Despite nay-sayers spouting off about how 2009 wasn’t a banner year for great film music, Silva Screen have managed to collate a selection of re-recorded cues from eleven scores for the third in their series of ‘Film Music’ annuals.

Taking in music from the entire year and indeed awards nominees from the last two seasons, the set list proves that in fact there were a number of fine musical creations in 2009, and only a single entry is reflected in Ain’t It Cool News’ own Top Ten Scores of 2009 list.  That list took in all kinds of lesser known titles and unknown composers, whereas the Silva selection is far more crowd pleasing in terms of names and faces.

Never ones to have their eyes off of the ball, Silva have already recorded a selection from James Horner’s Avatar and ‘War’, which opens the album, is really rather brilliant as performed by the ubiquitous City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus.  James Fitzpatrick does the conducting duties, based on an orchestration by Dominic Nunns, and it really does do the original a lot of justice in this purely orchestral and choral setting.

Continuing the big guns is ‘Prime/I Rise, You Fall’ from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.  Steve Jablonsky’s music shines in this new rendering, which might even be an improvement on the original.  Did I say that out loud?  Sure the opening is all very Revenge of the Sith and the horns are oh so Hans Zimmer, but its energy and physicality cannot be questioned and when heard as a single track amongst a varied compilation, it’s really very listenable indeed.

It’s not all blazing effects-laden films that are represented here though and the disc is allowed some room to breathe and reflect with the beautiful ‘Eli’s Theme’ from Johan Soderqvist’s Let The Right One In.  The score remains a highlight of the year and this theme, somehow familiar, is a stand out on the album.  The vampire theme is continued with the equally pretty cue ‘The Meadow’ from Desplat’s Twilight: New Moon.  The entire score has so far evaded my attention, so I was pleased to be able to hear this piano selection, reminding me that Alexandre Desplat is most certainly one of the most listenable composers working today.  The piece itself is reminiscent of, say, Glass and Einaudi but it’s a gorgeous and evocative work when all is said and done.  Desplat gets another chance to shine with ‘Postcards/Daisy’s Ballet Career’ from his Oscar-nominated score for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Piano hues abound once again in Thomas Newman’s Revolutionary Road, from which the score’s ‘End Credits’ are highlighted.  Add to that the only real stand out cue from John Ottman’s Valkyrie – ‘They’ll Remember You’ – and James Newton Howard’s ‘The Exodus’ from Defiance and you have quite an emotive collection of tracks.  The latter sees soloist Lucie Svehlova work her magic as ever, taking on the Joshua Bell role from the score

Final strong additions are found in the final selection, ‘Hella Bar Talk/Enterprising Young Men’ from Michael Giacchino’s Star Trek score.  The broad strokes of the simple theme are given rather infectious energy in this rendering by orchestrator Leigh Philips, while Christopher Young’s original orchestration for his Drag Me To Hell ‘End Credits’ screams out of the speakers with hellish beauty.  His score, for the Sam Raimi horror, is without doubt one of the real treats of last year and its place on this album is more than worthy.

Finally the film of the year (or was it really the year before?) Slumdog Millionaire is honoured on the album with the sweetly hummable ‘Latika’s Theme’ which graced the End Credits of the film.  London Music Works provide the performance here, with convincing vocals by Tara Clark; a nice track.

So it seems 2009 wasn’t all bad and while the likes of Coraline and of course Up would have completed the set somewhat, this album selection really is a rather fitting reflection of the year’s major big screen offerings. MB