by Ryan Keaveney

Music Composed by Brian Tyler
Rating: ****

The “Varese Tyler Trilogy” is completed with Children Of Dune, the large-scale mini-series produced by the Sci-Fi Channel in the U.S. To this point, the music from Dune has been hit-or-miss. We’ve covered both previous soundtrack incarnations of Dune: first Toto’s mystical, new-age rock for the disastrous feature film directed by David Lynch, and then Graeme Revell’s coma-inducing music for the original Dune mini-series. Neither score managed to rock my world, and Revell’s up-with-the-synth, down-with-the-orchestra approach had me burying my head in the sand. More importantly, neither one emphasized cracker-jack action. Dune needed a little shake-up, a little spice. Steam in it’s stride! I had faith in Brian Tyler, but I had misgivings – like what if the filmmakers had shoe-horned him into a never-ending patchwork of synth-pad hell? Having listened to Children Of Dune on repeat to the point where the disc has begged for a break, I’m pleased that I was worried for nothing. There’s more then just funky Fremen language track titles that tie Children Of Dune to Toto (scope) and Revell (“ethnic” elements). There’s more action, spectacle and humanity here then in either of those scores. Children Of Dune is simply the most accessible, and gratifying musical Dune journey this side of the Ghola Duncan (whever that is).

Brian Tyler

Get beyond the bland cover art (why ignore the mini-series key art?) and you have a truly gorgeous score that’s got it all – big theme (“Summon The Worms”, “The Revolution”, “The Jihad”), and full-tilt action scoring ( “Rya Wolves”, “Fear Is The Mind Killer”), balanced with “ethnic” percussion and woodwinds (“Trap The Worm”, “Exiles”, “My Skin Is Not My Own”) and ethereal solo vocals (“Dune Messiah”, “Inaaama Nushif (Montage)” – the closing cue from part one of the series).

Despite the score having a whopping main theme, which is unleashed with great intensity in the opening track, “Summon The Worms” and reprised with as much vigor in “The Jihad”, Brian Tyler doesn’t automatically stamp it into his score over and over again. Instead, it’s split up, disguised and manipulated. You’ll hear it via beautiful and soft female solo in “Dune Messiah”, and on brass in the majestic “Main Title (House Atreides)” (which makes good use of bells, why they’re rarely used these days, I don’t know). The theme is twisted again, ramping up from a slow brass read into a brisk and strident rendition with rattling percussion in “The Revolution”.

There’s also an epic quality in Children Of Dune that has been lacking in previous Dune scores. You’ll find it in the attractive “The Arrival of Lady Jessica”, with soft-choral samples and regal brass fanfares. Tyler punctuates a main character with pathos in “Leto Atriedes II” and “I Have Only Now”, and accelerates the tension in “War Begins”. “The Impossible Wager” opens with a slow percussion rythm with tasty synth atmosphere drizzled over drums like icing. An album highlight, “Inama Nushif (Montage)”, is also a showcase for the strong female vocal component of the score. Written appropriately in Fremen and performed over a slow-groove of percussion, brass and strings, the track has strong pop elements, and might bring superficial comparisons to Lisa Gerrard’s contributions to Gladiator. Just like uilleann pipes weren’t invented for James Horner’s Titanic, the use of female chants are not the creation and exclusive property of Lisa Gerrard.

After a major album highlight, “The Jihad”, which reprises the main theme with great passion, the second half of the disc settles into a more ambient mode, but not at the expense of melody or interest. Moments to look out for include “The Throne Of Alia”, with it’s tenuous duet of duduk and solo female voice, “My Skin Is Not My Own” which unleashes an arsenal of percussion and grooves, and “The Preacher At Arrakeen”, which features another appearance of the duduk but also solo male voice. The album rounds out with stellar fashion in “Farewell”, which reprises thematic material from “Inama Nushif” but without vocals followed by a reading of the main theme for solo guitar, duduk and light strings in “Children Of Dune”.

Brian Tyler usually conducts his own scores, but for Children Of Dune, he oversaw the Prague recording sessions via video monitor from Los Angeles. The Czech orchestra, which does an fine job performing what is arguably Brian Tyler’s most mammoth score to date, is presented in a superb recording by Jeff Vaughn, with mixing by Vaughn and Brian Tyler.

With the Children Of Dune mini-series clocking in at over three hours, the score has been distilled into one album, making a surprisingly cohesive package, one where there’s always something interesting transpiring — which is important, because this album runs north of sixty-seven minutes (i.e., a long time). Scores that mesh as many elements as this one make distinctive listening experiences, and are good for multiple repeat spins. If you’ve heard (and how could you not if you visit this site?) and liked any of these Brian Tyler scores on CD: Frailty, Darkness Falls or The Hunted, you’ll appreciate his latest diversion in sound. Bring on the next three!

Music Composed and Produced by Brian Tyler; Orchestra Conducted by Adam Klemens; Orchestrated by Robert Elhai, Dana Niu and Brian Tyler; Recorded by Jeff Vaughn, Mixed by Jeff Vaughn and Brian Tyler; Executive Producer: Robert Townson; Availability: In print; Label (Catalog): Varèse Sarabande (302 066 454 2); Release date: March 18, 2003

01. Summon The Worms (3′49)
02. Dune Messiah (2′40)
03. Main Title (House Atreides) (1′36)
04. The Revolution (2′01)
05. Fear Is The Mind Killer (2′44)
06. The Arrival Of Lady Jessica (3′08)
07. Leto Atreides II (2′45)
08. Inama Nushif (Montage) (5′51)
09. War Begins (1′08)
10. Battle Of Naraj (3′15)
11. Rya Wolves (1′33)
12. I Have Only Now (3′12)
13. The Impossible Wager (3′00)
14. Face Dancer (1′02)
15. The Throne Of Alia (1′20)
16. Trap The Worm (3′03)
17. Salusus Secundus (1′04)
18. The Jihad (2′02)
19. The Ring Of Paul (3′50)
20. Exiles (1′28)
21. Sins Of The Mother (1′24)
22. Irualan’s Regret (1′11)
23. My Skin Is Not My Own (0′23)
24. Reunited (2′28)
25. The Golden Path (2′09)
26. Child Emperor (1′18)
27. Sign Of The Bene Gesserit (2′08)
28. The Preacher At Arrakeen (2′32)
29. The Desert Journey (1′35)
30. The Ghola Dunca (1′37)
31. Leto And Ghanima (1′16)
32. The Fremen Qizarate (1′42)
33. Farewell (3′25)
34. Children Of Dune (1′16)
35. Horizon (1′35)
36. End Title (1′31)

Total Playing Time: 76′27