Hans Zimmer - Gladiator Vol.1 (CD 2001)

Is Gladiator a great score? Heck, yes. Is Gladiator a great Hans Zimmer score? I don't know.
I have some problems with Hans Zimmer. His music is always closely connected with the atmosphere of the film (that is his task as a film composer, and he succeeds), but his music has to be well orchestrated to catch the ambience of the movie. Many of Zimmer's orchestrations are done by other people (friends and co-workers at Media Ventures) who do very good work. Alas, it is not Zimmer's work, and I always find myself wondering which part of a Zimmer score is Zimmer's work and which is not.

This said, I really LOVE this music. It is exiting as well as emotional. The action cues ("The Battle," "Barbarian Horde") are fully overblown and I LIKE that kind of bombast. Its thrilling performance gives this soudtrack a perfect listening experience.

The vocals by the wonderfully talented Lisa Gerrard give a shining, elegant grace to this album. Gerrard's emotional approach combined with Zimmer's bombast is a masterstroke. It's obvious that Zimmer does NOT deserve all credit. Without Gerrard's contribution, this would't be such a good score.

Sometimes I wonder how this music would sound live (as I do with every score I love). In Gladiator's case, I had the pleasure to actually hear the music live in Ghent, performed by its creators. Let me tell you something, it was AWESOME!!! Lisa Gerrard (and others like John Powell) were peforming as well. A splended evening.