There Is But One Way

NOTES FROM THE COMPOSER

ONE NIGHT WITH THE KING is based on the biblical story of Esther, a Jewish girl who rises from obscurity to become the queen of ancient Persia, subsequently saving her people from extermination at the hands of a malicious and powerful enemy named Haman. The score has eight distinct themes, each attached to an important relationship in the story, all centering in Esther. Six of these themes appear in the End Credits, which I actually composed first as a kind of overture. It was also the first music recorded for the film, serving to introduce the musicians to the score’s musical vocabulary. In compiling this soundtrack, I selected a sequence of cues in story order so the listener might follow the tale as a wordless dramatic narrative.

The principal theme, underscoring Esther’s relationship to her destiny, is first introduced with a solo violin in “A Single Act of Disobedience.” This storytelling cue also accompanies the flashbacks which reveal the historic reasons for Haman’s hatred of the Jews. Woven throughout the score in various orchestrations, Esther’s destiny theme is always used to pull her forward toward her purpose.

Two other themes, however, look backward to Esther’s life before she feels the tug of destiny. Both appear in “A Beautiful Young Girl.” The first of these accents the marketplace sequences and later accompanies Esther’s relationship with her childhood sweetheart, Jesse, finally turning poignant as they must bid farewell in “I Can’t Leave.” The second, underlining Esther’s youthful innocence and winsome personality with solo woodwinds over pizzicato strings, is further developed in “The Story of Jacob.”

As Esther’s heart turns toward the king, another theme emerges. Originally conceived as the waltz for strings heard in the End Credits, this theme is transformed and developed through several cues, finally climaxing in the heroic brass which plays as the king rescues Esther from Haman in “A Mockery.” The culmination of the courtship between Esther and the king is their wedding, which has its own theme, featured in “Kingdom of Love” and “I Saw the Stars” with Shani Rigsbee singing the Farsi lyrics of Paksima Zakipour.

Ziba malake (Beautiful queen)
Hamrahe shah (Accompanied by the king) 
Ba jaho jalaal (With dignity and glory)
 
Ziba malake (Beautiful queen)
Hamrahe shah (Accompanied by the king)
Miyad az ruh (Walking down the path)

There is, of course, a distinct theme for the villain, Haman, which is stated in the opening cue. As the complex interaction between the characters unfolds, Haman’s theme winds in and out of many scenes, heightening the tension with its serpentine dissonances. Mordechai, Esther’s kinsman and the focus of Haman’s hatred, provides a contrasting opportunity for a long-suffering and noble theme, which also represents the fate of the Jewish people. A triumphant version of Mordechai’s theme initiates the End Credits.

Finally, a theme owing its language to the great Hollywood epics conveys the might and splendor of the Persian empire, as well as the abyss between Esther’s humble roots and the alien world into which she is inducted. This theme probably receives the most variation in the score, appearing first as a royal march in “The Emperor of the World,” and thereafter in the sumptuous romance of “The Plunder of the Empire,” the militant bravado of “War Games” and the dramatic tension of “Esther's Petition,” to mention only a few of its incarnations. The End Credits features it in its original setting.

J.A.C. Redford

Theme List
(In Order of Appearance)
1. Esther’s Destiny - Tracks 1, 5, 7, 8, 14, 17, 20, 22, 25
2. Esther & Jesse - Tracks 2, 13, 25
3. Esther’s Character - Tracks 2, 10, 25
4. Haman - Tracks 3, 4, 16, 18, 21, 22, 23
5. Mordechai - Tracks 5, 7, 16, 18, 25
6. Persia - Tracks 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 21, 22, 25


ONE NIGHT WITH THE KING
Music composed by J.A.C. Redford

Music Produced by the Stas Namin Center of Moscow
Finance: Anna Isaeva
Artistic Director: Natalia Ivanova
Project Coordinator: Anna Ermolaeva
Producer: Vitaly Panchenko

THE MOSCOW SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Conducted by Konstantin Krimets
Recorded at the Grand Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Moscow, Russia
Chief Sound Engineers: Dmitry Koptsov & Ruslana Oreshnikova
 
Special Thanks 
Assistant to the Director: Viktor Panchenko
Inspector of the Orchestra: Anton Shershnev
Administrator of the Orchestra: Elena Zabello
Technical Production: Alexey Pogarskiy
Recording Equipment: Andrey Ivanov
 
Violin Soloist: Roman Svirlov
 
First Leading Violins:
Roman Svirlov, Vladimir Semenikhin 
 
Second Leading Violins:
Vladimir Koltsov, Leonid Melnikov
 
Leading Violas:
Segrey Shamov, Boris Palchuk
 
Leading Celli:
Valentin Semyannikov, Gennady Grechishnikov
 
Leading Double Basses:
Galina Belyakova, Eugeny Antonenko
 
ACADEMY OF CHORAL ART MOSCOW
Conductor: Alexey Petrov

Vocalists:
Asya Samrailova, Marina Chernyavskaya, Laslo Dolinsky, Nikita Pozdnyakov, Katya Dolinsky, Oleg Litskevich, Pavel Zebrov
 
Ethnic Parts Recorded at the SNC Studio
Director: Igor Klimenkov

Dumbek, Persian Dulcimer
Mark Pekarsky Ensemble of Percussion instruments
Soloist: Dmitry Schelkin
 
Assistants to the Composer:
John Bisharat, Steve Gutheinz, Carl Johnson, Jason & Nolan Livesay
 
Orchestration:
Sergei Gavrilov, Mark Edward Lewis
 
Additional Percussion:
Bernie Herms
 
Music Produced by Tom Newman
 
Assistant Producer:
Tom Winters
 
Supervising Music Editor:
Fred Paragano
 
Production Supervisor:
Eric Elwell
 
Music Preparation & Editorial:
Mat5t
 
Music recorded and mixed by Fred Paragano
 
Assistant Engineer:
Travis Palmer
 
Music mixed at Paragon Studios, Franklin, TN

Music Mastered by Douglass Fake at Intrada, Oakland, CA

“Kingdom of Love”
Music by J.A.C. Redford
Lyrics by Paksima Zakipour
Performed by Shani Rigsbee

Download Album Produced by J.A.C. Redford

Download Album Art Designed by Ronald Suk

Special Thanks to LeAnn Redford, Richard Cook at Gener8Xion, Douglass Fake at Intrada, Rhonda St. Romain at PDS Music

Motion Picture Artwork, Stills and Images © 2006 Hope, Direction and Encouragement Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
© & ℗ 2007 Gener8Xion Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.