I have always been skeptical of music reviewers. Perhaps too many brushes with people who refer to “genre-defying, pure pop-gem-nuggets” in their write-ups? Bespectacled hipsters have a way of making me wary of what I’m about to do, but I promise that there will be no uppity skewering of Mr. Kiel’s music here – the soundtrack is, to put it plainly, delightful.
Hipster hobbits: a joke I never tire of.
If you’ve been tuning in to The Princess and the Goblin each Sunday, you’ve already been privy to some of the pieces that will be released on the soundtrack, and you’ve probably heard his hilariously-titled single White Hand Christmas. So you already know Arjan seems to have an easy feel for the atmosphere of all things fantastical.
And that is what amazes me the most about Arjan, and one of the things I most appreciate about his work. In a world like the Tolkien fandom, where Howard Shore has been the definitive fantasy film composer, Arjan remains true to himself and to his vision of fantasy, and his work is all the more excellent for it. It is obvious that he has allowed these stories to take root in his soul and is giving something of himself in each track.
The story of The Princess and the Goblin is fresh in my mind because, well… I only finished reading it for the first time last week. However! This bodes well for you because I can tell you how perfectly each track suits the story.
Most of my favorite pieces on this album are the character tracks. I could hear each character so clearly! Lootie’s alternatively silly and authoritative stances, Grandmother’s shining form sitting at the spinning wheel, Curdie’s able and adventurous nature, Irene’s regal and playful disposition, even the goblins’ rude and antagonistic attitudes – all are fittingly portrayed, exactly like I would have imagined while reading.
Aside from the character-themed tracks, there are pieces that accompany big events in the book. I found Curdie’s miraculous healing by Grandmother as well as his rescue by Princess Irene, a theme for the dark caverns of the goblins, a song for Irene’s discovery of Grandmother’s secret room – all of them, really – to be just as satisfying as the others. It was as though Mr. Kiel had been with me when I first descended into the caves with Curdie, or when I first glimpsed Grandmother’s silver light in the sky. This is fantasy-inspired music of the highest quality, and I can recommend it without hesitation to anyone who enjoys the brilliant story that inspired it.
Track list:
The Princess and the Goblin Overture
A Secret Room
Grandmother
Finding My Way
Lootie
Moonlight Reprise
A Miner’s Son
The Goblins
Caverns Dark
Rescue
When Wounds Are Healed
Caverns Dark Reprise
Prepare for Battle
The Princess and the Goblin Reprise
Irene’s Theme
You can purchase the soundtrack for The Princess and the Goblin for $7.77 (or more, if you’d like to lend your support) right now. And there are lots of reasons to buy. Number one: I said so.
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