Review Of the Music From

So here’s the first review of 2011! Yay! I thought I’d start with something different, since I don’t get out to see many movies, I’ll do a music review! This is one I’ve wanted to do for a while, but I’ve not had the right venue to do it. but now I have a blog on which I can write such reviews, so I will! This review is a review of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, a movie that has been one of my favorites for a very long time. Also, truth be told, what Hunchback lacks in memorable lyrics (unlike The Little Mermaid) it makes up for in imagery and mysterious, haunting undercurrents that weave themselves throughout the entire piece.

So The Hunchback of Notre Dame takes place in Paris, specifically in the area surrounding (or within) Notre Dame cathedral itself. The titular character is a hunchback by the name of Quasimodo – literally “Half formed” – who is played by Tom Hulce. His love interest is Esmeralda (Demi Moore), who is actually in love with Phoebus (Kevin Kline), or at least falls in love with him later in the film. Then there’s the main antagonist (and Quasimodo’s “master”) Judge Claude Frollo (Tony Jay) who serves as the dark that the main characters must defeat (or the minor key that underlies most of the music). There’s also Clopin, voiced by tenor Paul Kandel. Finally come the minor characters, the Archdeacon (David Ogden Stiers) and The Gargoyles (three of them), who were supposed to serve as comic relief but just got annoying after a while. I like the tall one though. Anyways, now that we’ve got the actors out of the way, let’s get on to the music!

The Bells of Notre Dame

The opening music, The Bells of Notre Dame, is begun by a Gregorian chant, which is actually sung to the melody of Someday, which you don’t hear until the end of the film. The Gregorian chant itself is a real chant, however, I couldn’t find the lyrics to it so I can’t analyze them. *Insert sad face here*. Anyways, an all-male chorus sings the chant, but once Notre Dame cathedral comes into view the entire chorus joins in with the “Hellfire” theme. The music shifts once again when you fall towards the streets of Paris and meet Clopin, who begins to tell the tale of Quasimodo to a small group of children. If you notice, when he speaks to the children, the flute and chimes come into play, whereas when he speaks of the “Bells of Notre Dame” the music darkens and is accompanied by the brass and bell sections. His voice also falls into a whisper once he speaks of the “tale of a man and a monster” and the “four frightened gypsies” who are trying to sneak into the city on a dark winter’s night. His voice suddenly rises as “but a trap had been laid for the gypsies” and the bells toll ominously as Claude Frollo is introduced. The high strings in the background after Frollo’s entrance also add an extremely creepy and horror-like effect to the music (sends shivers down my spine every time I hear them).

At this point I was going to stop and move on to the last part, where the music turns to a major key as the riddle is told. However, I realized something…

Boom! As the woman runs with her child, the chorus in the background begins to chant the Dies Irae, or “Day of Wrath”. Lyrics and translation below.

Dies iræ ! Dies illa (Day of Wrath, that day)

Solvet sæclum in favilla: (Will dissolve the world in ashes)

Teste David cum Sibylla! (As Foretold by David and the Sibyl!)

Quantus tremor est futurus, (How much tremor there will be)

Quando iudex est venturus, (When the judge will come)

Cuncta stricte discussurus! (Investigating everything strictly)

Now this may not be the “lyrical” translation, but is the “formal” translation. Anyway, you get the picture, and the Dies Irae itself has been used in so many things already (at the beginning of The Shining, Danny Elfman uses the melody in a few of his Nightmare Before Christmas songs, etc.) that I was surprised I hadn’t heard it before then. Still, it’s a great description of Frollo, is it not? The judge that comes “investigating everything”?

Also, if you listen closely, during the lines “and for one time in his life of power and control / Frollo felt a twinge of fear for his immortal soul” (this is after the Archdeacon’s accusations are sung) the chorus sings “Kyrie Eleison” which, in Greek “God have mercy [on me]”.

Anyways, after this part of the song is sung and once we are returned to Clopin’s voice, we hear the music turn major as he asks “Here is a riddle to guess if you can sing the bells of Notre Dame / Who is the monster and who is the man?”, which creates the basis for the rest of the film.

Out There

            This is the song sung by both Frollo and Quasimodo when the latter attempts to leave the cathedral to join the Feast of Fools. Frollo tells him of the cruelty of the world and of its lack of pity towards anyone who is “deformed”, “ugly” or considered “a monster” (as Quasimodo surely would be). He even has Quasi himself saying “I am a monster” (brainwashing!!). so Frollo tells him to stay “in here” in his “sanctuary”. Then the music takes a shift and slowly builds up to a major key as Quasi begins to sing about how he wishes to live “not above them / but part of them”. As for hidden melodies there really aren’t any, but this is a lovely song anyways. However, something must be done about Tom Hulce’s vibrato, it’s much too fast.

Sorry, I’ve not got much to write about this song, but its one of my favorites.

Humiliation

            Humiliation is a very dark song that begins with dissonant tones and minor harmonies that prominently display what is going on with poor Quasimodo in the movie (if you don’t know, this is where he is tied down at the Feast and things are thrown at him). It’s a very dark tune when you don’t understand where its coming from (and is even when you DO know what’s going on) and sounds almost like something Carlo Gesualdo would compose. As well, the Agnus Dei is prominently featured (lyrics and translation below)

Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)

Qui Tollis peccata mundi (Who takes away the sins of the world)

Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)

Dona Nobis pacem (Grant us Peace) 

Now see, the Agnus Dei is part of a Mass, and was an interesting addition to the song, but a good one nonetheless. See, in a way, Quasimodo is absorbing all the jeering and the torture that the gypsies had to endure under Frollo’s rule. Then when Esmeralda enters the scene she is the one who grants the crowd peace, since the throwing of vegetables and other objects abruptly stops.

God Help The Outcasts

            Well, this song is going to be a bit like Out There because I don’t really know what to write about it. this song is sung by Heidi Mollenhauer instead of Demi Moore, and is Esmeralda’s prayer to the lord (once she takes sanctuary in the cathedral). At first there is only the soft sound of the wind section and the high strings, but gathers more and more instruments from each of the sections (the brass section is nearly impossible to hear, and the bell section is nonexistent for once). She asks if God was once an outcast like herself, knowing full well that she “shouldn’t speak to [him]”, then asks for God to bless the outcasts.

            The song segues into the prayers of other people (wealth, love, etc.) and returns to Esmeralda as she mentions she can survive, but there are others less lucky than her. The dynamic rises and falls but barely reaches above forte, making the song a lovely soft addition to the soundtrack.

Heaven’s Light / Hellfire

            This one should be fun to write about, another long one! This song begins with Heaven’s Light and Quasimodo’s confession of his feelings towards Esmeralda and his loneliness without love. Again the wind section and the lower strings accompany his voice, but as the song progresses the bell section and brass join into the melody. He sings about “Heaven’s Light” and how when he rings the bells it will make his “cold dark tower [seem] so bright”. At the end, the orchestra is accompanied by the sounds of chimes, which give the song a cheerful tone before it moves into the Confiteor section (lyrics and translation below)

Confiteor Deo Omnipotenti (I confess to God Almighty)

Beatae Mariae semper Virgini (To blessed Mary ever Virgin)

Beato Michaeli archangelo (To the blessed archangel Michael)

Sanctis apostolis omnibus sanctis (To the Holy Apostles, to all the saints)

Archdeacon and the choir in the chapel sing the song before it shifts to the Hellfire part of the song, sung by Frollo. He begins to speak to Mother Mary (Maria), assuring her that he is a righteous man (and he’s proud of it). He moves towards the fireplace, and moves very little from that spot. Here, I’ll put down the first parts of the lyrics:

Beata Maria

You know I am a righteous man

Of my virtue I am justly proud

Et tibit Pater (And to you, Father)

Beata Maria

You know I'm so much purer than

The common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd

Quia peccavi nimis (That I have sinned)

Then tell me, Maria

Why I see her dancing there

Why her smold'ring eyes still scorch my soul

Cogitatione (In thought)

I feel her, I see her

The sun caught in raven hair

Is blazing in me out of all control

Verbo et opere (In word and deed)

You see how the Latin phrases at the end of the stanzas sync up with what Frollo is saying? I thought that was amazing how Alan Menken and his buddies did this. Anyways, when he begins the hellfire part, he speaks of how the fire (his lust for Esmeralda) is a fire in his skin, a burning desire, and how it is turning him to sin. he finally breaks and runs down the hall away from the fireplace as red-cloaked figures sing “Mea culpa / mea culpa / mea maxima culpa” (“My fault / my fault / my greatest fault”) as he tries to tell them “It’s not my fault / I’m not to blame!”. He is then “sucked” into the fires in the fireplace by the red figures in a flow of lava.

            Suddenly he’s back at the front of the fireplace (now kneeling), and asks for Mary to protect him…and destroy Esmeralda. As he says this last line (“Destroy Esmeralda / and let her taste the fires of hell”), the figure of Esmeralda, dancing provocatively in the fireplace, is then replaced by her figure writhing in agony, as if tied to a stake. He then goes on to say, “Unless she will be mine and mine alone”, and a smoky apparition of Esmeralda steps out of the fireplace and they attempt to embrace before the she dissipates into the air. A soldier then enters and informs Frollo that Esmeralda has gone missing from the cathedral, provoking him further. “Now gypsy, it’s your turn / choose me / or your pyre / be mine or you will burn” is what he says next, his final offer to the girl he lusts for (symbolically he throws the scarf she had thrown at him into the fire during this scene). Now this is one of the most interesting parts in the song. As he backs away from the fireplace and as dark shadows begin to follow him, he sings “God have mercy on her / God have mercy on me”, and the chorus in the background sings “Kyrie Eleison” (God have mercy), as if he is still trying to fight what he is about to do, asking for mercy. Finally, as he states his last offer, he falls to his knees, shadows whirling about him, and as all of his strength leaves him he falls flat on his face, arms outspread in the shape of a cross.

The flames? They represent fire of lust and passion that have now taken hold. By the end, the flames have been transformed into rivers of lava and undulating shadows as he becomes more and more enraged with his actions and feelings. Seriously, talk about a guy who never gets laid…

MOVING ON. 

Paris Burning

            Not much actually happens in the music, however, the actual things that are going on in the movie are quite frightening as Frollo’s rage overtakes him and he then takes it out on the citizens of Paris. The Dies Irae also returns (although it’s a bit shortened)!

Dies iræ! Dies illa

Solvet sæclum in favilla:

Quantus tremor est futurus,

Quando iudex est venturus,

If you listen closely, as Frollo sets the windmill and house of another family on fire, you can hear the Kyrie Eleison phrase return.

            Also…Phoebus has dissolving armor?

Sanctuary

Okay, seriously, this part is just too hard to explain. This is one of the most poignant scenes in the entire movie, as Quasimodo yells “Sanctuary!” from atop the cathedral. But since we’re not discussing the imagery, I’ll go ahead and post the lyrics and a link to the scene in the movie.

Judex crederis esse venturus	(Our Judge we believe shall come)
In te, Domine, speravi	(In You, Lord, have I trusted)
Non confundar in aeternum	(Let me not be damned for eternity)
Salvum fac populum tuum	(Save Your people)
Judex crederis Kyrie Eleison	(In our Judge we believe) (God have mercy)
Libera me Domine	(Free me, Lord)
Libera me Domine de morte aeterna	(Free me, Lord, from everlasting death)
In die illa tremenda	(On that terrible day)
Quando caeli movendi sunt	(When the heavens shall be moved)
Caeli et terra	(The heavens and earth)
Dum veneris judicare	(When Thou shall come to judge the world)
O, salutaris hostia	(Oh Saviour, saving victim)
Quae caeli pandis ostium	(Who opens the gate of heaven)
Bella premunt hostilia	(Our enemies besiege us)
Da robur, fer auxilium	(Give us strength, bring us aid)
Sit sempiterna gloria	(May you always be praised)
Sit sempiterna gloria	(May you always be praised)
Sit sempiterna gloria	(May you always be praised)
Gloria, gloria semper	(Glory, glory forever)
Sanctus, sanctus in excelsis	(Holy, holy, in the highest)
Mors stupebit et natura	(Death and nature shall be confounded)
Cum resurget creatura	(When creation shall rise again)
Judicanti responsurra	(To answer for judgment)
Judex ergo cum sedebit	(Therefore, when the Judge will take his seat)
Nil inultum remanebit	(Nothing shall remain unpunished)
Quem patronum rogaturus	(To what protector shall I appeal)
Cum vix justus sit securus?	(When scarcely the just man shall be secure?)
Juste Judex ultionis	(Righteous Judge of vengeance)
Ante diem rationis	(Before the day of reckoning)
Kyrie Eleison	(Lord have mercy)

Now as you listen to the music, read the lyrics and see how they match up with what is going on in the movie itself. Pretty amazing, isn’t it? I mean good lord, just listen to how everything syncs! It’s not often you find a movie that does that anymore.

As Frollo first lights the fire at Esmeralda’s feet and as Quasimodo screams “NO!!” you hear the chorus sing “Free me lord / Free me, Lord, from everlasting death”. Then, as the chains begin to break and the pillars holding Quasi back begin to crack, the lyrics change to “On that terrible day / when the heavens shall be moved / the heavens and earth / when Thou shall come to judge the world”, and further follow the movement of the film by saying “Oh Saviour, saving victim / who opens the gate of heaven / our enemies besiege us / give us strength, bring us aid” as Quasi swings in and saves the day. Also, once he reaches the top of the cathedral you hear the chorus sing “Sit Sempiterna gloria / gloria, gloria semper” (“May you always be praised / glory, glory forever”), and as Quasi screams “Sanctuary” the crowd cheers back, praising him.

I think that’s about all I’ll do for this song, since I could tie in every word to what was going on in the scene. It’s just a great scene and great music to go along with it.

           

And He Shall Smite The Wicked

            Yet again the Dies Irae returns in this piece, but now its much more well-deserved. During this song is the wonderful fight scene between Quasimodo and his master, Frollo. As Frollo chases Quasimodo about the top of Notre Dame, the song is nearly inaudible, covered up by dissonances and quick dynamic changes by the strings. Then, as the fight progresses it grows in dynamic, then falls back to a nearly inaudible level as Frollo utters the words, “I should’ve known you’d risk your life to save that gypsy witch… just as your own mother died trying to save you.” Then, as he gives his ultimatum – “Now I’m going to do what I should’ve done twenty years ago!” – the dynamic changes suddenly again. The chorus grows in volume slowly as Frollo and Quasimodo hang from the very top of the cathedral, and finally comes to a climax as Frollo climbs onto the jaguar’s head, eyes glowing a ghastly yellow, and says “And he shall smite the wicked and plunge them into the fiery pit!” The brass then finish the finale as Frollo is “plunged into the fiery pit” himself.

You gotta admit, this is one of the best scenes in the movie. I mean, aside from the bad guy finally meeting a fitting end, the two lovers finally expressing their love for each other, and the outcast who lets them do so…

Man, Frollo has one eeeeeevil laugh. Brilliantly evil.

Into the Sunlight / The Bells of Notre Dame Reprise

            Now there’s nothing much to say about the symbolism of this part…since there isn’t really. It’s the music that is played when all the bad things are finally resolved, and the riddle is solved. That’s the part I love, for two reasons.

“What makes a monster and what makes a man?” is the line that Clopin asks the little girl as Quasimodo is carried off by a cheering group of villagers, adding the Aesop’s fable-type ending to the movie (much, MUCH happier than the book). You have to wonder WHAT makes a monster and WHAT makes a man…you can’t always judge a person by how they look. You also hear the Out There theme return at the end. However, there is one other thing I love about this part of the song, and it also happens in the Bells of Notre Dame (opening). As Clopin – or rather, Paul Kandel – sings:

“Whatever their pitch, you

Can feel them bewitch you

The rich and the ritual knells

Of the

Bells of Notre Dame”

Here, watch the video.

You can hear his voice rise higher and higher in pitch until finally he hits the highest note (the one sung on the word “Dame”)…GOOD LORD THAT’S IN THE FREAKING SOPRANO RANGE!!!

Paul Kandel, sir, I have to hand it to you. You have a tenor voice that can reach up into the soprano range. Now I sing on and off, and even I can’t hit that note. That is simply brilliant. Just listen to that! It gives me shivers every time I hear that…here, I’ll post a link to the vid and you can listen to it yourself. Good lord, I just can’t get over that.

Well, in the words of Porky Pig

“Th- th- th- that’s all folks!”

Have a great week :)




Also, apologies for the giant blank spaces before and after the videos. The Blogger.com software was being annoying and bothersome, so it wouldn't let me just set them up like a normal picture. SORRY :(