by Paul Cote

Music Composed by Philip Glass
Rating: ****

There was a time when a new film score from Philip Glass, one of the most significant concert composers of the past 50 years, was a rare and momentous occasion. But in the past couple of years, for some reason, Glass has grown quite prolific in his writing for film, with over seven film scores to his credit in the past 3 years (when it was usually one every 3 years or so). This has not necessarily always been for the better – Glass has given us some truly great scores in the past few years, but more recent slumming efforts like Secret Window and Taking Lives make one wonder if the cinema has merely become the place Glass turns to when he needs to make a payment on his winter cabin in Switzerland. Both of those scores were skillfully crafted and an enormous cut above the typical anonymous Hollywood treatment, but both also left the impression that the inspiration and drive to push new boundaries that Glass usually brings to his projects had taken a nap. Thankfully, the Glass Muse seems to have awakened for Undertow, as his music for this film is both daring and moving in ways that could only come from Glass in top form. Though I know very little about the film outside of the fact that it’s a dark drama set in the backwoods of the American South, Glass’s score easily stands independently as a powerful and deeply unsettling composition, leading the listener like a child lost in a dark and traumatizing wood.

Philip Glass

Yet perhaps the most striking aspect of this music is how exquisitely delicate it is. Certainly, Undertow has its fair share of ominous melancholic passages, but Glass achieves the effect with a consistently intimate touch that stands in sharp contrast to the heaving low registers of his earlier suspense scores this year. The constant repetitions of his minimalism have the same driving effect, but rather than overwhelm the listener as in Secret Window, the minimalism in Undertow softly lures the listener in, the subtle repeated phrases acting as baited hooks that draw out far deeper anxieties than any heaving blunt instrument could produce.

Much of this mesmerizing effect comes from the brilliant soundscape that Glass has constructed for this score. In addition to the standard Glass orchestra, Undertow is marked with two fiercely distinct instrumental groups. The first is comprised of a varied assortment of aboriginal percussive and woodwind instruments, with particularly prominent writing for didgeridoo. The ensemble is menacing with its harsh edges and raspy timbres, but Glass rarely pushes his monster into the foreground with any harsh extremes. Rather, the ensemble growls softly in the background, frequently providing instinctive propulsion and constantly hinting that violent demons are always probing beneath the surface.

The other distinct instrumental group in the score is a breathy wordless children’s choir. Glass fans will of course remember that children’s choir also played a significant role in the composer’s 1992 masterpiece, Candyman (still one of the finest horror scores in the film music canon, period), but the choral presence here has a much different effect. Whereas the choir in Candyman was marked by its harsh and abrasive nasal quality, here the voices take on a much purer and more lyrical countenance. Set against these grim proceedings, the unmolested timbre creates a ghostly sense of innocence lost, opening tragic dimensions in the music.

Now in theory, the harsh edginess of the didgeridoo ensemble and the lyrical purity of the children’s choir should clash horribly when combined, but Glass actually creates the most mesmerizing passages of the score when those two elements unite. The juxtaposition of raw violent instinct with innocent purity results in some chilling chase sequences in “The Argument” and “Running Away” that are quite unlike anything Glass has ever done before (or like anybody else has done before, for that matter). The grisly percussion jars the nerves, while the children’s choir flows into memory’s earliest and most vulnerable corners, creating that extremely rare thing in film music - thriller cues that pierce both the nerves and the heart. So few composers pay attention to the latter when writing thriller cues, which makes Glass’s commitment to the throbbing emotion beneath anxiety that much more gratifying.

Not everything in this score is bleak and terrifying, however. In fact, the score opens with an achingly beautiful romantic cue (”The Kiss”) that wouldn’t feel out of place in The Hours. But the unlikely highlight comes in “Deel’s Song”, one of the most humble and tender pieces Glass has ever written. Though filled with signature Glass touches, the piece revolves around a sweet and unassuming melody for oboe. Glass so rarely writes simple and straightforward melody, which makes this brief and touching tangent doubly cherished. Largely, however, the tone is grim melancholic, finally cumulating into violent rush of timpani in “The Ending” before fading with somber finality, closing with one final hit from the didgeridoo.

Melancholic does not mean cold, however, and understanding Glass’s understanding of that distinction is what makes Undertow such a rich and moving piece of work. Despite the grim tone, vulnerable human emotion breathes in every note of this score. While I wouldn’t call it a masterpiece on the same level as Kundun or Naqoyqatsi, Undertow is nonetheless a remarkable return to form for Glass that reveals yet another new layer to one of the maestro of minimalism.

Music Composed by Philip Glass; Conducted by Michael Riesman; Featuring the Brooklyn Youth Chorus; Recorded by Dan Bora / Mixed by Ichiho Nishiki; Executive Producers: Kurt Munkacsi and Jim Keller; Availability: In print; Label (Catalogue): Orange Mountain Music, (0016); Release Date: September 21, 2004

01. The Kiss (2′49)
02. Car Ride (1′24)
03. The Chase (3′03)
04. The Family (3′45)
05. Chris & The Model Airplane (4′49)
06. The Argument (4′15)
07. Deel’s Song (4′17)
08. Golden Coins (2′41)
09. Running Away (3′53)
10. Through The Woods (3′22)
11. Backwoods Couple (1′14)
12. Shipyard (1′56)
13. Junkyard (3′32)
14. Abandoned Factory (1′42)
15. The Ending (2′55)

Total Playing Time: 45′37