Open Range (2003)
Kevin Costner directed and starred in this traditional Western.
Composer, Orchestrator, Conductor
Writer: “Holding all my Love for you”
Lyrics & Performed by Julianna Raye
Produced by James Harrah
Film, Touchstone Pictures
Movie Music UK Review about Open Range
‘Throughout the score, you can hear familiar Kamenisms, from scores as varied as Robin Hood, Mr. Holland’s Opus and even Inventing the Abbots, in the orchestration, the chord structures, and the way he always used certain flourishes and instrumental combinations. Whatever else was said about Kamen, you could always tell you were listening to one his scores: his distinctive style of writing was one of his greatest talents, and elevated him above many of his contemporaries as a composer who had an individual and expressive voice.
Before Kamen died, he had already completed the music for another film, Against the Ropes, and was scheduled to write for two more movies in 2004 – which of course, now, we will never hear. I don’t want to go overboard by saying that Open Range is the best thing Kamen had ever written, because it isn’t. However, when you take this score and listen to it alongside with Band of Brothers and his millennium symphony “The New Moon in the Old Moon’s Arms” it shows that Kamen was in a rich vein of writing form during the last years of his life, and further highlights the tragedy of a composer, seemingly in his creative prime, who has been taken from us far too early. Rest in peace, Michael. Your music will be your legacy.’
- Jonathan Broxton
Composed and Conducted by
Michael Kamen
Produced by
Teese Gohl for Gohl/McLaughlin
Performed by
The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Guitars by
Neill MacColl
Solo Fiddle
Jake Walker
Orchestrations by
Michael Kamen and Robert Elhai
Additional Orchestrations by
Blake Neely, Brad Warnaar and
Peter Boyer
Recorded and Mixed by
Stephen McLaughlin
Music Editor
Tom Villano
Engineers
Cenda Kotzmann and Oldrich Slezak
Assistant Engineers
James Doyle and Paul Hicks
Music Preparation
Vic Fraser - Global Music Service,
Richard Ihnatowicz and Ilan Eshkeri
Assistant to Michael Kamen
Rupert Christie
Recorded and Mixed at
The Dvorak Hall and Rudolfinum Studio, Prague, 2003
Mixed at
The North Pole
CUE LIST
Coming Soon