starts with, for me, one of the fondest memories of
my younger years. I remember watching the BBC's adaptation
of The Chronicles of Narnia. With such a large collection
of music to chose from across the various adaptations (The
Lion, the witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian,
The Voyage of the Dawntreader and The Silver Chair)
it's no surprise that tracks had to be left out. However,
I found it odd that the end title music (where Aslan appeared)
hasn't been included.
The
rest of the album includes tracks from Testament of Youth,
Bleak House, Tinker,
Tailor, Soldier, Spy
and Brideshead Revisited. It was a shame, though that
only the opening and closing credits for Tinker,
Tailor, Soldier, Spy are
included (a total of just under three minutes of music).
Again,
Silva Screen (bless 'em) have spoilt us by releasing this
album in Surround Sound. So, crank up your surround sound
system, close your eyes and pretend you're sitting in the
middle of the orchestra.
Despite
the fact that this is blatantly attempt to cash in on the
new movie, this album represents some of the finest music
that the BBC archives has to offer - so try and ignore the
cashing in aspect and enjoy this fine album.
Pete
Boomer
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