Rachel Portman has penned another delightful and intimate score for The Cider House Rules which makes for a low key but enjoyable affort. The main theme introduced in the Main Titles focuses on strings, woodwind and piano, passing the melody around the orchestra. It perfectly captures the gentile New England setting and provides for a strong start to a very good album and recurs on occasion throughout in different orchestral guises..

Given the type of heart warming drama the film appears to be, the music is naturally quite sentimental, but never cloyingly so. There are enough more serious episodes such as the Young Girl's Burial, which has hints of Thomas Newman harmony creeping in from time to time, to give a greater dramatic weight to the music. There are also several more sprightly passages which serve to break up the generally relaxed atmosphere and give a nice change of pace from time to time. Portman's pleasing mixture of piano, strings and clarinet gives the music a typical lightness of touch in cues such as Homer's Lessons and Homer Asks Wally for a Ride, that is often missing from scores these days.

It is always difficult to know what to say about scores like this. It is not outstandingly different or taxing, but is just thoroughly well wrought music that makes for an uncomplicated and pleasant forty minutes. There is enough variety in pace although it all has the same kind of feel and works perfectly well as music apart from the film (which I've not seen). It commendably avoids becoming redundant through overuse of the main theme, but there are few tracks which stand out above the others as they are all of equally high quality.

To my mind, it doesn't feature many of Portman's typical stylistic touches; for example the main theme is not so prominently clarinet led as usual and some of the incidental music could be low key Williams, Delerue or even someone like Thomas Newman. Of course none of this detracts from the album as a listening experience and as such I can only recommend it as delightful in every respect. Not one of Portman's most idiosyncratic scores, but certainly one that is sincere and enjoyable.

Rating ~

  1. Main Titles (2:10)
  2. Homer's Lessons (3:43)
  3. Young Girls Burial (0:42)
  4. Homer Asks Wally for a Ride (1:27)
  5. Homer Leaves the Orphanage (4:37)
  6. The Ocean (0:59)
  7. The Cider House (4:13)
  8. Wally Goes Off to War (1:48)
  9. Lobster Dinner (0:51)
  10. Burying Fuzzy (1:35)
  11. Homer & Candy on the Dock (2:21)
  12. Rose Rose is Pregnant (1:16)
  13. Abortion (1:50)
  14. Pickers Leave (1:16)
  15. Dr. Larch Dies (1:37)
  16. Homer Returns to the Orphanage (3:42)
  17. Good-night, You Kings of New England (1:06)
  18. End Credits (4:36)

Total Time ~ 40:43