John Debney

Item: The Passion of the Christ: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Author: Marcus Hathcock

The Passion of the Christ: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

(2004)

Reviewed by Marcus Hathcock

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Label Sony Music / Integrity MusicThe Phantom Tollbooth2004

classical new age world

A powerful story demands a powerful musical score. Many agree that The Passion of the Christ is one of the most important and moving films of our time, and John Debney has created a musical score that captures the heart of the story in the original motion picture soundtrack.

Debney came to conduct the music for this film in an unexpected way. Prior to The Passion, he had composed music mostly for comedies such as Elf and Liar, Liar. One day, one of the producers from The Passion gave him a call to get some informal professional advice. Since this producer was a friend of Debney's, and he liked the film's premise, Debney volunteered his efforts to create a song or two to establish the "feel" of the score. Debney's first compositions blew Gibson away, and thus he was hired to continue the film's musical backdrop.

The tracks are different than the normal, Europeanized music that is typically heard in Jesus films. At first listen, the music seems very Middle-Eastern. However, for a universal message, Debney subtly places instruments from all parts of the world into the score. At one point we hear a didgeridoo, instrument of the Australian aborigines. Other times we hear the drumbeats and chants of Africa.

The greatest track, in my opinion, is the last one ("Resurrection"). For everyone who has seen the film, this brings back the memory of Christ as he emerges from the tomb, and the touching symphony of hope that follows. The entire album is beautiful in its anguish and sorrow, but all of those pieces add up to the grand conclusion that is the resurrection.

The soundtrack to The Passion of the Christ is not meant to entertain, much like the film; it is an experience that seeks meditation and reflection on the story behind the movie. The music tells the story without pictures or words, and arouses many different feelings. People who have seen the movie will find this album of greater value, since they can attribute the most poignant pieces of the film to certain movements and crescendos in the music.

4.5 tocks