Music Composed by John Debney
Rating: **** 1/2

Speculating on who would end up scoring Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ, admittedly, John Debney was lower on the list. This was mainly due to the fact that his normal repertoire was comedy, with an action adventure film every now and again. But I was forgetting some of his lesser known works, such as End of Days, which shares similar elements with The Passion of The Christ, both in tone and a knack for choral writing. When, after jumping from James Horner to Lisa Gerrard, the assignment was Debney’s, I wondered if he was right for the job.

And Gibson could not have hired anyone more appropriate. While Debney has scored in nearly every genre and for this score, he reached into his bac of rarely used tricks - the ethnic instruments and talents of vocalist/lyricist Lisbeth Scott from The Scorpion King, the chorus and tone of End of Days, and the orchestral might and fusion with vocals of Cutthroat Island - and in the process pulled out all the stops on this one. The Passion of The Christ is not as fast paced, suspenseful, or as swashbuckling as the above mentioned, but Debney’s style is still apparent in this score.

John Debney

At the same time, it is a new John Debney we are hearing. In his comedic scoring, Debney often leans on cliché staples (Cats and Dogs), but there is nothing cliché about The Passion. Most scores follow an expected tone depending on the genre. The Passion of The Christ is like a breath of fresh air because Debney reconstructs music for the film. Instead of a moving, Thin Red Line-esque cue for the final moments of Jesus’ life as one might expect, Debney uses a harsh percussion section with a clanking anvil, followed by a chaotic cheering “crowd” in the track “Jesus Is Carried Down”. Ethnic instruments from the region are used to set the tone around the events in the film, but rather being drowned out by an overblown orchestra or chorus, even during the louder sequences, these solo instruments are still in the foreground. This score uses few contemporary sounds and relies on a duduk, erhu, and an ancient Armenian guitar, called “oud”. Parts sounds similar to the slower cues from Zimmer’s Gladiator.

Director Mel Gibson was very involved in the project. After Debney scored the trailer, Gibson hired him for the film, co-produced the album with Debney and added his vocal talents to the chorus. Debney says that he was given a great gift as an artist to be allowed to put music to such a powerful film and the score became very personal for him. The level of complexity of the music in some of the cues are a testimony to Debney’s talent and inspiration. He layers strings, orchestra, solo ethnic instruments, and solo vocals over one another throughout the whole score to the point where they can each be heard, but none is dominant (see “Bearing the Cross” as an example).

While many cues on the album are slower, ethnic atmospheric music, there is so much here that will move you. One element in this score that is rare to hear is the large percussion presence, solo and backing both the orchestra and choir. The heavy, at times relentless percussion, often backing solo vocals, creates a tone similar to Zimmer’s Black Hawk Down in its tragic and gritty feel. The orchestra is generally quiet, but brass cues break out in a few standout performances, namely “Crucifixion” and behind the percussion and choir in “Resurrection”. And then there’s the choir… Debney composed a score for full choir and solo vocalists that stands up to the choral elements of the powerhouse scores of last year, Matrix Revolutions and The Return of the King. Standout performances by the choir include “Bearing the Cross” and “Resurrection”. Most of the vocals on this album are sung in Aramaic, with lyrics by Lisbeth Scott.

There is little thematic development in the score, but it may not be a bad thing. Themes for each of the main characters may have been too much of a formatted contemporary approach for this film, and the score definitely works regardless. There are some melodic elements that come back a few times. The theme heard in “Bearing the Cross” is heard again halfway through “Crucifixion” behind a gorgeous solo horn. The theme from the trailer is heard twice as well, in “Peter Denies Jesus” and at the end in “Resurrection”. Other standout tracks include the beautifully layered orchestra in “Mary Goes to Jesus” and the powerful “Raising the Cross”.

John Debney has written many brilliant scores for many mediocre films. With The Passion of The Christ, he has composed one of the best scores of his career for a film that will draw plenty of attention. All controversy about the film aside, Debney’s score is a masterpiece that will haunt and enliven you with its tragic beauty and raw power. I hope that Debney uses this project to move out of the comedy genre and step into the public consciousness, because he truly is one of the best film composers working in the industry today.

The closing cue, “Resurrection” is one of the most stunning pieces of music I’ve heard in years, a moving culmination of the score. The percussion builds into a pounding rhythm, joined by a soaring chorus and underlined with a stunning horn line. Words cannot describe it, but the tone changes here from tragic to hopeful. “Resurrection” ends on a quiet note with a solo female vocal backed by strings and a soft male choir closes the album out with a gentle foreboding of things to come.

Music Composed by John Debney; Orchestra Conducted by Nick Ingman; Orchestrations by Brad Dechter, Mike Watts, Frank Bennet, Jeff Atmajian; Orchestral Scoring Engineer: Simon Rhodes / Mixed by Shawn Murphy; Produced by John Debney and Mel Gibson; Availability: In print; Label (Catalogue): Sony Music / Integrity Music, (SK 92046); Release Date: February 24, 2004

01. The Olive Garden (1′56)
Contains “Night Sky” by Jack Lenz
Vocals by Tanya Tsarouska
02. Bearing the Cross (3′42)
03. Jesus Arrested (4′37)
04. Peter Denies Jesus (1′58)
05. The Stoning (2′25)
Composed by John Debney and Shankar and Gingger
06. Song of Complaint Traditional (1′33)
07. Simon is Dismissed (2′25)
08. Flagellation / Dark Choir / Disciples (5′54)
Composed by John Debney and Jack Lenz
09. Mary Goes to Jesus (2′47)
10. Peaceful But Primitive / Procession (3′36)
Composed by John Debney and Jack Lenz
11. Crucifixion (7′38)
12. Raising the Cross (2′13)
13. It is Done (3′37)
14. Jesus is Carried Down (4′39)
15. Resurrection (5′04)

Total Playing Time: 54′09