Hey, I like a challenge as much as the next guy. But review the
musical soundtrack to a stage production I may or may not ever see,
staged by a troupe whose focus has always been on creating stunning
visuals? And most of the singing isn’t even in English? Waaaah! I
want my AC/DC albums back!
Or not. It took me just one spin of this disc to discover that
the music was not just interesting, but at times engrossing, to the
point where I’ll definitely try to catch this show live if I ever
get the chance.
The music on
Ka — mostly orchestral, though with extensive vocal work,
some solo and some in chorus — is lush, otherworldly, and often
epic. It has multiethnic undercurrents, in places featuring African
rhythms and interesting percussion effects, but also displays quite
a bit of variety, with the common element being a striking elegance
and simplicity, choices that make the overall effect that much more
dramatic and compelling. The album benefits from the talents of 57
musicians and a choir of 40 background vocalists, led by principal
composer and arranger Rene Dupéré.
It’s easy to imagine action happening all over the stage behind
surging, urgent numbers like “Pageant,” “Storm,” the
steadily-accelerating “Pursuit” and the soaring “Forest.” Quieter,
more contemplative numbers like “Deep” and “Shadowplay” inspire
visions of towers of carefully balanced figures contorting in
imaginative ways.
A few tracks have an almost Broadway-musical feel to them; you
sense that essential story points are being enacted during the
ominous-sounding “Pursuit” and the string-heavy, billowing “Love
Dance.” Even the dangerously Celine Dion-ish final ballad “If I
Could Reach Your Heart” — sung in English — is capably executed,
with strong harmonies and chants giving it the fullness and texture
it needs to escape blandness.
There is, it must be said, a certain sense of what I can only
dub “over-the-top-ness” about this music. It’s often epic in scale,
yes, but sometimes ranges beyond epic into the realm of melodrama,
wringing every last potential drop of emotion out of the musical
moment. What made it work for this reviewer was imagining the
exotic, dramatic stage action that this music is meant to
underscore. In that context, it seems it could be quite
effective.
