SOUNDTRACK

A recent CD release reviewed

CARTER BURWELL
Kinsey  The Body
****

His score to Bill Condon's critically acclaimed and controversial biopic Kinsey is one of maverick composer Carter Burwell's most substantial and distinctive yet - not unlike Burwell's earlier score for Condon's God And Monsters. Combining strings, harp, flute and piano with elegant melodies and sinuous rhythms, Burwell varies and develops his signature themes to extraordinary dynamic effect across 11 discrete sections - each is three times longer than the average two-minute cue - incorporating very different styles, from traditional folk to neo-classical, and moods at once lyrical and urbane. It's Burwell's thematic material, as much as his musical technique, a kind of spare simplicity, that belies his beautiful score's expressive intelligence and exquisite warmth - from the playful Call Of The Wild and the exuberant Get A Million to the brooding The State of Indiana, Kinsey is a master work. www.foxsearchlight.com

Jocelyn Clarke