The Floating Box

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Jason Kao Hwang (b. 1957) is a highly respected improviser who also has a number of compositions and film scores to his credit. The Floating Box is a major contemporary work that gives voice not only to the Asian immigrant experience in America in particular but also to the immigrant experience in general.

With the collaboration of librettist Catherine Filloux, The Floating Box is an original story inspired by the oral histories of Chinese-Americans living in Chinatown. The story of Eva/Yee-Wa, a young Chinese-American woman living with her mother, is the story of many diasporic peoples who have sought a better life in new, often harsh surroundings. The poetry of Filloux’s libretto fuses perfectly with Hwang’s eclectic score, beautifully capturing the complex, intimate relationships among these three characters.

The opera employs both Chinese and Western instruments in an ensemble of eight players: piccolo/flute/alto flute; Bb clarinet/bass clarinet; vibraphone; pipa (Chinese lute); accordion; percussion, including Tibetan chimes and singing bowls, whirling air tubes, Chinese tom toms, and a Buddhist fan drum; erhu/gaohu/zhonghu (a family of two-stringed Chinese violins categorized as huqin); and cello. In Hwang’s skilled hands, these instruments together forge a rich amalgam of sound—in the composer’s words, "complex suspensions rather than homogenous solutions." The precision with which Hwang mines each instrument’s sonic possibilities and the imaginative ways with which he draws upon subsets of the full ensemble result in a vibrant musical narrative that propels the drama forward to its conclusion. The kaleidoscopic range of musical styles employed--atonality, blues, Broadway, Chinese opera, chromaticism, impressionism, jazz, pop--establishes The Floating Box as the work of an artist who is completely comfortable bridging multiple musical worlds.

Tracks:

Music Box
Cabrini Green
Helen's Theme
Face to Razor
Floating Candyman
Return to Cabrini
It Was Always You, Helen
Daniel's Flashback
The Slave Quarters
Annie's Theme
All Falls Apart
The Demise of Candyman
Reverend's Walk

Album Description

"The Music of Candyman" CD is the original music scores written by Philip Glass and produced by his production company, Euphorbia Productions for the films "Candyman" and its sequel "Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh". Subsequent to the first "Candyman" film release, Philip Glass' fans have been requesting access to these recordings. At this time Orange Mountain Music, Philip Glass' new record company, is very happy to make these recordings available. Newly re-mixed to facilitate home stereo playback from the original masters by Don Christensen, this CD will be an important addition to any serious Glass fan's collection as well as a stimulating record for all listeners. The "Candyman" films started out as "The Forbidden", a short story written by the acclaimed horror/fantasy author Clive Barker. It is the story of a graduate student's investigation into a grisly urban legend with distinct racial and social undertones. Director Bernard Rose's ("Paperhouse", "Immortal Beloved") adaptation has given the narrative an underlying intelligence and believability. Unlike most horror films "Candyman" is low on special-effects but still delivers hair raising suspense and surprising shocks, primarily with its creative imagery. Bernard Rose's innovative and realistic direction, the excellent cast (Virginia Madsen as Helen the graduate student and Tony Todd as Candyman) and the Cabrini Green location (a notorious Chicago housing project) made this film an original in its genre. Written for piano, pipe organ and chorus, Philip Glass's score is perfectly suited for this modern gothic tale. Using some of his well established techniques of rhythmic intensity and switching between major and minor key harmonies, Glass's score is as trance inducing and terrifyingly seductive as Candyman himself.

Album Description

In 1990 Philip Glass was approached to compose a score for the psychological horror film 'Candyman' and he provided additional cues for the sequel that followed. Since the release of these films, there has been much demand for a soundtrack album that until now has only been satisfied by bootlegs and cover albums. 2001.

Album Details

Features Music Philip Glass Recorded for the Candyman Films. The Orange Mountain Label is Dedicated to Unveiling Previously Unavailable Gems from the Archive of this Important Contemporary Composer.

Customer Reviews:

Scary horror music at its finest.......2006-10-29

I saw the film "Candyman" several years ago and, being originally from Chicago, the film resonated with me more than if had been filmed in a different city. However, what stuck in my head for a very long time was Philip Glass' surreal, creepy musical score. When I learned there was a CD with the entire score years later I knew I had to have it.

The album actually draws from both the original "Candyman" film and its sequel "Candyman II: Farewell to the Flesh" (which I have not seen) and while there is some carryover musically there are really two separate musical suites on this CD. The first seven tracks are derived from the first film and center on a haunting melody that is the leitmotif for the film's protagonist, Helen Lyle. The tune is first heard most simply in "Music Box", before changing to a piano solo in "Helen's Theme" and finally culminating in the crescendo of a breathtaking choir with resonating basses and soaring sopranos. The remaining tracks build on the sense of horror in the film, particularly the staccato section of high notes in "Return to Cabrini."

The second half of the CD (tracks 8-13) begin with a brief reiteration of Helen's theme before changing over to Annie's theme, a beautiful melody sung by an anonymous artist. Whereas the first film made heavy use of piano in the score, the sequel replaces it with a magnificent pipe organ. "Annie's Theme" finds its own culmination with choir and organ in "The Demise of Candyman" which soars to unexpected heights.

While you might not listen to this CD every day, it is well written and arranged, and is perfect to enjoy as scary "mood music."

Darkest Horror Soundtrack.......2006-09-30

Setting aside any other bad reviews this soundtrack got, the music that Philip Glass produced here is very authentic... I have not heard very many horror movies that actually have such a flawless music score besides Clive Barker's "Hellraiser" Parts 1 and 2. This soundtrack sets a morbid mood and can actually bring down a bright sunny day. For those who know how to appreciate something outside the box of the usual cliche, this is a must have for the dark-minded.

There is a reason this music doesn't sound as good..........2006-07-22

It's evident from the very first notes that this is a re-recording, and not a very good one at that. If you absolutely must have this music in some form, get this CD. To be honest, you'd be better off just playing the tracks from the DVD.

Geez, I don't remember the movie music being this bad!.......2006-06-06

Now I admit that I've never heard any other Philip Glass music prior to obtaining this CD. However, I was hooked on the "Candyman theme" song (actually titled "It Was Always You, Helen", track 6) from the first movie, so I figured there would probably be additional good tracks on the CD. Ok, made me look! To paraphrase Dr. Phil, I was "stupified" as to how awful this CD is, other than track 6 and a not-too-bad track 10 (Annie's Theme). Repetitious organ melodies and unrelenting, overbearing choral vocals (drowning out most of the music) comprise most of these songs. Maybe it can be blamed on the producer for a bad mix, I don't know. What I do know is, after getting about halfway through this CD while listening to it in my car, I was looking into my rearview mirror saying "Candyman, Candyman, Candyman", hoping he'd show up in my backseat and relieve me from listening any further. Sorry, but other than the "Helen" track so memorable from the first movie, this CD is probably just for hardcore Glass fans.

Candyman, Candyman, Candyman, Candyman......can't do it........2005-03-02

Quite possibly the best horror soundtrack to the greatest slasher movie of all time. Candyman is one of my all time favorite movies you see, and the soundtrack is one of the main reasons why. It is truly one of a kind. Pick it up. Now.

Average customer rating:

The Floating Box
Zheng Zhou , Tomas Ulrich , Michiyo Suzuki , Jason Kao Hwang , Juan Carlos Rivas , Patti Monson , Ryu-Kyung Kim , Diana Herold , Satoshi Takeishi , Sandia Ang , Charlee Chiv , Henry Yuk , Mona Chiang , Scott Chan , and Wai Ching Ho
Manufacturer: New World Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Cold Sassy Tree

ASIN: B00080AQC4
Release Date: 2005-04-04

Tracks:

Scene 1
Scene 2
Scene 3
Scene 4
Scene 5
Scene 6

Tracks:

Scene 7
Scene 8
Scene 9
Scene 10

Product Description

Jason Kao Hwang (b. 1957) is a highly respected improviser who also has a number of compositions and film scores to his credit. The Floating Box is a major contemporary work that gives voice not only to the Asian immigrant experience in America in particular but also to the immigrant experience in general. With the collaboration of librettist Catherine Filloux, The Floating Box is an original story inspired by the oral histories of Chinese-Americans living in Chinatown. The story of Eva/Yee-Wa, a young Chinese-American woman living with her mother, is the story of many diasporic peoples who have sought a better life in new, often harsh surroundings. The poetry of Fillouxs libretto fuses perfectly with Hwangs eclectic score, beautifully capturing the complex, intimate relationships among these three characters. The opera employs both Chinese and Western instruments in an ensemble of eight players: piccolo/flute/alto flute; Bb clarinet/bass clarinet; vibraphone; pipa (Chinese lute); accordion; percussion, including Tibetan chimes and singing bowls, whirling air tubes, Chinese tom toms, and a Buddhist fan drum; erhu/gaohu/zhonghu (a family of two-stringed Chinese violins categorized as huqin); and cello. In Hwangs skilled hands, these instruments together forge a rich amalgam of soundin the composers words, complex suspensions rather than homogenous solutions. The precision with which Hwang mines each instruments sonic possibilities and the imaginative ways with which he draws upon subsets of the full ensemble result in a vibrant musical narrative that propels the drama forward to its conclusion. The kaleidoscopic range of musical styles employed--atonality, blues, Broadway, Chinese opera, chromaticism, impressionism, jazz, pop--establishes The Floating Box as the work of an artist who is completely comfortable bridging multiple musical worlds.

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