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By now we all know the story of four children who stumble into a magical world where right always triumphs and lions come back from the dead. Prince Caspian is the next chapter in the film saga, and with the soundtrack, composer Harry Gregson-Williams lets us hear what high fantasy adventure sounds like.

Harry Gregson-Williams is no stranger to scoring action and adventure. With such titles under his belt as Kingdom of Heaven, Spy Game, and, of course, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Gregson-Williams has all the knowledge and tools he needs to create a grandiose, symphonic thing of beauty that at every turn provides not only enjoyment but auditory clues and metaphors to C.S. Lewis’s masterpiece.

The soundtrack opens strong; the first track, “Prince Caspian Flees”, is wrought with a sense of urgency. He utilizes the clear, harmonic beauty of his horn section, all the while the piece’s rhythm and percussion strength can only draw forth the image of hoof beats. “The Kings and Queens of Old” brings the intensity down, casting us into a sea of magic, of beauty. Some of the flute usage brings to mind the scores behind The Lord of the Rings, but considering the similar nature of the fantasy epics, it makes sense.

“The Journey to the How” makes it absolutely clear we’re in the middle of a tense yet dreamy, otherworldly plight. It’s slow, quiet beginnings lull us into a false sense of complacency, which quickly turns dramatic with an interesting yet not quite original percussion line. The fourth track, “Arrival at Aslan’s How”, brings the majesty of the Narnia theme from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe soundtrack into full bloom here for the first time. It is sweeping, epic, and utterly overwhelming with its full force of auditory pleasures. I dare anyone who is a fan of score music to listen to this track and not find it utterly gorgeous.

The rest of the album’s score flows as beautifully as the first four. The score excellently portrays feelings in sound, from the thumping of a frightened heart to the swelling pride for a hero. The communication of the score is skillfully done – one can listen and easily understand the drive or longing of a piece, the fear of weapons (“Sorcery and Sudden Vengeance” has a very interesting intermittent sound like bombs popping overhead – I listened to this over and over again, marveling in the noise) or the might of victory.

The CD closes off with four songs by four different performers. “The Call” by Regina Spektor is soft and pretty, new age-ish. “A Dance ‘Round the Memory Tree” by Oren Lavie might sound lovely with its strong violin, but after the Narnia score, it doesn’t. Again, slow and melodic, it sounds almost like a child’s lullabye with a carnival-ish rhythm.  Switchfoot’s “This is Home” is bound to be the biggest single on the album, and that’s just sad. Switchfoot has long since ceased to put out original and interesting material (did they ever?).

The last track is Hanne Huckkelberg’s “Lucy” (which, according to the case was not featured in the film), but don’t take that to mean it isn’t worth listening to. Sung with a haunting and clear voice to piano and backup vocals, the song is utterly lovely, sad and yet wonderful. It, like the rest of the four tracks, have age appropriate lyrics with Christian friendly messages (not overtly Christian, though, so those who are not of that religious persuasion can easily enjoy them and, in fact, meld them to their own belief set).

The twelve tracks of score music are the best on this CD by far, though only one track openly annoyed me (Switchfoot, anyone?). All in all, it is an excellent CD, well worth the buy. And for you Narnia fans, it also comes with a photo-packed booklet.

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