Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
(Sony Music)
By Lennat Mak
In Summary : For the drama kings and queens, here's a really drama-rama piece of work
Set in ancient times when scaling walls and flying across rooftops were not considered impossible feats, the film"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"would have to pair off with an equally drama-rama soundtrack to complete the kung-fu fighting atmosphere.And me thinks this soundtrack has succeeded in accomplishing its mission.Composed and orchestrated by classical composer Tan Dun, the movie scores were performed with various Chinese instruments (i.e.: Erhu, Dizi, Bawu, Rawap) by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, National Orchestra, and the Percussion Ensemble. Acclaimed classical musician Yo-Yo Ma has also come onboard, handling the cello solos.With the whole idea of Chinese elements, it isn't hard for the soundtrack to build up all the dramatic emotions found in the film -- the tension between the highly skilled swordsmen and women, the resentment between the ill-fated lovers, the grievances between the martial arts teacher and the young gifted student, and the euphoria of riding through the vast greens.The soundtrack has also included both the English and Chinese versions of the theme song,"A Love Before Time,"composed by Jorge Calandrelli (better known for his work with Madonna, Ricky Martin, and Gloria Estefan) and Tan Dun, with vocals by Coco Lee. And I have to say that Coco has done a great job with the beautifully composed song. There aren't many singers around who can pull off the feat of performing both versions with ease.Oh, a word of caution though: do not attempt to listen to this soundtrack when you are feeling really low, or if you belong to the impatient species. You may decide to smash your sound machines. Trust me.
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