If any composer can be counted on to deliver quality at a high level, it's John Williams.  Not only has he already established a grand legacy of truly epic proportions with his life's work, it seems as though his music is even getting better with age!  Thus is the case with the very sweet, insightful score for "Memoirs of a Geisha."

 

First off, the talent pool for this particular soundtrack is stellar.  It brings together Williams, Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman, which quite naturally sends the production value of this score to soaring heights.  This is an all-star list of talent, and the very good news is that they all come through with high honors. The sound quality is absolutely superb with this pristine recording.

 

Spearheaded by Williams' writing, the score is often tender, full of depth, and very easy to listen to.  And when I say easy to listen to, I'm suggesting that this is merely incidental music to fall asleep to.  No, you can buy a disc with sounds of ocean waves for that.  Rather, this is thematic underscore as it should be written; with purpose, a style conducive to the subject matter, and above all else, with great balance.

 

"Memoirs of a Geisha" will offer you no bombast.  This is a textbook case of writing music for a particular genre with a melodic underscore that fits the subject matter. The Japanese influences are woven into the tapestry of the music seamlessly, but these influences are not overdone. Some composers would have gone to the extreme and made every note a Japanese sounding one. But not Williams. Instead, he makes every moment a human sounding one.

The theme itself is very modest and is used frequently throughout the soundtrack.  It's not the most memorable of Williams' themes, but it does its job and harkens upon a far east influence to add further distinction to the score. There is a slight hint of "Seven Years in Tibet" to it, but scaled down a touch.

Another note of satisfaction is that this album DOES NOT conclude with a pop song as so many of these type of historical genre movies do (Troy, for example). It's all Williams, all the time, and it's simply exquisite!

Final Score: Sentimental and moving, John Williams delivers a first rate effort that is difficult to find any criticism with. In short, I think Williams has will win an Academy Award for this one.