| Big Love: Hymnal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Soundtrack album by David Byrne | ||||
| Released | August 19, 2008 | |||
| Recorded | 2008 | |||
| Studio | Kampo Studios,New York City,New York,United States | |||
| Genre | Hymn,soundtrack | |||
| Length | 40:20 | |||
| Label | Todo Mundo/HBO/Play Tone | |||
| Producer | David Byrne | |||
| David Byrne chronology | ||||
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Big Love: Hymnal – Music Written for the HBO Series Plus Other Recent Compositions is a soundtrackalbum byDavid Byrne including music composed for the HBO television dramaBig Love released on August 19, 2008. Byrne has written on his journal that it is not "a pop record by any stretch,"[1] but a soundtrack featuring lush instrumentation, includinghorns andstrings, with minimalpercussion. The album features instrumentals with the exception of the final track, a cover of "Blue Hawaii", which is originally from 1937. It is the first release by Byrne'sindependent record labelTodo Mundo, althoughEverything That Happens Will Happen Today was released in digital format one day prior toBig Love: Hymnal.
Byrne initially started writing music for the series in fall, 2006.[1] He found himself attracted to the moral fascination ofBig Love and identified with the characters in the series and decided to compose half a dozenhymns that would "imply that [the characters are] always aware of the religious underpinnings that they see as supporting their lifestyle and how they behave."[2] To that end, he sought outMormonhymnals, recordings ofsacred music, and read up on thehistory of Mormonism.[1] He was also inspired by the soundtrack work ofBernard Herrmann andNino Rota.[1] He visited the Los Angeles set of the series in early 2007 to talk with the producers about thesecond season's arc[3] and returned to New York City to continue composing and recording based on what he had seen and the video the producers sent him. The episodes themselves aired from June through August that year and Byrne continued scoring and uploading his music viaFTP, finishing on August 3, 2007.[1] In preparing to release the album the following year, Byrne expanded some musical cues and added several hymns that were not included in the series itself.[4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [5] |
| The Independent | [6] |
| Los Angeles Times | [7] |
| Tiny Mix Tapes | [8] |
The album has received overall positive reviews. Reviewers have found the album too esoteric, such as Chris Barrett, writing for theMetro Pulse, who concludes his review writing "Recommended. But, as mentioned, probably not for everybody."[9] Thom Jurek ofAllmusic gave the album three out of five stars, calling it "pleasant for a while, but lightweight" noting that buyers would have to be "Byrne enthusiast[s]... to find this set of compositions engaging in its own right, or addicted to very specifically themed cinematically inspired music, to truly appreciate what's on offer here."[10] Some reviewers have noted the emotional sweep of the music,[2] with John Constine ofTiny Mix Tapes calling it "a wide breadth of emotions... at times pensive and ominous, at others curious and wistful."[11] In addition, the spiritual themes[12] have been compared toSufjan Stevens[11] by several commentators[13] as well as[14] Byrne's other 2008 album,[11] theBrian Eno collaborationEverything That Happens Will Happen Today.[15]
All songs written by David Byrne, except "Blue Hawaii" byLeo Robin andRalph Rainger.
