Original soundtrack recording to the 1995 movie "Cry, the Beloved Country" with music composed and conducted by John Barry and also featuring The Havana Swingsters, Dorothy Masuka and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
"Cry the Beloved Country" was quite possibly the most underrated film of 1995. It was well produced and directed with superbly acted leads by James Earl Jones and Richard Harris. The score by John Barry was vastly overlooked, as well. Africa has been good to Barry. One of his first chances to score a film was "Zulu"(1964), more of which must be said later. Barry also won Academy Awards for both the song and score for "Born Free" (1966), and for the score for "Out of Africa" (1985). His music for "Cry the Beloved Country" is somber, dramatic and in places quite tragic, but like the story there is a claim to dignity and a quiet form of heroism.
A main theme runs throughout the score with secondary themes emerging along the way, and they are all substantial. Barry also pulled a surprise by utilizing his main theme to "Zulu." This would seem, at first glance, to be a form of self-plagiarism, but it is not. The theme in question is a heroic standard in "Zulu." Here, it is haunting and subtle, but clearly was to remind one of the heroism of a people, not the heroism of spear and shield, but of their undying dignity which remains in spite of the troubles that engulf them. This theme is first heard as a train makes its way across the South African landscape to Johannesburg and appears again in several tracks. The temptation to complain about Barry stealing from his own music actually never emerges, instead one is amazed by how he integrated it into what must be regarded as one of his best scores, and that is high praise, indeed. (Amazon review)
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