Soundtrack: Doctor Who Series 4 – The Specials
Composer: Murray Gold
Label: Silva Screen Records
Release Date: November 9, 2010
I must confess that, despite being a musician and music educator, I hardly notice the background music when I’m watching a TV show. I suppose that’s not really a bad thing, because that means the composer has done his or her job of heightening the emotion of the scene without attracting attention. However, after listening to this soundtrack, I am definitely going to be paying more attention to the music when I watch Doctor Who. British composer Murray Gold, also known for his work on Torchwood and Queer As Folk, is responsible for the music on the Doctor Who Series 4 – The Specials soundtrack, as well as for all of the other Doctor Who episodes and specials of the past five seasons. This two-CD set contains an enjoyable variety of pieces from the scores to the Series 4 Specials that ended David Tennant’s run as the Doctor. They are masterfully performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Ben Foster.
The first CD covers the first three specials: “The Next Doctor” (2008’s Christmas special), “Planet of the Dead,” and “The Waters of Mars.” It begins, however, with a prelude for the whole collection, an a cappella choral version of “Vale” from the score for “The End of Time, Part 2,” beautifully performed by what sounds like a boy choir, although I cannot be sure as I received no liner notes for this soundtrack. “Vale” is Latin for “farewell,” and as such it is a fitting opening for this aural survey of the Tenth Doctor’s farewell tour through time and space.
“The Next Doctor” is given the most space on the disc, with ten tracks. The first track, “A Victorian Christmas,” sounds exactly you one might expect it to sound, bringing to mind a street scene right out of a Dickens novel. It doesn’t take long, however, before Dickens meets the Pink Panther and we can be sure the Doctor is on the scene in the way the music breaks into all sorts of jazzy mayhem. In fact, this is not uncommon throughout the soundtrack. Gold seems to be primarily an orchestral composer in the classical tradition, producing the likes of “The Wonder of Balloons” (track 7), one of my favorites from this section of the album. Its soaring melody is perfect for scenes of floating gently through the clouds, conveying a sense of awe at being so high above the scene. Only a track or two later, however, the music is solidly in the Big Band jazz tradition, obviously influenced by composers like Henry Mancini, or else rock elements have crept in as a drum set replaces the orchestral percussion section. This variety of styles makes listening very enjoyable and sometimes surprising.
The best characterization I can give of the six selections from “Planet of the Dead” is Mission Impossible meets the Pink Panther (the cartoon, that is). This particularly applies to the first two pieces, “A Disturbance in the Night” and “The Cat Burglar” (tracks 12 and 13), which are my favorites from this section. The rest are appropriately exciting, suspenseful, or lonely as the action on screen requires. The score for “Planet of the Dead” has an entirely different character in its representative four tracks. Electronic sound effects and synthesizers often augment the orchestra to create a sometimes menacing, sometimes creepy, and sometimes downright scary atmosphere, like a good horror movie score should. Of note is the final track, “Altering Lives” (track 21), in which a solo string instrument plays a beautiful, heart-wrenching melody over simple sustained chords with slow chord changes.
The entire second disc is devoted to music from the two-part special “The End of Time.” It begins with another beautiful a cappella piece for treble choir, “We Shall Fare Well,” which seems to be an English version of “Vale” while at the same time foreshadowing the Doctor’s regeneration and reassuring us that everything will turn out alright in the end. Like the first CD, this one also has a mix of both classical and jazzy styles. Some pieces are humorous, such as “Wilf’s Wiggle” (track 6), my favorite track on the disc and lamentably one of the shortest. More often, however, they fall within a range of dramatic moods from suspenseful and menacing to reflective and sad. Some of the most effective of these are “A Lot of Life Behind Us” (track 17), which accompanies the touching scene in which the Doctor tells Wilf “I am going to die,” and “The Four Knocks” (track 22), which features a motif of four repeated notes. “Vale” (track 25) is another powerful selection. A solo soprano voice and later a chorus sing with the orchestra as we watch the Doctor visit former companions one last time and then begin his regeneration. We are not given much time to mourn, however, because once Matt Smith appears on the scene as Eleven, we are off and running again with a rocking score that helps convey his youthful enthusiasm in “The New Doctor” (track 26).
Something that bothered me as I listened was the way that some tracks seemed to end rather abruptly and others changed mood or style many times or in ways that did not make sense musically. However, that can be excused given the nature of the music’s purpose. I am sure that the changes and transitions would have made much more sense had I been hearing them while watching the television programs. Overall, I really enjoyed this soundtrack, and I will be sure to keep my ears open for more of Murray Gold’s work in the future.
Track Listing:
CD 1:
- “Vale” (1:37)
- “A Victorian Christmas” (1:34)
- “Not The Doctor” (3:19)
- “A Bit Of A Drag” (1:23)
- “In The Sea Of Memory” (0:44)
- “Hidden In The Closet” (1:51)
- “The Wonders Of Balloons” (1:23)
- “A Forceful Intelligence” (1:12)
- “The Greats Of Past Time” (5:04)
- “The March Of The Cybermen” (4:13)
- “Goodbyes” (5:04)
- “A Disturbance In The Night” (0:38)
- “The Cat Burglar” (1:30)
- “Alone In The Desert” (3:19)
- “A Special Sort Of Bus” (2:19)
- “Stirring In The Sands” (1:58)
- “Lithuania” (1:48)
- “Letter To Earth” (2:15)
- “By Water Borne” (2:23)
- “The Fate Of Little Adelaide” (5:05)
- “Altering Lives” (3:23)
CD 2:
- “We Shall Fare Well” (1:27)
- “A Frosty Ood” (2:50)
- “A Dream Of Catastrophe” (1:18)
- “All In The Balance” (0:55)
- “A Ruined Gaol” (1:22)
- “Wilf’s Wiggle” (0:43)
- “Minny Hooper” (1:31)
- “The End Draws Near” (3:46)
- “Gallifrey” (2:32)
- “Final Days” (1:43)
- “The Council Of The Timelords” (0:41)
- “The Master Suite” (4:33)
- “The Ruined Childhood” (3:27)
- “A Chaotic Escape” (2:59)
- “The World Waits” (5:18)
- “A Longing To Leave” (1:18)
- “A Lot Of Life Behind Us” (4:20)
- “Dealing With The Menace” (1:35)
- “Speeding to Earth” (1:18)
- “The Timelord’s Last Stand” (3:27)
- “The Clouds Pass” (1:53)
- “The Four Knocks” (4:04)
- “Song For Ten” (2:21)
- “Vale Decem” (3:19)
- “Vale” (4:20)
- “The New Doctor” (1:07)
Rating: 4 / 5 Stars
