Latest releases reviewed

HANS ZIMMER The Da Vinci Code Decca *****

Hans Zimmer's The Da Vinci Code is a creative and career knockout. At once recalling the epic grandeur of Gladiator, the intense lyricism of The Thin Red Line and the searing tension of The Ring, it combines driving rhythms, bold colours, strong melodies and dynamic orchestration into an expressive, dramatic and atmospheric score. Zimmer varies and develops his themes from one unusually long and sustained cue (for an action score) to the next, masterfully juxtaposing high choral with spare symphonic passages (Salvete Virgines and Poisoned Chalice with Beneath Alrischa and Daniel's Ninth Cipher), to achieve a triumphant ecstasy in Chevaliers de Sangreal and a swooning intensity in Kyrie for the Magdalene. www.deccaclassics.com

Jocelyn Clarke