Wonderland 1999 Film Score

Import only release. Nyman's score for Michael Winterbottom's film about the lives of three sisters in London is at once somber and hopeful; it conveys, in a word, wonder. Those who are familiar with his rejected score to Practical Magic will hear the most obvious similarity to his former work, as one of the secondary themes from Wonderland is quite similar to one from that film. Even with all of the Nyman-isms, though -- the snap rhythms, the almost Baroque structuring, and the Michael Nyman Band -- there's enough here that's new to keep one interested. Some of the solo piano work on this album actually sounds almost jazzy, and the main theme is quite memorable, if not so much hum-able. EMI.