"The Alamo [Original Motion Picture Soundtrack]" (04/06/2004) Soundtracks Original Soundtrack, Hollywood RecordsOriginal score composed by Carter Burwell. Personnel: Larry Salzman, Ira Siegel (guitar); Ramon Stagnaro (guitarron); Emily Mitchell, Stacy Shames (harp); George Doering (mandolin); Karen Karlsrud, Anne Lehmann, Duoming Ba, Matthew Lehmann, Rob Shaw, Michael Roth, Jenny Strenger, Lisa Matricardi, Jessica Lee, Sarah Kim, Daniel Reed, John Zhang, Krystof Kuznik, Bori Choi, Sarah OBoyle, Maryia Borozina, Jung Sun Yoo, Cathy Sim, Fiona Simon, Wen Qian, Ellen Payne, Laura Frautschi, Yurika Mok, Mark Schmoockler, Karen Marx, Nancy McAlhany, Ayano Ninomiya, Minyoung Chang, Paul Biss, Soo Hyun Kwon, Caterina Szepes, Elizabeth Lim-Dutton, Anna Rabinova, Sheryl Staples, Myung Hi Kim, Sid Page, Lisa Kim, Suzanne Ornstein, Julie Rosenfeld, Peter Winograd, Sharon Yamada, Paul Woodiel, Conway Kuo, Jean Ingraham, Katherine Fong, Charlie Bisharat (violin); Craig Eastman (fiddle); Sue Pray, Shmuel Katz, Toby Appel, Natasha Lipkina, Kenneth Mirkin, Stephanie Taylor, Irene Breslaw, Kathryn Lockwood, Tom Rosenthal, Brian Chen, Mel Mandel, Sally Clarke, Maureen Gallagher, Maurycy Banaszek, Dawn Hannay, Cal Wiersma, Daniel Panner, David Creswell, Karen Dreyfus, Desiree Elsevier, Danielle Farina, Ralph Farris, Robert Rinehart, Nick Cords, Vivek Kamath (viola); Elizabeth Dyson, Eileen Moon, Jeremy Turner, Michael Mermagen, Mina Smith, Qiang Tu, Jeanne LeBlanc, Alan J. Stepansky, Bruce Wang, Mary Wooten, Sarah Seiver (cello); Mindy Kaufman, Diva Goodfriend Koven, Nadine Asin, Susan Rotholz, Kathleen Nester (flute); Megan Meisenbach (fife); Jon Manasse, Dennis Smylie, Mark Nuccio, Mitch Estrin, Steve Williamson, Virgil Blackwell (clarinet); Keisuke Ikuma, Sherry Sylar, Shelley Woodworth (oboe); Tom Sefcovic, Kim Laskowski, Marc Goldberg (bassoon); Evan Barker, Kevin Cobb, Ray Mase, Kenny Decarlo, David Krauss, Mark Gould, Phil Smith, Tony Kadleck, Jim Hynes (trumpet); Robert Cannon, Paul J. Armstrong, Ray Sasaki, Paul Stephens, Gary Slechta (bugle); Michael Davis , Joseph Alessi, George Flynn , Keith O'Quinn, Birch Johnson (trombone); Morris Kainuma (tuba); Javier Gandara, Richard Hagen, Freddie Mendoza, Patrick Milando, Julie Landsman, Erik Ralske, Howard Wall, Phil Myers, David Smith , Bob Carlisle (horns); Kenneth Bichel, Bill Mays (piano); Jim Saporito, Charles Cade III, Hartt Stearns, Howard Joines, Pablo Rieppi, Mark Sherman, Terry Bozzio, Jim Baker, Benjamin Herman, Erik Charleston, Daniel Druckman, Gordon Gottlieb, Joe Passaro, Charles Miles (percussion). Audio Mixer: Michael Farrow. Recording information: Cello Studios, Hollywood, CA; Pedernales Studio, Spicewood, TX; Right Track Studios, New York, NY. Editors: Brian Lawson; Adam Milo Smalley. Arrangers: Craig Eastman; Jennifer Hammond. Carter Burwell's score for The Alamo incorporates, aptly enough, elements of music from the Old West into his intricately melodic and percussive style. Cues such as "What We're Defending" have a typically rousing, patriotic mix of strings and horns, but even then Burwell finds a way to give these moments some of his character by ending the track with a contemplative harp. Mexican musical motifs also come through on tracks like the charming "El Bexareno," which moves from playful flutes and mariachi horns into bittersweet strings. Still other tracks, like "300 Miles of Snow," have a folky, Western cast to them. The score also juxtaposes radically different pieces, such as the ominous "Who Took Their Loved Ones" and the lighthearted "Listen to the Mockingbird Sing." "Deguello de Crockett" is an especially striking track, pairing lonesome fiddles with martial drums and brass. But the main attraction of the score, is, of course, the music that accompanies the battle of the Alamo itself. The six-part suite begins with the eight-minute "The Battle of the Alamo, Pt. 1," commencing with tremulous strings before building into a more ominous brass and string melody, followed by a rousing flourish of brass and percussion that is abruptly cut off by more bleak-sounding strings. The rest of the suite follows suit, becoming gradually more and more mournful until it end
