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“...my impression is that the music from THE GOSPEL
OF JOHN was never meant to take center stage—the effect is very
typical of the musical “wallpaper” that most documentaries employ.”
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The Gospel
According to Danna
Review by Steve
Townsley
Jeff Danna has been
slowly reaching the
ears of movie
audiences with his
music. Never bombastic
or overstated, Danna’s
style is rather
minimal in comparison
to more widely known
composers of
large-scale
blockbusters. With
that in mind, Danna is
something of a rarity
on the soundtrack
shelves. His scores
are often for smaller,
more personal projects
(with an occasional
exception here and
there, e.g., Resident
Evil, Silent Hill),
and much of his
repertoire includes
television and video
projects, rather than
big-screen
productions.
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, is
a docudrama of the
Easter story. The
impression one gets
from the film is that
it is something you
might catch on a
History-of-the-Bible
television special,
perhaps on the
Discovery Channel. The
score is something
that you come to
through having seen
the film, or possibly
by chance. I’ll note
here that I happened
upon this album in a
retail store a couple
years ago, merely out
of curiosity for the
composer’s work, and I
purchased it based on
the strength of the
sound clips that I
heard. The clips that
I heard included a
stirring theme as well
as ethnic-flavored
wind music, and some
female vocals. I’m not
certain what made this
unique from every
other Bible-genre film
score written, except
that as an enthusiast
of film music on the
whole, I was intrigued
enough to hear what
Jeff Danna had to
contribute to the
genre.
The first track, “For
God So Loved the
World”, really sets
the pace for what to
expect from the album.
The music within is
fairly thematic, and
returns often to the
same theme, (as you
might expect from a
docudrama). There is
the requisite “Jesus”
theme, and plenty of
authentic era music
that helps set up the
atmosphere.
Despite the rather
repetitive nature of
the album, this does
not make THE GOSPEL OF
JOHN an unpleasant
listen, though there
are few tracks that
stand-out from the
whole of the album.
There are still some
that do, however.
Track 6, “Pilate’s
Dilemma” is one of the
more action-packed cue
in the entire album,
so it grabs the
listener’s
attention—but it is
not particularly
notable otherwise,
except to announce
impending drama and
urgency. This
“urgency” music is
revisited in the
latter half of the
score. Track 10, which
serves as a good
mid-point for the
entire album features
“The Prayer”, which is
an extremely lovely
vocal-and-string
piece, which I am
certain must have been
one of the sound clips
that inspired me to
pick up this album.
Overall, my impression
is that the music from
THE GOSPEL OF JOHN was
never meant to take
center stage—the
effect is very typical
of the musical
“wallpaper” that most
documentaries employ.
Danna’s talent keeps
this score from being
too dry, though it
does not particularly
stand out in the
genre, either. I enjoy
this score, as a
listener, but I think
that not many will
find it particularly
engaging.
Rating:
6/10
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Track |
Track Title |
Track Time |
Rating |
|
1 |
For God So Loved
the World |
4:17 |
*** |
|
2 |
I Am the
Bread of
Life |
3:18 |
** |
|
3 |
The Road
Through
Samaria |
2:59 |
** |
|
4 |
Mary
Washes
Jesus’
Feet |
3:20 |
*** |
|
5 |
Here
Comes
Your
King |
1:39 |
** |
| 6 |
Pilate’s Dilemma |
3:07 |
** |
| 7 |
The Lamb of God |
3:17 |
** |
| 8 |
Jesus and Nicodemus |
2:11 |
**** |
| 9 |
You Will Not Find Me |
2:03 |
*** |
| 10 |
The Prayer |
1:18 |
**** |
| 11 |
Solomon’s Porch |
2:55 |
** |
| 12 |
One of You is a Devil |
2:55 |
* |
| 13 |
The Betrayal |
4:22 |
* |
| 14 |
What is Truth? |
4:22 |
* |
| 15 |
The Ruler of This World |
4:22 |
** |
| 16 |
Jesus at the Temple |
4:22 |
** |
| 17 |
Cast Your Nets |
4:22 |
** |
| 18 |
Follow Me |
4:22 |
*** |
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Total Running Time (approx) |
53 minutes |
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