City of Ember Soundtrack Review

Another Stirring Sonic Adventure from Andrew Lockington

Nov 11, 2008

Andrew Lockington's urgent, expansive score is another winning entry in his career, and in film score collections.

Andrew Lockington has launched into the mainstream Hollywood scoring scene with two impressive works this year, both of them for Walden Media, and both of them worth investigation. The second of the two is a bold and entertaining score for Walden's recent film City of Ember.

Andrew Lockington has consistently shown, with scores such as Skinwalkers and Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D, that his ability to make full use of an orchestra is very high-class. His music is intelligently orchestrated (no surprise, as he worked as an orchestrator for many years), and the various sections of the ensemble each have something unique to contribute to the overall canvas of the music. Electronics, though very definitely present in his work, have a much more subtle, organic role than is usual for contemporary scores.

Lockington’s second score for Walden Media is City of Ember, an effective follow-up to his score for Walden’s Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D last summer. Both scores are thrilling and innovative in their own rights, but while Journey was a powerful, soaring adventure score, in City of Ember Lockington brings a darker, more urgent sensibility to the music.

“Main Titles’ begins the score with an insistent percussion statement before introducing the score’s ‘ticking’ motif, a synthetic effect which simulates a clock running down (an ingeniously subtle percussion device which, given the nature of the film’s plot, works incredibly well in producing a necessary level of urgency). Then the film’s main theme (not the only one, but easily the one most used) is introduced on powerful but dour brass before the piece closes.

This is very different from the main theme in Journey, which is triumphant, bold and upbeat even from the beginning.

Recurring Devices and Themes

The ticking motif proves especially malleable, lending itself well to both upbeat passages and darker ones, and is so striking a device that each use makes the listener take notice. It provides a welcome, memorable supplement to the film’s anthemic theme, which (although attractive) is not as strong or easily remembered as that of Journey to the Center of the Earth.

A welcome device which Lockington recycles from Journey is his chopping rhythms for high strings, which provide a catchy, robust feeling to the action sequences, which also typically feature expansive brass statements (accompanied by the wonderful Wagner Horns) of a size which rattles the walls in volume.

The score’s main theme itself is, as stated, not quite as strong as that of Journey, but it is utilized with an intelligence that belies both its simplicity and its ubiquitousness. Lockington, again as in Journey, manages to put the theme through so many variations that it never becomes monotonous in presentation.

Score Highlights

“Tunnels” presents an unsettling set of off-tempo string figures, as well as a frightening synthetic effect paired with the subtle sound of blowing wind: the effect is truly spine-tingling. The cue then explodes into a pulse-pounding brass and percussion statement of the main theme, with chanting choir introducing itself with force.

The choir plays a much smaller role in this score than it did in Journey, but when it is used, it stands out. It heralds a heavenly role in “Escape to Sunrise,” and provides an amazing sense of majesty in the score’s finale, “One Last Message.”

The final third of the score is a stunning powerhouse of urgent action pieces, glorious sonic vistas, and angelic choir work. The vitality with which the theme is present in the score’s final minutes is so infectious and inspiring that the simplicity of the theme (and any resemblance it might hold to other works) is easily forgotten.

Summary

This is a solid and worthy score, and one which again displays Andrew Lockington’s fine capabilities. It’s a good companion score for Lockington’s earlier Journey to the Center of the Earth, and the two complement each other nicely. The themes in Ember are presented intelligently and resiliently, and the resulting score is a pleasure to digest. Recommended!

The copyright of the article City of Ember Soundtrack Review in Classical Music is owned by David Abraham Dueck. Permission to republish City of Ember Soundtrack Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.