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Sleeve Notes
The more their music is sought after for major film-scores, the more The Chieftains like it. They have found that their commitment to the composition and recording of film music is both rewarding and important. For his own compositions, Paddy Moloney's development of musical ideas to complement the action on the screen is as much a source of delight for him as it is for The Chieftains to perform. And from the stirring traditional "O'Sullivan's March" featured in Rob Roy to the light-hearted and evocative tunes written by Michael Kamen for Circle of Friends to the bare-knuckle fighting music written by John Williams for Far and Away the presence of The Chieftains brings an authentic Irish energy to the soundtrack of any film.
One of The Chieftain's most varied forays into film music composition was the Turner Entertainment production of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island starring Charlton Heston, Christian Bale and Oliver Reed. This atmospheric music brings to vivid life Stevenson's tale of kidnapping, piracy, revenge, mystery and, of course, buried treasure.
A different tone is set in what was their first film score assignment: Stanley Kubrick's film of William Makepeace Thackeray's Barry Lyndon, the story of an ambitious young Irishman who claws his way to the top of 18th-century English society. This score, which won an Academy Award in 1976, is represented on this recording by the plaintive love theme.
Tristan and Isolde was probably the most ambitious effort in film scoring by Paddy Moloney and The Chieftains. The production starred Richard Burton, Kate Mulgrew, Nicholas Clay, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Cyril Cusack and Niall Toibin, and was based on the 9th-century Irish legend. Mark, the King of Cornwall, banishes his nephew Tristan for stealing his love Isolde, daughter of the High King of Ireland. The incorporation of the Band's traditional instruments into film score music by Paddy Moloney is a first.
Philip Borsos' The Grey Fox starred Richard Farnsworth as a low-key and entirely likable outlaw in the U.S.A. For this score The Chieftains won a Canadian "Genie" (their Oscar( as well as a Grammy nomination.
For The Chieftains, the joy of creating music for films is matched only by the fun they have playing this music in concert before a live audience.