Trinity and Beyond

Trinity and Beyond (1995) was the debut documentary by visual FX expert Peter Kuran (of Star Wars, Star Trek and more fame). He restored previously classified army footage of Trinity program, which developed the Atomic bomb in the deserts of Nevada from 1945 to 1963. From an aesthetic point of view, the test footage of actual nuclear testing and explosions is beautiful, so massive and powerful that the human scale is simply insignificant. The aftertaste of being amazed is one knowing the true destructive force of what you are watching and the potential for human tragedy. Using mostly old film footage, Kuran knew he had to beef the film up in the audio department, so he then added modern surround sound to give the expositions some weight, subdued narration by William Shatner and a score by veteran orchestrator/conductor William Stromberg and composing partner John Morgan.

"Shock and Awe" is how I would describe this album. This powerful score has been one of my favorites ever since I heard "Hiroshima/Nagasaki Requiem" used in the X2 trailer. That theme in particular, with the full chorus and orchestra blasting away feels warmly familiar at first listen. That's due to Stromberg's history of conducting many re-recordings of classic scores by Max Steiner, Franz Waxman, Korngold and others. In particular, Stromberg and Morgan seem most influenced by Bernard Herrmann, and John Williams in his late-70's peak (think of his Dracula). But even with that, they seem to establish a unique tone to their work that reaches back to the strength of the romantic composers that influence the best of film scores.

It becomes a standard response to say, "oh they’re taking from "Mars" again," but when you hear a track like "The Hood Device", you realize it also has the passion of Holst's work. There’s a wealth of great tracks on this album ("Operation Crossroads", "Chinese Work Song/Chinese Army") which will vacillate between operatic fury and military fanfares. The male chorus (in "Boosting with Tritium / The George Device" and others) will be used sparingly until an explosion occurs and will then blossom (like the mushroom cloud) into full force.

Part of the surprise is that one does not expect something so emotional and manipulative in a score to a documentary. The music is at time majestic, frightening, mysterious and magical in the same track. Praise must go to The Moscow Symphony Orchestra, which gives the compositions a full weight.

Sometimes you can praise an album to the heavens in great detail picking through every track, but for me I can’t do it here. For this album, it is simply overwhelming. This CD is a must buy. That’s as detailed as I can get. This album is one of those hidden surprises lying in wait out there for fans and this re-mastering is very welcomed. Though the CD says there are 26 tracks, there are only 24 like the original release. In a related note, the DVD comes with a "Separate Original Score" of the isolated music in 2.0 stereo. You cannot listen to it while watching the movie however.