Merlin - Series 2
Rob Lane and Rohan Stevenson
" The ‘Finale’ makes it worth it. "Written by William Bard - Review of the regular release
Upon first learning of the relatively new television series Merlin, I was at first glance skeptical. I thought, “Here’s just another retelling of the well-known Arthurian legend. Big deal.” The show looked flimsy, and I surmised that the music would no doubt follow suit. Some several years later, now in the show’s prime, I finally found the time and resolve to give Merlin a chance, and boy, am I glad I did: one of the biggest reasons being TV veteran composer Rob Lane’s epic and heroic score.
Season 1 hooked me right from the start of Mr. Lane’s opening titles music, and the magic only continued to blossom as the series progressed. Now, in this 2009 release of music from the show’s second season, Lane builds upon the musical realm he already created in Season 1; however, whereas Season 1’s soundtrack took a more conservative and gradual route to introduce the main theme, Season 2 starts off with a bang, jumping directly into “Main Titles”. This string-and-trumpet-heavy theme is backed by the voices of the Philharmonia Chorus for an unignorable, heroic beginning to the album (and each week’s episode!).
The real meat and potatoes of what exactly makes Season 2 stand apart from Season 1, starts with “Sigan’s Revenge”, a track of overall darkness and choral mayhem, driven forwards by an insistent trumpet ostinato. “Attraction of Evil” is a heavily percussion-laced cue, crescendoing to a massive buildup, with chant-like, guttural male chorus in the background.
We are introduced to the love theme of Arthur and Guinevere in “Arthur & Gwen”. This theme brings to mind James Horner’s Braveheart, and the two definitely share some of the same motivic elements. The orchestration in this track (and subsequent tracks featuring this theme) is superb, utilizing a solo violin to convey the longing the two feel when together on screen.
“Avalon” relies on harp and choir for a very mysterious, dark effect, while the subsequent “The Substitute Knight” is light and playful, and very medieval-sounding in places. This track also introduces a theme that is more fully realized in “The Joust”, and appears again numerous times in the show. When utilized at the start of “The Joust”, it is adventurous with rhythmic percussion accompaniment, sounding very reminiscent of some of Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings music. The action quickly picks up as the actual joust in the show begins, and epic choir and brass are used here to great effect.
“Myror the Assassin” is nothing to write home about, simply a slightly more action-packed “Avalon”-like track, but it does its job well on screen. “Lancelot Leaves” once again makes great use of solo violin for the score’s more tender moments. The music builds with the entrance of a French horn section, though the obviousness of them being synthesizers really detracts from the emotion that the track aims to evoke.
“The Machinations of Cedric” is another typical mysterious cue, though at about halfway in it recalls a bit of the playfulness of “The Substitute Knight”. This then segues into “The Mark of the Raven”, which in my opinion should have simply been combined with “The Machinations of Cedric” into one track, as they come off as being so similar (and insignificant on their own). “Sigan’s Tomb” finally starts to change things up, with a more fast-paced beginning and a sense of overall creepiness utilizing different methods than the previous two tracks (i.e. diminuendoing percussion, celeste, etc.).
“Settlement Attack” starts off with a bang, being ushered in with a drum roll and then moving onto a sixteenth-note string ostinato. Synthesized brass is once again heavily relied upon (possibly with a mixture of live musicians, as well). Everything seems to die away around halfway through the track, but then another drum roll and the string ostinato remind us that the track isn’t yet over. Glissandoing strings punctuated by bass trombone hits build up the creep factor of the track, before dying back down to a much softer driving string ostinato, sounding rather like some of Hans Zimmer’s music for The Dark Knight. The ostinato falls apart gradually, while brass choir closes the track.
James Gosling’s sole contribution to this soundtrack is “Gaius Arraigned”, another excellent example of this show’s fondness for dark choral music. “Farewell to Gwen” is basically a string chorale, where once again a gorgeous solo violin pierces the texture. A solo horn alludes to the Arthur & Guinevere theme, before the violin and a trumpet take the theme to fruition. “The Forged Seal” is another comedic track, with lots of limber string pizzicatos and crafty clarinets. “Lancelot’s Heroism” is truly epic, and the mix here of instruments and voices is very well done. What sounds like a lone male voice underscores much of the melody in the strings and brass, while remaining loud enough to be heard and yet quiet enough to not sound like a solo. There is a bit too much cymbal for my taste, but alas, that could just be me. Absolutely beautiful strings close out the track, another high point of this album.
“Morgana’s Nightmare” is not much different from the other choral tracks on the album, until close to the end, when fast strings move sinisterly underneath the melody. “Hiding Excalibur” is a rather curious track in regards to the fact that, if I recall correctly, the legendary sword doesn’t show up nor is even mentioned at all in Season 2. The last time we heard of/saw it was in Season 1’s finale. However, a title doesn’t stop the track from succeeding musically, and it builds up to a fantastical climax that wouldn’t sound too out-of-place in Harry Gregson-Williams’ The Chronicles of Narnia soundscape. This cue really hits home as sounding like the end of the album… but it’s not!
“Finale” is by far the true gem of this album, and at 8:58 in length, it’s almost no wonder why! The track starts with Arthur & Guinevere’s love theme, is followed by an extensive battle segment which, you guessed it, is full of great choral writing. I am pleased to say that everything here sounds very real. What closes out this album is an almost LOST-like (at the beginning of it, at least) string chorale, joined by soft choir in what is quite possibly the most emotionally rewarding moment of this score. This theme made several appearances in Season 2, and at least one I can think of, in Season 3. Whenever I return to this album, you can bet that this moment is almost always the first thing I go to listen to. It is simply one of the best segments of music I’ve heard so far for this show.
Overall, Season 2 of Merlin brings us some great music, as well as a few memories of what the first season had to offer. My opinion of this score would no doubt be much higher if they had more often made use of a live orchestra, but I guess not every show is as fortunate as LOST was. Still, for TV music, this is good stuff, and nowadays we should be thankful there are any real instruments used for this, as so many shows nowadays unfortunately are resorting entirely to synthesizers. If you have the money, I’d suggest you’d grab the entire soundtrack, but if hard-pressed to just decide on one single track, I would wholeheartedly recommend “Finale”. It is without a doubt the best this series currently has to offer.
Tracklisting
1. Main Titles (0.34) Excellent track
2. Sigan's Revenge (3.14)
3. The Attraction of Evil (3.02)
4. Gwen & Arthur (0.56)
5. Avalon (4.13)
6. The Substitute Knight (1.23)
7. The Joust (2.00) Excellent track
8. Myror the Assassin (2.32)
9. Lancelot Leaves (1.55)
10. The Machinations of Cedric (1.56)
11. The Mark of the Raven (1.42)
12. Sigan's Tomb (2.16)
13. Settlement Attack (3.47)
14. Gaius Arraigned (1.41)
15. Farewell to Gwen (1.43)
16. The Forged Seal (1.23)
17. Lancelot’s Heroism (3.05)
18. Morgana’s Nightmares (3.52)
19. Hiding Excalibur (2.05) Excellent track
20. Finale (8.58) Excellent track
Total Length: 52.06
Season 1 hooked me right from the start of Mr. Lane’s opening titles music, and the magic only continued to blossom as the series progressed. Now, in this 2009 release of music from the show’s second season, Lane builds upon the musical realm he already created in Season 1; however, whereas Season 1’s soundtrack took a more conservative and gradual route to introduce the main theme, Season 2 starts off with a bang, jumping directly into “Main Titles”. This string-and-trumpet-heavy theme is backed by the voices of the Philharmonia Chorus for an unignorable, heroic beginning to the album (and each week’s episode!).
The real meat and potatoes of what exactly makes Season 2 stand apart from Season 1, starts with “Sigan’s Revenge”, a track of overall darkness and choral mayhem, driven forwards by an insistent trumpet ostinato. “Attraction of Evil” is a heavily percussion-laced cue, crescendoing to a massive buildup, with chant-like, guttural male chorus in the background.
We are introduced to the love theme of Arthur and Guinevere in “Arthur & Gwen”. This theme brings to mind James Horner’s Braveheart, and the two definitely share some of the same motivic elements. The orchestration in this track (and subsequent tracks featuring this theme) is superb, utilizing a solo violin to convey the longing the two feel when together on screen.
“Avalon” relies on harp and choir for a very mysterious, dark effect, while the subsequent “The Substitute Knight” is light and playful, and very medieval-sounding in places. This track also introduces a theme that is more fully realized in “The Joust”, and appears again numerous times in the show. When utilized at the start of “The Joust”, it is adventurous with rhythmic percussion accompaniment, sounding very reminiscent of some of Howard Shore’s The Lord of the Rings music. The action quickly picks up as the actual joust in the show begins, and epic choir and brass are used here to great effect.
“Myror the Assassin” is nothing to write home about, simply a slightly more action-packed “Avalon”-like track, but it does its job well on screen. “Lancelot Leaves” once again makes great use of solo violin for the score’s more tender moments. The music builds with the entrance of a French horn section, though the obviousness of them being synthesizers really detracts from the emotion that the track aims to evoke.
“The Machinations of Cedric” is another typical mysterious cue, though at about halfway in it recalls a bit of the playfulness of “The Substitute Knight”. This then segues into “The Mark of the Raven”, which in my opinion should have simply been combined with “The Machinations of Cedric” into one track, as they come off as being so similar (and insignificant on their own). “Sigan’s Tomb” finally starts to change things up, with a more fast-paced beginning and a sense of overall creepiness utilizing different methods than the previous two tracks (i.e. diminuendoing percussion, celeste, etc.).
“Settlement Attack” starts off with a bang, being ushered in with a drum roll and then moving onto a sixteenth-note string ostinato. Synthesized brass is once again heavily relied upon (possibly with a mixture of live musicians, as well). Everything seems to die away around halfway through the track, but then another drum roll and the string ostinato remind us that the track isn’t yet over. Glissandoing strings punctuated by bass trombone hits build up the creep factor of the track, before dying back down to a much softer driving string ostinato, sounding rather like some of Hans Zimmer’s music for The Dark Knight. The ostinato falls apart gradually, while brass choir closes the track.
James Gosling’s sole contribution to this soundtrack is “Gaius Arraigned”, another excellent example of this show’s fondness for dark choral music. “Farewell to Gwen” is basically a string chorale, where once again a gorgeous solo violin pierces the texture. A solo horn alludes to the Arthur & Guinevere theme, before the violin and a trumpet take the theme to fruition. “The Forged Seal” is another comedic track, with lots of limber string pizzicatos and crafty clarinets. “Lancelot’s Heroism” is truly epic, and the mix here of instruments and voices is very well done. What sounds like a lone male voice underscores much of the melody in the strings and brass, while remaining loud enough to be heard and yet quiet enough to not sound like a solo. There is a bit too much cymbal for my taste, but alas, that could just be me. Absolutely beautiful strings close out the track, another high point of this album.
“Morgana’s Nightmare” is not much different from the other choral tracks on the album, until close to the end, when fast strings move sinisterly underneath the melody. “Hiding Excalibur” is a rather curious track in regards to the fact that, if I recall correctly, the legendary sword doesn’t show up nor is even mentioned at all in Season 2. The last time we heard of/saw it was in Season 1’s finale. However, a title doesn’t stop the track from succeeding musically, and it builds up to a fantastical climax that wouldn’t sound too out-of-place in Harry Gregson-Williams’ The Chronicles of Narnia soundscape. This cue really hits home as sounding like the end of the album… but it’s not!
“Finale” is by far the true gem of this album, and at 8:58 in length, it’s almost no wonder why! The track starts with Arthur & Guinevere’s love theme, is followed by an extensive battle segment which, you guessed it, is full of great choral writing. I am pleased to say that everything here sounds very real. What closes out this album is an almost LOST-like (at the beginning of it, at least) string chorale, joined by soft choir in what is quite possibly the most emotionally rewarding moment of this score. This theme made several appearances in Season 2, and at least one I can think of, in Season 3. Whenever I return to this album, you can bet that this moment is almost always the first thing I go to listen to. It is simply one of the best segments of music I’ve heard so far for this show.
Overall, Season 2 of Merlin brings us some great music, as well as a few memories of what the first season had to offer. My opinion of this score would no doubt be much higher if they had more often made use of a live orchestra, but I guess not every show is as fortunate as LOST was. Still, for TV music, this is good stuff, and nowadays we should be thankful there are any real instruments used for this, as so many shows nowadays unfortunately are resorting entirely to synthesizers. If you have the money, I’d suggest you’d grab the entire soundtrack, but if hard-pressed to just decide on one single track, I would wholeheartedly recommend “Finale”. It is without a doubt the best this series currently has to offer.
Tracklisting
1. Main Titles (0.34) Excellent track
2. Sigan's Revenge (3.14)
3. The Attraction of Evil (3.02)
4. Gwen & Arthur (0.56)
5. Avalon (4.13)
6. The Substitute Knight (1.23)
7. The Joust (2.00) Excellent track
8. Myror the Assassin (2.32)
9. Lancelot Leaves (1.55)
10. The Machinations of Cedric (1.56)
11. The Mark of the Raven (1.42)
12. Sigan's Tomb (2.16)
13. Settlement Attack (3.47)
14. Gaius Arraigned (1.41)
15. Farewell to Gwen (1.43)
16. The Forged Seal (1.23)
17. Lancelot’s Heroism (3.05)
18. Morgana’s Nightmares (3.52)
19. Hiding Excalibur (2.05) Excellent track
20. Finale (8.58) Excellent track
Total Length: 52.06