Ulysses' Gaze [Soundtrack]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This is a compilation of the music from the soundtrack of Theo Angelopoulos's film Ulysses' Gaze, the story of a photographer's quest for the beginnings of the art of filmmaking on its 100th anniversary. It's also the story of his search for his own self and his home in the ruins of war-torn Europe, and his experiences along the way. But do not expect to find this, or any other information about the record, in the booklet: all it gives you are pictures from the film, most of them bleak, dark, and gloomy. The music underlines this atmosphere: uniformly slow except for a few lively moments of dance, it is mournful and lamentatious. Two very similar modal themes encompassing nine notes are repeated more than a dozen times, varied mostly in range and instrumental color. They are supported by a constant, unchanging drone in a melancholy minor mode, creating a sense not only of stasis but of all cessation of time and motion. The most arresting element is the playing, which is splendid on all hands. Kim Kashkashian stands out because of her prominent part and the extraordinary purity, warmth, and expressiveness of her tone. The interplay between the instruments is remarkable; sometimes it's hard to tell when a takeover occurs. --Edith Eisler

Tracks:

Ulysses' Theme
Litany (Variation I)
Ulysses' Theme (Variation I)
Woman's Theme
Ulysses' Theme (Variation II)
Ulysses' Theme (Variation III)
The River
Ulysses' Theme
Ulysses' Theme, Litany
Ulysses' Gaze: Woman's Theme, Ulysses' Theme, Lento, Largo, Dance
Byzantine Psalm
Ulysses' Theme (Variation IV)
Ulysses' Theme (Variation V)
Ulysses' Theme (Variation VI)
Ulysses' Theme, Lento, Largo
Litany (Variation II)
Ulysses' Theme (Variation VII)

Amazon.com

This is a compilation of the music from the soundtrack of Theo Angelopoulos's film Ulysses' Gaze, the story of a photographer's quest for the beginnings of the art of filmmaking on its 100th anniversary. It's also the story of his search for his own self and his home in the ruins of war-torn Europe, and his experiences along the way. But do not expect to find this, or any other information about the record, in the booklet: all it gives you are pictures from the film, most of them bleak, dark, and gloomy. The music underlines this atmosphere: uniformly slow except for a few lively moments of dance, it is mournful and lamentatious. Two very similar modal themes encompassing nine notes are repeated more than a dozen times, varied mostly in range and instrumental color. They are supported by a constant, unchanging drone in a melancholy minor mode, creating a sense not only of stasis but of all cessation of time and motion. The most arresting element is the playing, which is splendid on all hands. Kim Kashkashian stands out because of her prominent part and the extraordinary purity, warmth, and expressiveness of her tone. The interplay between the instruments is remarkable; sometimes it's hard to tell when a takeover occurs. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

Words Can Not Describe.......2005-12-06

this music is like making love to the ears. words can not describe.
i hear a conversation between two. a call and answer.

thankfully i heard the soundtrack before i tried to watch the movie. i love harvey keitel...but i could only take about 20 minutes of the movie before i lost interest...perhaps one day... BUT the soundtrack....joy, sorrow, joy...exctasy...it sounds like love that can not be verbalised.

...i am no music expert so i do not know what each composition is supposedly signifying to me...i can only share what i feel when i hear it...breathe it... BUY THIS SOUNDTRACK...

The Chance to Dream.......2005-07-20

Eleni Karaindrou, one of the leading contemporary Greek composers, is mostly known for her theatre and movie scores (33 plays and 16 films). In particular, since 1983, she has worked on seven films with the great, and somewhat controversial, film director, Theo Angelopoulos. The present CD is the result of her collaboration with Angelopoulos on his film, Ulysses' Gaze. This three-hour long film represents an enormous aesthetic achievement. Karaindrou's music is reinforced by the film images of stunning mystery and power, or is it the reversed? Actually, her music, full of ethereal melodies, aching with nostalgia, stands on its own. She mixes solo viola, oboe, accordion, trumpet, horn, cello, and string orchestra for a most lyrical and mystical sound. It is a wonderful recording, which I highly recommend.

Lamentations of Eleni Pt.2.......2004-08-23

Eleni Karaindrou's score to Ulysees' Gaze is no surprise. In the other ECM compilation of Karaindrou's Music to Films (see liner notes), there is the similar tone of elegies and lamentations. Karaindrou's Greece, it seems, is far removed from the hero worship that the universe has accorded Greece. Her Greece is the land of economic emmigrations, occupations and Exile: loss and sadness. It would be fair to say that Karaindrou's music would be a good accompaniment to the poems of Milosz, the novels of W. G. Sebald, and to a certain extent, a perfect accomplice to the bitter and angry ruminations of V.S. Naipaul. On Ulysees' Gaze the composer's music is given life by Kim Kaskashian's viola. If in a vacant and pensive mood, listen to this soundtrack. The elements of sadness, loss, and melancholy are pervasive, all of which combine to give the soundtrack its raw beauty.

Remarkable soundtrack!.......2004-07-14

It's hard to find out a soundtrack so delightful and more precise than this one. Karaindrou was highly inspired with this composition . If you conside the dimension of the movie , this soundtrack was at the same level . Arresting and above all captivating melodies . The leit motive runs in almost all the tracks. An unforgettable experience.

best eleni karaindrou.......2002-12-05

I first heard Eleni Karaindrou's music on the movie Ulysses' Gaze and found smt. different in the sound since then. This is deeply sensitive kind of theme, repeated over and over in this CD. Buy this CD if you love violin music, buy it if you love chamber music, buy it if you like to meet Eleni Karaindrou's deeply emotional music. Highly recommended. I also find the main theme very similar to Schindler's List main theme.

Average customer rating:

Meditation Music
I LOVE this CD!

Ulysses' Gaze

Manufacturer: Ecm Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000031ZH
Release Date: 1996-02-27

Tracks:

Ulysses' Theme
Litany (Variation I)
Ulysses' Theme (Variation I)
Woman's Theme
Ulysses' Theme (Variation II)
Ulysses' Theme (Variation III)
The River
Ulysses' Theme
Ulysses' Theme, Litany
Ulysses' Gaze: Woman's Theme, Ulysses' Theme, Lento, Largo, Dance
Byzantine Psalm
Ulysses' Theme (Variation IV)
Ulysses' Theme (Variation V)
Ulysses' Theme (Variation VI)
Ulysses' Theme, Lento, Largo
Litany (Variation II)
Ulysses' Theme (Variation VII)

Amazon.com

As a movie, Theo Angelopoulous's Ulysses Gaze is, at the very least, epic in scale. For three hours, Harvey Keitel travels to and through war-torn Sarejevo seeking ancient film footage. The story labors, but its images are beautiful, as is its soundtrack--composed by Eleni Karaindrou and led by the haunting viola solos of Kim Kashkashian. The instrumentation accentuates the flick's somber setting: viola, oboe, accordion, and trumpet sound like they're all wailing away here. On the scores best cuts, the instruments all take alternate turns--these melodic conversations (as on track nine) give the disc its character. This is really music for rainy days, but it also lacks enough dynamics to make it memorable. "Ulysses Theme" shows up nine different times here--making this less a full-bodied score and more a disc of variations. As good as it is, you can't help but wonder if a little more sonic variety would have made this movie ponder just a bit less. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

Meditation Music.......2007-07-12

Actually the sound track for the Greek movie 'Ulysses Gaze" with an eclectic mix of instruments; of viola & cello, oboe, squash box, trumpet and french horn, overlaid by Kim Kashkashian's viola. This is the very opposite of many current frenetic sound tracks; a simple slow theme with 7 variations, many featuring an individual instrument to evoke a visual image: accordion for peasant music, the pure tone of oboe, the authority of trumpet, flowing one into the other, held together by the viola, to produce, somehow, utter tranquility.

I LOVE this CD!.......1998-11-26

The music is soaringly, achingly beautiful. First heard it on HOS while soaking in candle light and bubbles. It's great for quiet, contemplative times and is one of my all time favorites.

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