Not very often do i hear a score in this genre of films that makes me want to grab the CD and look at the credits and the composer’s name. The movie is (and i am quoting from imdb) ” set during the time of the first outbreak of bubonic plague in England, a young monk is tasked with learning the truth about reports of people being brought back to life in a small village “. On the cd cover we find a furious and heroic Sean Bean in swords and sandals outfit and a sword in his hand looking confidently at us; naturally, to any trained film music lover who’s also in knowledge of the current trends in the industry, this would automatically bring impressions of either Gladiator / Zimmer imitations or simply middle eastern-colored scores with hordes of uninspired wordless vocals and no themes whatsoever. The list of such scores during the last 5 years isn’t short.

Now the premise and title of the movie did suggest a trip to hell but i was not prepared for what i would listen here. It opens with “pestilence” and pompous male chanting which resembles Latin but most possibly – like the frequently used compositional tactics suggest, it’s just phonemes and vocal sounds with a musical value. They appear throughout the score (“Marsh” and other places), captivating the listener. Quickly right after the male chants, the first evident thing that grabbed my attention was this very prominent and steady medium-tempo rhythm (sets of 8ths in a 4/4 metre) that carries throughout the entire album. A dark and unsetting atmosphere is quickly set from the very first notes. The rhythm is born via imposing marching percussion constantly underlining the beat base, accompanied with bold bowings and pizzicati from the lower register string section; this team constructs the backbone of the entire score, existing in virtually every piece of the score.

Henson sets his work apart from the bunch, mostly by basing it on a very unique orchestration and unique usages of instruments overall. There’s the vocal archae that governs the whole score in the form of the afore-mentioned male chants, clever vocal recording techniques and stuff like singing through a tuba which believe me – will grab your attention; but also a primitive war male choir is coloring a large part of the score as well as soothing wordless female vocals that help it breathe during the softer moments. 2nd basic orchestral element is the use of the strings; apart the guitar quartet (!) and the melancholic string orchestra, there’s the lead violin almost in every cue, played in a long-forgotten, almost primitive “viol-like” way; musicologists will quickly reminiscent of the music of the middle ages and early renaissance or even the darker Baroque. “Flagelants” futures polemic primitive brass and a didgeridoo (or low swiss alps horns) along with heavy male chanting, giving birth to very unique and captivating soundscapes.

Thematically, “Lovers” gives us the main theme of the score which is a “The thin red line” influenced (Zimmer) set of 6 basic notes of long duration; unhurried and almost idle at places, this long string procession sets a mesmerizing tone which signatures the entire score, very clearly heard in “The End” too. Then there’s the less obvious but effective 3rd motif, i.e. a minimalistic violin arpeggio a la James Newton Howard’s “The village” that simply works great into creating a dense atmosphere (“word”, “fireside” and other tracks). And even from the first cue, but most obviously in «Company” and “France” there’s the 2ndary theme, basically a slower and even longer dramatic cut-down (3 notes) version of the main theme. »Company” consists of male choir whispering something resembling a “chop” or “chap” sound which goes along with marching percussion and low string pizzicati and harsh bowing on top of the 2ndary dramatic theme, altogether crafting a very unsettling and effective end result.

“Black Death” is a very coherent score, which has an incredible flow, altogether sounding like a very long composition rather than 21 isolated cues; you won’t notice the change of tracks on the CD and the muddling, laggard atmosphere will quickly absorb you. Let’s not kid ourselves; it’s not something that will likely awe the majority of listeners out there, but there’s very few works that manage to set themselves apart and stun; even the few. Christian Henson managed to craft a mesmerizing, deeply melancholic and gloomy work, a very impressive portrayal of the darkness and troubles of the portrayed era. Musically, it’s guaranteed to charm lovers of such genres. Via the many and clever orchestration devices described before, the bold and imaginative presence of the human voice as well as the thematic nature of the score (although not too obvious, you’ll have to work for it in order to discover and benefit from the themes) this is a very unique modern score that easily sets itself apart the whole without resorting to dissonance or other standard techniques.

Check the CD out via MovieScore Media, also with Sound Clips included by following this link.