Zanobard Reviews

Braveheart stands out as one of James Horner’s most well-crafted and deeply emotional film scores, and with a gorgeously Uilleann pipes-led orchestral style that showcases the composer at the height of his craft as well as a love theme for the ages, it doesn’t take long to hear why.

If there ever was one film composer that knew how to really tug on your heartstrings, to really push the boundaries of how unbelievably, intensely emotional a soundtrack to a movie could be – it without a doubt was James Horner. And no truer is that statement than with his score for Braveheart. Impeccable orchestrations. Utterly gorgeous melodies. A beautiful love theme that stands even today as one of the most memorable, heartwrenching pieces of music ever put to film. Noble, grandiose bursts of orchestra that are so genuinely powerful they practically make you want to take up a sword yourself and join William Wallace as he charges across a multitude of battlefields in the movie. This score really does have it all in that regard, and hearing it lovingly expanded and remastered here courtesy of La-La Land Records (a project that was also approved by Horner himself only a few weeks before his untimely death), is nothing short of breathtaking.

This two hour expanded presentation for Braveheart begins with “Logo – Main Title”, and it’s here that we hear the main theme for the first time. The track however begins with some rather ghostly vocals and wary strings, evoking a feeling of quiet reflection before the aforementioned main theme then debuts at just past the minute mark on Uilleann pipes (Irish bagpipes, essentially). It’s a noble yet also quite gentle piece overall, echoing forlornly alongside the strings until proud swathes of brass step briefly into frame to fully cement the rapidly growing serenity before the music fades out a short while later. Coldly echoing drums and eerie strings then occupy the moody “Hanging Of The Peacemakers”, with “William’s Father Leaves To Fight” afterward introducing another new theme; one for William’s father and his legacy. It introduces itself rather solemnly here on downtrodden strings, before being overshadowed by a much more sorrowful, funeral-esque new theme – which we’ll call the sacrifice theme – in the subsequent “A Father’s Final Return” on quietly melancholic strings and heartfelt choir; an instrumental combination I might add that really becomes the heart and soul of this score, as its utterly beautiful.

A standout moment arrives in “A Gift Of A Thistle” as the first gentle stirring of the love theme arrives; quietly romantic woodwinds echo its opening notes at first before Irish bagpipes and sweeping strings carry it forth for its first major and utterly gorgeous-sounding statement. The main theme then returns in “Outlawed Tunes On Outlawed Pipes” with the bagpipes in central melancholic stage for the track’s opening minute, before hints toward the sacrifice theme also start to intermix with it in the second. The middle section of the love theme is then the focus of some rather captivating strings in the opening of “Royal Wedding – Domino Fidelium” before a rather serene choir overtakes in the back half to sing a Latin motet. Some colder, more regretful-sounding strings and woodwinds then occupy the short “Prima Noctes” before the love theme returns in “Wallace Courts Murron”; a happily upbeat medieval-styled flurry of strings opens the four minute piece before said theme reprises on delicately smitten Irish bagpipes, and is then carried delightfully on hopeful strings for a sweeping crescendo towards cue’s end. The love theme then also continues into the lengthy “The Secret Wedding”, interchanging majestically between passionate strings and graceful bagpipes until finally fading to a peaceful close.

Low, ominous strings and brass open “Attack On Murron”, with a tense percussive pace then marching a now anxious love theme to a dramatic crescendo. Dense thuds of drums and dissonant woodwinds then kick off “Revenge”, with increasingly aggressive bursts of brass and bagpipes ushering in frenetic action against a backdrop of shrill vocals. This isn’t the usual kind of emphatically full-on orchestral action music that Horner usually composes however; it’s fragmented, discordant, hurt – and quite eerie as a result. The music does then settle briefly for the mournful “Murron’s Burial” as a quiet strings rendition of the love theme plays, before the bagpipes-focused dissonance returns in action cue “Wallace On The Move – Run To The Stronghold” as well as in the slower, more ominous first half of “Making Plans – Gathering The Clans”. Another standout moment then thankfully arrives with powerhouse cue “Sons Of Scotland”; pounding war drums open it with low-pitched brass seeding tension before then fading in favour of hopeful strings and woodwinds. After a brief hint towards Wallace’s father’s motif, a brand new one is then introduced at 03:30; the freedom theme. This noble piece steps grandly into frame on proud brass, with the sacrifice theme then following for an emphatic and utterly breathtaking crescendo as emboldened strings and bagpipes also join the fray.

Loud thuds of war drums echo at the start of “The Battle Of Stirling” with bagpipes interspersing a now rather determined sacrifice theme until the music then shifts at the two minute mark, and a dramatically lengthy rendition of the main theme suddenly charges together with increasingly tense flurries of strings. After a crashing crescendo is reached, a rather proud orchestral ensemble of brass, bagpipes and strings then reprises the freedom theme in rising triumph. A solemnly trance-like strings rendition of the love theme is then the focus of four minute pair “Wallace’s Dream” and “Vision Of Murron”, before the music then turns moody again for “The Princess Was A Pawn – Wallace Moves Again” with dissonant echoes of bagpipes and wary drums playing centrally. A high-pitched burst of strings then opens “Falkirk”, with moody hints towards battle to come simmering afterward on quiet brass and marching percussion. This then comes to a head in the eight minute “Betrayal and Desolation”, starting with serene strings, echoing drums and rather forlorn-sounding brass that then build into frantically fast-paced action at the two minute mark. This however fades as quickly as it arrived, replaced by an absolute gut-punch of an appearance by the love theme crescendoing on desperately sorrowful strings, and a serene bagpipe rendition of the main theme then closing the lengthy cue.

“Romantic Alliance” offers a gorgeously sweeping and enjoyably lengthy rendition of the love theme, firstly on gentle strings before building up to a spectacularly full orchestral crescendo. William’s father’s theme then builds to a similarly sublime peak at the start of “Wallace Is Caught”, though it sadly ends on a shrill note as the tragic titular event occurs, with eerie strings overtaking til the end of the track. “The Princess Pleads For Wallace’s Life” then continues this newly downtrodden mood with pensive woodwinds and strings hinting towards the love theme, before the finale of the score – and incidentally, some of the best music of Horner’s entire career – begins with “Freedom – The Execution – Bannockburn”; trepid woodwinds and strings open the seven minute track, with a solemn rendition of the freedom theme then slowly building on noble brass and bagpipes until an absolutely impeccable crescendo practically explodes with sheer orchestral grandeur. After a short strings hint towards the love theme, gentle woodwinds then play both the main and freedom themes in succession atop light drums, slowly building again with brass and strings joining the fray until bagpipes leap back into centre stage and both themes, now gloriously intertwined, practically burst with dramatic triumph to perfectly end the track.

A meticulously-crafted summary of the score’s main themes forms the standout “End Credits”, opening with the solemn sacrifice theme on strings before building up to a spectacular intermix of both the main and sacrifice themes on emboldened brass and bagpipes. Sweeping strings then segue into a sublime though short rendition of the love theme, with serene bagpipes and choir returning to the main and sacrifice themes from the five minute mark. The former instrument then leads the main theme alone in the final minute (in a manner much akin to its “Main Title” debut) for a gently melancholic fade out, all-in bringing the score full circle. We’re not done yet though, as “For The Love Of A Princess” then brings back the love theme for one last and happily lengthy look in its standout appearance on the album, with an absolutely gorgeous orchestral ensemble of romantic strings and grandiose brass elevating the already phenomenal motif to genuinely incredible heights. One of my absolute favourite pieces of music by Horner, this most certainly is.

Overall, James Horner’s Braveheart is one of the most heartfelt film scores that I have ever heard, and I certainly count it among his very best works as a result. The main theme, introduced in opening cue “Main Titles”, is a phenomenally noble melody that captures the plight and determination of William Wallace in the film itself perfectly, and the instrumental combination used to achieve that – in the case of just said track, a mixture of solemn Uilleann pipes and reflective strings – elevates it to utterly soaring heights. And what makes Braveheart truly standout is the fact that all of the above is just the beginning; as the album continues, Horner’s meticulously-crafted orchestral style becomes an absolute powerhouse with the addition of brass, choir, woodwinds – through dramatic highs, dissonant battles and sorrowful lows – and then we get to the themes. The main theme as mentioned is fantastic, and its accompanied by a veritable treasure trove of other memorable motifs in a serene one for William’s father and his legacy (“William’s Father Leaves To Fight”), a deeply emotional piece for sacrifice and loss (“The Battle Of Stirling”), a spectacularly stirring theme for freedom itself (“Sons Of Scotland”) and of course – the love theme. Genuinely one of Horner’s best compositions full stop, this achingly beautiful melody practically lifts Braveheart into the stratosphere, with the perfect “For The Love Of A Princess” proving just how talented a composer he was.

The final trinity of standout tracks below, if you’ve never heard them before (and hell, even if you have) just… hit play. You won’t regret it.

Score: 9.5/10

Standout Cues: Freedom – The Execution – Bannockburn, End Credits, For The Love Of A Princess

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