JAMES HORNER
Apocalypto EMI ****

The Oscar and Grammy-winning composer James Horner (who, unusually, has a PhD in Music Composition and Theory) has worked with several Hollywood A-list directors, including James Cameron (Titanic, Aliens), Ron Howard (Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind), and Wolfgang Petersen (A Perfect Storm, Troy). He's also made a career out of memorable romantic themes (unfortunately, one became Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On). Recently, however, Horner has begun to take a less orthodox and more promiscuous approach to his scores, particularly to Chumscrubber and The Forgotten, and to a lesser extent to Flightplan and The New World.

For Mel Gibson's bloodsoaked adventure Apocalypto, Horner (who also scored Gibson's The Man Without a Face and Braveheart) has crafted a lean and dynamic score to evoke the last days of the Mayan civilization. Featuring vocal solos by the Qawwali singer Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Terry Edwards, Horner's unconventional score combines South American pan pipes and Japanese shakuhachi, electronic strings and brass, ethnic percussion and found sounds with short melodic lines (mostly heard on the flutes) and driving poly-rhythms.

Opening and closing with the brooding and poignant From the Forest, Apocalypto describes a musical journey that is equal parts dramatic and lyrical, thrilling and solemn. It proves to be one of Horner's most engaging and surprising scores. www.apocalypto.com