Ennio Morricone's finest achievement to date is certainly impressive, all be it only once or twice. The opening three tracks are my favourite. The choral work in On Earth as it is in Heaven is absolutely stunning and worth the price of the CD alone. Falls is a lovely piece for Pan Pipes and strings and has been used many times on television. Gabriel's Oboe is a charming track for solo oboe and orchestra and I find it enchanting. The rest is perhaps less impressive. There are lots of dull pan pipe and Sakuhatchi (I think) bits that are just noise and not very musical. The fault may lie with James Horner in fact as his use of these instruments is often excessive and can get boring. The reprises of the opening and third track are good, bust otherwise, the rest of the CD isn't really that great. However, for an example of fine orchestral and choral writing, this has some outstanding examples.
Rating ~ 