Michael Whalen, Slavery and the Making of America - 1h 13m 56s

Tracks & Durations

1. Introduction and Theme	0:53
2. The First Eleven	3:21
3. The Work Song/Black Women in the Colonies	1:39
4. Indians and the Slaves	1:03
5. Tobacco Suite	0:59
6. A Hard Life	0:35
7. The Story of Emmanuel	1:08
8. A Small Victory	1:23
9. Stono Rebellion	3:26
10. Quack and His Wife	2:03
11. From People to Property	0:42
12. Colonel Ti	1:39
13. David Smith and the Next Generation	1:57
14. A Vision of Black and White	1:26
15. Sold Down the River/The Plantation	2:25
16. Harriett's Theme	4:02
17. The Immigrants	1:28
18. A Sea of Blood	1:25
19. Stealing the "Planter"	2:43
20. Mother and Son	1:25
21. Brink of Civil War	4:33
22. Under a Full Moon/Uncle Abe	3:14
23. Black Soldiers and the Call to Arms	4:59
24. Small Comes Home	1:58
25. On the Road After the War	3:17
26. Voices of Change	3:09
27. The Red Shirts	4:31
28. Winding the Clock Back	4:09
29. The South Wins the Peace	3:58
30. The Road to Freedom	3:25
31. A Blessing (End Titles)	0:43

Note: The information about this album is acquired from the publicly available resources and we are not responsible for their accuracy.

Review

You have to admire restraint in any composer for film, where too often the tendency is to fill up as much space as possible and deliver emotions with a flourish of trumpets and a wall of strings to make sure they're not missed. Perhaps Michael Whalen's restraint comes from being a solo artist in his own right, with albums that range from classical to ambient. But he spends most of his time scoring films and TV, especially documentaries like PBS's Slavery and the Making of America. And like most good soundtrack composers, Whalen can easily leap from one style to another. On Slavery, these leaps are from the chamber bluegrass of "Sold Down the River/The Plantation" to the African chants and percussion of "The First Eleven" and the minimalist moods of "The Immigrants." After the African tribal-derived sound of the first episode, the score turns largely orchestral.

In Slavery, Whalen evokes, without specifically playing, work songs and folk styles, and finally presents a symphonic suite that looks back at those roots. But he speaks in a New World voice. Although, as with many soundtracks, it doesn't entirely work apart from the film, this is sophisticated scoring. --John Diliberto

1. Introduction And Theme To "Slavery And The Making Of America"
2. The First Eleven
3. The Work Song/Black WOmen In The Colonies
4. Indians And The Slaves
5. Tobacco Suite
6. A Hard Life
7. The Story Of Emmanuel
8. A Small Victory
9. Stono Rebellion
10. Quack And His Wife
11. From People To Property
12. Colonel Ti
13. David Smith
14. A Vision Of Black And White
15. Sold Down The River/The Plantation
16. Harriett's Theme
17. The Immigrants
18. A Sea Of Blood
19. Stealing The "Planter"
20. Mother And Son
21. Brink Of Civil War
22. Under A Full Moon/Uncle Abe
23. Black Soldiers And The Call To Arms
24. Small Comes Home
25. On The Road After The War
26. Voices Of Change
27. The Red Shirts
28. Winding The Clock Back
39. The Bell Wins The Peace
30. The Road To Freedom
31. A Blessing (End Titles)

Format: CD

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