While film music can readily conjure up emotions, scores with a really good atmosphere and good melodic content are somewhat thin on the ground, but The Village has a wonderfully autumnal feeling to it as well as some lovely melodies. In that sense, it makes a nice seasonal compliment to his rather low key, but extremely effective score to Snow Falling on Cedars. However, where that score is perhaps a bit too low key, The Village keeps moving, thanks in part to Hilary Hahn's terrific violin solos which appear in most tracks. It's not exactly taxing stuff, technically, but rich, earthy tone is a crucial element in Howard's beautifully conceived textures. There are times when the arpeggios bring to mind Philip Glass, but they don't have quite the insistence of Glass' scores, plus happily break their cycles for some more lyrical melodic lines and find more than enough variety in pace and orchestral colour to prevent them becoming tiresome.
As there are some horror elements, Howard is occasionally obliged to break his atmosphere for something a little more histrionic. However, these moments are brief and actually quite well wrought, generally avoiding the grinding, unmusical tone that pervades modern horror scoring. The fact that they are surrounded by such a carefully crafted remainder means they aren't just meaningless orchestral jolts. Some might argue that, like his score to Signs, The Village is a touch samey at times, but that's more down to the strong tone than it actually being repetitive. It's the kind of music that just carries the listener along and, importantly for a soundtrack album, functions supremely well as a stand alone experience. Another chance for James Newton Howard to demonstrate yet another side to his musical personality, here's hoping he continues scoring a diverse range of films and in such splendid fashion.
Rating ~ 