Russia Land Of The Tsars (Original Motion Picture Score)

Edition: Audio CD Price: $12.99

Genre:  Classical Artists  Think Tchaikovsky meets Peter Gabriel. Or imagine Tchaikovsky getting together with 12 of his best friends, who just happen to be extraordinary musicians, on a Friday night with a few bottles of Vodka and jamming until Sunday morning. Artists:  Gary Pozner

Play all track samples  —  Stop Tracks: 1. The Russian People 2. The Vikings Set Sail 3. Peasants 4. Murder of Brothers 5. Russians and Ottomans 6. The Uprising 7. The Mongol Yoke 8. Baru Kahn 9. Paying Tribute to the Mongols 10. The People battle the Mongols 11. Prince Dimitry 12. The Holy City Falls 13. Moscow 14. The Feast 15. Ivan Claims the Crown 16. Glory of Ivan the Terrible 17. Ivans Reign of Terror 18. Despair Across the Land 19. Ivan Dies 20. Peasants try to Survive 21. The Oprichniki 22. Russias Neighbors 23. Peasants become Slaves 24. Polish Pretender 25. Time of Troubles 26. Save the Motherland 27. Peter the Great is Crowned 28. Sophias Rumor 29. Peter Takes Charge 30. Stronghold of Azov 31. The Warrior Tsar 32. Peter Sails the Seas 33. The Streltsy Revolt 34. Death at St. Petersburg 35. Tsar Peter and Marfa 36. Tsarevich Alexei is Tortured 37. The Battle with Sweden 38. Elizabeths Moonlight Ride 39. Elizabeth summons Sophia 40. Paul and Catherine 41. Catherine the Great 42. The Murder of the Tsar 43. Catherine Reforms Society 44. Catherine the Great Dies 45. Paul makes a Mess of Politics 46. Paul is Killed 47. War in Crimea land 48. Russian People Unite 49. Tsar Alexander Liberates Paris 50. Conspirators Meeting 51. Iron Tsar Nicholas 52. Conspirators plot Revolution 53. Alexander Pushkin Loses the Duel 54. Russia at War 55. The Saddest War 56. The Iron Tsar Dies 57. The Plot takes Shape 58. Sophia Plans an Attack 59. Start the Revolution 60. The Poor are Even Poorer 61. Into the Future 62. Nicholas and Alexandra 63. Tsar Nicholas Expands 64. Funeral Bride 65. Navel War against Japan 66. Protestors at the Tsars Palace 67. The Murder of Rasputin 68. Tsar Nicholas returns Home 69. Bloody Sunday 70. The End of the Empire 71. The Romanov Family is Executed 72. The Beginning of a New Russia

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Customer reviews:

A Television Soundtrack With Motion Picture Qualities

Most people would not think of buying a score to a historical piece aired on the History Channel. But after listening to Gary Pozner's score to Russia: Land of the Tsars I saw a different type of composing. I am a huge Hans Zimmer fan and have been a film enthusiast for a long time. What this score does is that it competes in quality to almost any major film score. The only difference is in the way the score has been edited.

Since this score was done for a historical documentary on television it had to be edited and done in a way that would fit a historical documentary. Any informational piece found on Discovery, National Geographic, or History is going to have narration. So in order to make the score work it cannot be too over the top like most films scores and it has to be done in short pieces. This one CD holds 72 tracks, that's right, 72! The reason for this is because of the narration of the piece and how a documentary is made. There cannot be a continuous over the top score playing during a television piece because it will distract the audience from the program's real purpose, to inform. So how can a composer make a score exceptional if it cannot be chock full of emotion and breathtaking pieces? The composer would instead make it true to its historical origin. That's why I love Gary Pozner's scores so much. He is able to create a subtle score that captures the feel of the time period and location of what is being presented in the program. Don't get me wrong here, the score is not a boring, droning piece. It has many astounding moments in it. You'll never see a film score that is so true to the origin of the film's plot.

If you love Hans Zimmer's scores then you'll enjoy Gary Posner's work a lot. He uses lots of string instruments in this score to enhance the feel. This comes highly reccomended from a lifelong film enthusiast and a true Hans Zimmer fanatic. You can learn more about Gary Pozner and his work at his site, whirledmusic.com

Too much variation

The documentary "Russia: Land Of The Tsars" tracks the history of Russia from the years 862 to 1991. Musically, Gary Pozner presents us with all facets of Russian music. From male choirs, to Russian violin and even throat singing - it all passes by. Certainly, this is a chance for any composer to show a wide range of musical styles and instrumental colours.

However, what this soundtracks lacks is budget. The orchestration feels as if it consists of one cello, one flute, one violin, synthesizer brass and percussion. You'll have to keep in mind that "Russia, Land Of The Tsars" is a History Channel documentary. Composers aren't granted large sums of money for projects like that.

Something else I didn't like about the album was that it's divided into 70+ little tracks of mostly two minutes and less. Of course this is also because of the documentary, but maybe one or two suites or concert pieces would have made the album much better. Now the score never seems to settle down, loses the necessary flow, and prevents the listener from being absorbed by the music. Also, there is no notable thematic material or development; or rather, there are too many little melodies and themes about as well as too many instruments. There's nothing that binds it all together, as a powerful recurring set of themes would.

This is Pozner's first soundtrack release on his Whirled Music label. While it certainly shows promise, the thin orchestration and lack of powerful thematic material makes me redirect you to his second release: `The Quest For King Arthur', which is much better.

This one gets two stars

Bram Janssen,
The Netherlands

Great instrument use

This cd is beautiful without a doubt! But i was a bit dissapointed with the fact that some of the songs are only 30 seconds long or shorter. Some of the songs on this cd are so beautiful that you wish you can hear more and those are the ones that are very short. Another thing that the buyer has to consider is that this cd is only 63 minutes long and it has total of 73 songs so imagine how short some of the songs are... I would have thought if this cd was made the way it was with as many songs as it is the songs should have at least flowed together... but the differeces between the songs are big, in other words the songs are so short that you know the song is over and there is the next song and it's different. Then i am left with a feeling "but i want to hear more of the other song." That is the down side about it. Other than that i think this cd is very dramatic and intense but beautiful. It isn't anything that you've heared of before. I would suggest to buy this cd to listen to when you have lot's of company everyone is talking and enjoying the music in the background. If you want to buy this cd to listen through head phones unfortunately this does't quite fit the criteria.