At just four notes long it’s perhaps a little unmemorable a motif, but the way it plays pensively here backed by some particularly elegant instrumentation sure makes for a much stronger start to the score than the previous track did. The track starts off with gentle strings setting a quietly optimistic tone before woodwinds then fade in, playing the new main theme quietly and rather hopefully for its introductory rendition.
Things do get a little better though with Young Raya And Namaari, where the main theme of the score is introduced. Not a massively strong start to say the least. Overall, the nearly six minute opening piece is a bit of a mixed bag – the musical style is well composed and at times quite intriguing (take the initial orchestral/dubstep mix for example) but it’s very stop-start, and difficult to really get into as the track jumps around almost too quickly to enjoy. As the cue starts to draw to a close loud brass bursts in, hinting briefly at frantic action alongside tense percussion before then coming to a dramatically sudden stop, with the music then ending as quiet vocals fade gently out.
This doesn’t last for long however before the track begins to pick up the pace again with the chanting vocals taking centre stage alongside rapid strings, then reaching a loud percussive crescendo at around the four minute mark. Things quieten down slightly after this rather…interesting mixture of instrumentation, with slow strings and gentle woodwinds establishing quite an ethereal atmosphere (and a musical style notably similar to that of James Horner’s Avatar). Opening track Prologue opens softly, with a light pattering of percussion playing before dramatic, chanting vocals then enter the fray accompanied (rather intriguingly) by a dubstep-esque sound that then further leads into several powerful brass notes.
James Newton Howard’s Raya And The Last Dragon is a disappointingly forgetful affair a score consisting of an intriguing and at points genuinely breathtaking orchestral style but sadly very little substance bar a short and simple main theme that makes few appearances on album.
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