Modern soundtrack review (under construction)

The Village is among the many soundtracks that James Newton Howard has done that are accompanied by just an awful movie.  Thankfully, Newton Howard had help on this soundtrack.  At the time, Hilary Hahn was already becoming a household name for her skills on a violin.  Her sound is the reason The Village soundtrack carries special emotional value to me; her sound is signature in its complexity and sweetness.

The best song on this album is “End Credits.” Hilary Hahn opens this track up with a waving crescendo of pure bliss before it fades into a piano and violin medley. It continues into a sickly sweet solo that fades and dances with the orchestra. It’s slower in the middle of the piece, but it’s lovely. As we approach the end, you wonder where those 6 minutes went because it just flew right by.

The thing about the soundtrack is that there’s a lot of crap in here. There are a lot of empty notes and empty sections of music that are designed to create a solid, tense atmosphere. James Newton Howard does that brilliantly, no doubt. But if you’re listening to the soundtrack as is, you’ll want to get right to the good stuff before you deal with the bad.

The good stuff in this soundtrack carries the weight of Hilary Hahn’s reputation. The magic that she brings with her violin could not have been achieved by Newton Howard’s conducting and composing prowess alone. Each piece that she touches focuses on its craft: we see excellent building of tension, and that tension melting away as she brings climax upon climax to the music that’s written. There is a piano accompaniment that also does an excellent job complementing her tone. It’s very much a yin-and-yang scenario.

And there’s some serious magic here. The best pieces, undoubtedly, are the ones where Hahn is allowed to shine. They are the pieces that are soft in their nature and caress your emotions in a cocoon of bliss.

The issue is the stuff in between, which I already discussed. As a horror film, you are meant to have areas of true tension. What that ends up doing is taking songs that are utterly brilliant, such as “The Gravel Road,” and then intermixing manufactured tension into them. FYI, the Gravel Road redeems itself after a really horrid middle by the way it closes off. That one is worth your time.

Also, today is June 25th, 2025. I wrote some notes on the best songs, and then realized I kind of hate writing detailed summaries of things I am not an expert on. So there are only 4 highlight reviews below, but believe me, the album has a lot more highlights.

But here are those notes. I hope that writing less allows me to listen more with less guilt that I don’t know what I’m writing about.

The Village (Alternate Main Title)–4/5

We get our first glimpse of Hillary Hahn’s play in this piece that starts out as a classical violin solo and morphs into a harp and strings piece.  The foundation is incredibly strong here.  The only issue with this song is that the first half is substantially stronger in terms of melodic flow than the first.  The second half focuses far more on atmosphere, which, as a listening piece, is simply not as pleasant or rewarding.

Lucius Asks Permission–4/5

Hahn’s violin really takes center stage here.  Newton Howard’s score is utterly simple, but the voice issued by her instrument sets the tone for the first half of this song.  As she fades slightly, the orchestra comes back with almost a hint of morendo as they fade away to let the strings take over.  The tone becomes noticeably darker.

Ivy’s Song–4/5

We get far fewer Hahn tones in this song.  It starts off quietly enough until a piano accompaniment provides additional backing to the almost toneless strings.  It works.

Those We Don’t Speak Of (Alternate End)–5/5

A piano and harp duet starts this one off, accented of course by the orchestra.  The piano is intense in its quiet punctuation, hitting notes one after another in a rhythmic fashion.  Hahn steps in with the violin to top this one off and wave it goodbye.