Awenydd

One’s opinion of Prince Caspian will depend greatly on what one is expecting. If you are hoping for a line-for-line book to screen translation of C.S. Lewis’s original material, go watch the Wonderworks version. You’ll enjoy it a lot more (that’s no slight; I enjoyed those as a kid). If, on the other hand, you’d like to see a masterful expansion of the core ideas in Lewis’s book that begins to approach epic, this is a film to watch. SPOILERS follow. If you continue reading, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Director Andrew Adamson has gotten the hang of things. While The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe strays less from the source material, Prince Caspian is a much better movie.

Adamson and his cowriters have taken many things that Lewis only hinted at and fleshed them out a great deal. Layers have been added to the political struggle between Miraz and his councilmen, as well as to the relationship between Caspian and his uncle. Also fleshed out is the ambivalence of the Narnians about backing a Telmarine prince, descendant of the Conquerer that tried to wipe them out.

Possible (or even probable) character conflicts that were not explored by Lewis are also found here. The friction between Peter and Caspian is a good example. In the book Peter comes right out and assures Caspian that he has no wish to make a play for the throne, and Caspian glibly goes through the story with no unease about four ancient monarchs jumping out of legend just when he is trying to claim his place as king.

While Lewis probably thought these attitudes and actions would serve as good role models for children, a deeper and more mature characterization has benefited the film greatly, and in the end actually emphasizes the desperate need that the Narnians have for Aslan. Because these sons of Adam just can’t seem to get anything right.

Peter is having coming-of-age issues and is understandably troubled by seeing what he considers a foreign invader claiming right to lead the Narnians. Caspian, the rightful king by Telmarine descent understandably feels slighted when he’s shunted to second place when the four Pevensies arrive, and he’s filled with a spirit of vengeance when he finds that Miraz is responsible for his father’s death. This conflict between Peter and Caspian leads to what such conflicts often do: separate agendas resulting in spoiled plans and unnecessary bloodshed.

The cinematography and pacing of the film is far superior to its predecessor. This feels like a film, and not like a random collection of scenes haphazardly strung together. The battles are more convincing, and, as I said before, approaching epic proportions. The effects are more polished. More importantly, I felt that I could connect with the characters better. They are more human and less like cardboard cutout. And not all the characters are so wayward. Lucy serves as the shining light of faith that Aslan is near, and Edmund keeps Peter from veering too far off course.

The only thing that I thought perhaps was overplayed was the attraction between Susan and Caspian. I can understand why they did it (apart from marketing value), and why it works. I was always puzzled about the asexuality of the Pevensies. It is very odd that in all of their years as adults in Narnia, none of them ever marry. If they had produced heirs like other responsible monarchs maybe their kingdom wouldn’t have been overrun by Spanish pirates when they left Narnia.

Now, for the most part, I think the relationship between Susan and Caspian is tastefully done. They are young attractive people, and so the chemistry between them isn’t exactly out of place. Also it makes for a couple great lines (like Lucy to Susan: “What was that? ‘Maybe you’ll need to call me‘?”). But then sometimes it veers off on into a celebration of Hollywood glitz and kitsch. Caspian’s rescue of Susan, while cool, does feel kind of staged.

So what about the message of the film? Is Lewis’s original vision intact? Well, while I think probably Lewis might object to a few things (such as Susan’s active involvement in the battle, though I think he would be happy with Peter and Caspian’s chivalry), the picture of Aslan as savior still shines brightly. As I mentioned earlier, the deeply human flaws we see in the characters only serve to emphasize the need for Aslan. This is no more apparent than at the How (the stone table) where the White Witch is almost brought back from the dead. It becomes very clear. These people are lost without him. Also, Aslan’s absence is felt so sharply that the film very effectively avoids a deus ex machina (the “Dude, where’d the lion come from?” effect) at the conclusion when Aslan finally appears.

Overall, Prince Caspian is a very good effort, and a satisfying film experience. Again, if you’re looking for slavish adherence to the book, you will be disappointed. But if you are open to seeing C.S. Lewis’s story enriched with a complexity not found in the book, this is a film to see. I am no longer worried about Adam Adamson at the helm of Lewis’s classic books. The director has finally figured out how to make a movie, and the series is now in good hands. If the remaining installments show the same level of improvement in movie-making quality, they will become classic films in their own right.

When Andrea sings . . . my heart melts. How could it not?

I discovered Andrea Ross rather by accident. I believe Amazon recommended her album to me several months ago after I had viewed something by Hayley Westenra. Andrea’s album had just been released exclusively in the UK, and the Amazon price tag was $45. I took a pass on it in spite of the intriguing samples I heard on her website. I saved a link, however.

Last week I was cleaning out my computer and ran across the link. Who is Andrea Ross? I wondered, and why had I bookmarked her link? That took me to her website for the second time, where I rediscovered her. This time, with the price of the album half of what it used to be, I couldn’t pass it up.

I found her voice entirely captivating, and she has a great story to go along with her sparkling persona. Andrea played the title role in Annie at age 11; at age 14 she was “16 going on 17” in The Sound of Music. When she was 13 she sent a karaoke demo tape to Andrew Lloyd Webber. That led directly to her first record contract with Universal at age 15 and a starring role in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s latest musical, Whistle Down the Wind.

Listening to her sing, one can hear immediately what Andrew Lloyd Webber recognized in her. She has a very mature vocal style for her age (or any age). Her diction is perfect, her voice has depth and richness, while losing none of its innocence. She draws on her stage acting experience, giving her delivery a varied spectrum of emotion and expression.

That would be more than enough to seal the deal as a singer, but beyond all that, Andrea also happens to be a remarkably beautiful girl. Visually, her performance absolutely glows with a tender and effortless grace. It’s a stunning combination that one doesn’t often find. I could go on about it, but I won’t. See for yourself. Check out my sidebar media player (I have 9 of her songs on the playlist) and the linked YouTube videos.

Unfortunately, Andrea’s album Moon River suffers from inconsistent recording quality and lackluster mixing and mastering. It ranges from “quite good” to “what were they thinking?”

Andrea’s voice sometimes gets lost in the mix, with the orchestra or the background choir drowning her out—not because her voice is too quiet or weak, but because the levels on her track have been inexplicably dropped relative to the other tracks. This is especially apparent in “You Raise Me Up.”

Sometimes the processing on her vocal track is tastefully subtle, allowing the listener to hear her voice as it really is (as in “Learn To Be Lonely”), and at other times a rather ugly and artificial-sounding reverb plate DSP has been applied (as in “You Raise Me Up”), which is a shame, since her voice does not need to be covered by any processing. The most I would apply to it is perhaps a very light convolution reverb DSP just to add some “real” space.

Despite its many flaws, Moon River is a more-than-worthwhile album simply because of Andrea. It is still a UK exclusive album (even though Andrea is a Boston resident), but hopefully she’ll be brought to the attention US audiences soon, especially after her US tour with Whistle Down the Wind, which finished last September.

I’ll comment on what I think about this later, and what exactly might be the implications of such a reading, but just wanted to throw the material out for preliminary reference:

Eurepides’ Medea:

“Ah, me! a wretched suffering woman I! O would that I could die!”

“Oh, oh! Would that Heaven’s levin bolt would cleave this head in twain! What gain is life to me? Woe, woe is me! O, to die and win release, quitting this loathed existence!”

“This one brief day forget thy children dear, and after that lament; for though thou wilt slay them yet they were thy darlings still, and I am a lady of sorrows.”

Seneca’s Medea:

“Why, soul, dost hesitate? Why are my cheeks wet with tears? Why do anger and love now hither, now thither draw my changeful heart? A double tide tosses me, uncertain of my course; as when rushing winds wage mad warfare, and from both sides conflicting floods lash the seas and the fluctuating waters boil, even so is my heart tossed. Anger puts love to flight, and love, anger. O wrath, yield thee to love.”

“Why dost thou delay now, O soul? Why hesitate, though thou canst do it? Now has my wrath died within me. I am sorry for my act, ashamed.”

“What, wretched woman, have I done? wretched, say I? Though I repent, yet have I done it!”

Romans 7

“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate . . . So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”

“For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.”

“Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

I have been rediscovering an old favorite of mine, the first epic film I can remember watching. And I mean REALLY epic. How The West Was Won was filmed and released in Cinerama format in 1962. I first watched it when it was on TV. It has been years since I last saw it, but I’m eagerly awaiting a completely remastered and restored release later this year. And that one just might push me over to get Blu-Ray . . . just as soon as Sony finalizes the format.

But enough of that. I am rediscovering the film through its magnificent score by Alfred Newman. From the opening titles, the score conveys powerfully, over the course of the film running the emotional gammut of fun, adventure, struggle, loss, grief, and sorrow. It is truly an overlooked classic. It was my first favorite film score, even before I knew what a film score was.

Listening through the score and remembering scenes from the film reminds me of the incredible scope that the film had, tracing the saga of an American family through three generations. While the song featured in the film bears echoes of manifest destiny, I think the film is careful not to stereo-type the struggle between the Native American and the pioneer of the move West, portraying both sides rather fairly, if a little idealistically.

HOW THE WEST WAS WON
Lyrics by Ken Darby

Promised land the land of plenty rich with gold
Here came dreamers with Bible fist and gun
Bound for land across the plains their wagons rolled
Hell bent for leather that’s how the West was won

Stride by stride they tamed the savage prairie land
Nothing stopped them no wind nor rain nor sun
Side by side these pioneers from every land
All pulled together that’s how the West was won

And they sang of the day when they would rest their boots
In a land where the still waters flow
Where the dreams of a man and wife could put down roots
And their love and the seeds of love would grow
(And grow and grow)

Dream by dream they built a nation from this land
Forged in freedom for every mother’s son
Here it is the beautiful the promised land
We won’t forget them and how the West was won

Please sample a few tracks from the score in my player and then go buy the 2-Disc set if you’re impressed with it as I have always been. If you’ve already listened, check the player again. I’ve added a new track.

Some additional notes on the score:

How The West Was Won was awarded an Academy Award for “Best Recording,” which had a great deal to do with how Alfred Newman produced the score. It was apparently one of the first (if not the first) score recorded by close-mic’ing each individual section of the orchestra, which gives the orchestra that sense of presence, increases the scope of the recording, and allows the listener to easily distinguish between the various parts of the orchestra. Since 1962 this recording method has become commonplace for film score recording, it was very innovative at the time.

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
according to thy word; for mine eyes have seen thy Salvation
which thou has prepared before the face of all people.
A Light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel.

As the congregation sang the words of recession, breaking into the Gloria, and we all raising our arms to heaven, a simply indescribably joy washed over me. I was so happy my voice caught in my throat and I found it difficult to sing. I know it was the same for everyone else there. I saw tears in my mother’s eyes.

Yesterday was the first worship service of Christ Covenant Church of Chicago. It has been a long time in coming, and God has brought our little fellowship through many trials. And finally, He has blessed us with a church we can call home. Our call to worship was especially appropriate, coming from Psalm 66:

Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
sing the glory of his name;
give to him glorious praise!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power
that your enemies come cringing to you.
All the earth worships you
and sings praises to you;
they sing praises to your name.”

Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net;
you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
you let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out
to a place of abundance.

Wayne Southerland, who brought us the message from the Word and the prayer for the dedication of the church, together with his family who traveled six hours to worship with us, were such a blessing. It was wonderful to have him here to give us his blessing and the blessing of Cornerstone Reformed Church in Carbondale, which has always been a great encouragement to us.

And now, here we are; this is only the beginning. By God’s grace, our fledgling church will spread its wings and soar, reaching out to the lost and the needy in our community, praising God and breaking bread week by week.

This is what we’ve been waiting for. There will be many more trials and challenges on the way, but we forge on, confident that our hope is not in ourselves or in any human effort, but in God’s promises and his faithfulness to his covenant.

May he keep us faithful in the work to come, that we might go from joy to greater joy.

To those who have been praying for Christ Covenant Fellowship, I thank you all. May God richly bless you, always. You will be in my prayers as well, and in the prayers of our Christ Covenant Church of Chicago.

Visit the Flickr album for pictures of the service and the days before.