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Horner begins the score with a beautiful Irish pipes solo and thus introduces us to the beautiful main theme. The pipes gradually fade out and give way to a full orchestra along with a beautiful vocal performance. This portion reminds me a lot of another one of his classics, BRAVEHEART. In the next track we are introduced to a mystical musical feel. This takes me back to many of the forest scenes in Horner's THE SPITFIRE GRILL score. Eventhough he uses the same formula in this part, he has refined it and made it even more enjoyable. If there is one thing about James Horner, he finds a style and he keeps using it until he reaches perfection. That is what he has done here. Another thing that I must mention here is that he uses the synthesizer in many parts of the score. This was a risky move to take, but what makes it work so well is that he always has his full orchestra to back it up with so as not to let it feel completely synthetic.
Drama is the name of the game for the middle portions of the score, and these are some of the best pieces of music on the disc. The drama begins as the Titanic sails away in the tracks, "Leaving Port" and "Take Her to Sea, Mr. Murdoch." The suspense is very subtle but it is effectively received. After this, Horner then takes us on the terrifying journey as the Titanic scrapes the iceberg and begins its slow demise. The action is solidly delivered with crashes and bangs from the percussion section and the piano. The one brilliant thing that Horner does here is to interweave the main love theme in with the charging action so as not to let us forget that real people were involved in the tragic accident. Little touches such as these make the sinking tracks utterly unforgettable and brilliant. The song entitled "Death of Titanic" creates a churning synergy of emotion until the moment the last portion of the ship has entered the water.
After the dizzying terror of the sinking tracks, Horner brings us back to our senses with the heavenly music he first introduced us to in the beginning. We feel relieved to hear this music again, but we long to experience the terror of the sinking music really soon. I don't exactly know how Horner did this, however, I find it quite intriguing. The track entitled "An Ocean of Memories" is quite possibly the mose beautiful song on the entire release. That is really hard to accurately judge because the whole thing is so great. Even the vocal song performed by Celine Dion is superb. She sings the song that incorporates the main love theme of TITANIC written by Horner and Will Jennings. If this song were written by anybody else, it wouldn't have been as lyrically enchanting.
To finish up, Horner has created with TITANIC one of his finest scores to date. I will go as far to say that if this gets nominated for the Academy Award, it will undoubtedly win the Oscar hands down. The song also has the makings of winning in the Best Song category. I should also note here that the score and the vocal song of TITANIC have both recently been nominated for Golden Globe Awards. I'm glad to announce that both WON in their respective categories! The results here turned out to be an exact carbon copy at the Academy Awards. It easily sailed off with both statues. This is Horner's first Oscar win. In saying that, if you are looking for a great soundtrack that will blow you away every time it is played, then James Horner's TITANIC is the one for you. If you appreciate beautifully written music and driving action cues, rush out and grab this one while you still can. TITANIC is the finest score of the entire year.
