DIGITAL ALBUM REVIEW - THE PAGAN QUEEN


The Pagan Queen
Music by Benedikt Brydern
ConSordino Music
18 Tracks 63:07 mins

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas, so here I am again with the first of my final reviews of 2010, this a digital album from a new name to me, Benedikt Brydern, to whom I am thankful for this opportunity of acquainting myself with his music for last year's historical drama The Pagan Queen from director Constantin Werner. The film is based on the legend of Libuse, the 8th century Czech tribal queen, who envisioned the city of Prague and founded the first Czech dynasty with Premysl, the Ploughman.
Appropriately, the score was recorded in Prague with an 80-piece orchestra and incorporates quotes from Dvorak's Romance in F minor. It has since gone on to win a Silver Unicorn Best Soundtrack Award at the 10th Estepona Fantasy& Horror Film Festival in Spain.
The album opens with a sense of foreboding but the "Main Title" eventually blossoms romantically on strings, presumably the first quote of Dvorak (I am not familiar with his work), before ending pretty much as it began. "Libussa" follows, opening nervously, before attaining some nobility and then blossoming romantically again, a mood that continues into "Moonlight Love," which surges with great passion before melting away. "Autumn Prophecy" follows somewhat suspensefully before lightening and moving nicely to its conclusion. There's both drama and passion to be found in "Eternal Love," whilst "The King's Funeral" is suitably mournful to start, before ascending to more dramatic heights.
"Assault/A New Queen" presents the most exciting action music of the score, before reaching a triumphant, proud conclusion. More action of a darker nature follows in "The Betrayal" and then "Dark Passion" opens very darkly before reaching a passionate crescendo and then ending with something of a feeling of desperation. "Winter" is initially appropriately bleak, but ends in more surging passion, and, I suspect, yet another quote of Dvorak. By contrast, "Heavy Heart" is pretty dark and conspiratorial, with a big dramatic ending, whilst the initially anguished "Separation," eventually lightens, but only briefly, before an overwhelming and then almost tragic conclusion. "Kazi" follows, opening quite mystically and proceeding suspensefully. "Love and Sacrifice" is as passionate and dramatic as the title might suggest, with "Mythical Treasures" offering more mysticism.
The story starts to build to its conclusion with "Off to War" striding purposefully towards "Last Battle," which surprisingly is for the most part devoid of action, with only a short burst before a noble resolution. "Final Destiny" concludes the album with more Dvorak and then a big horns-lead finale.
The Pagan Queen soundtrack is available to purchase as a digital download from the likes of Amazon.com and cdbaby.com, and for information on the composer go to www.consordino.com.