The Stars Fell On Henrietta (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Jazz pianist Benoit has turned out a quietly charming score for this Robert Duvall film. There's nothing particularly new or vastly original about it, alas, but there's nothing otherwise negative to report (other than the typical Varese running time of under a half hour). The orchestral themes are designed mainly for strings, with nary a horn or woodwind to be heard throughout, with occasional use of banjo (Grant Geissman), acoustic guitar (Pat Kelly), and piano (Benoit and Mike Lang), although only the piano gets any serious use for solo material, and then only for slow, thoughtful themes. The deep moments come at regular intervals, usually in restating the main theme, but the music between tends to evaporate rather quickly from the mind, leaving next to no residue. Pleasant, but not essential to a collection of film music. One additional note: the dynamic range of this release is relatively extreme, from pianissimo to fortissimo, and taking no prisoners along the way.