Press Release from Caldera:
Caldera Records is proud to present David Shire’s score for the TV movies “Sarah, Plain & Tall” and “Skylark.” “If I don’t go now, I’ll never know what it’s like to have my own life,” Sarah says as she departs from Maine. Having her “own life” for her means to answer an advert for a maid and move to Kansas. She can probably sense that the man who put the ad in the paper wants more than a helper: The audience knows that Jacob lost his wife several years ago and has since had to take care of his small farm and his two young children, Anna and Caleb, on his own.
“Sarah Plain & Tall” is a gentle meditation on grief and letting go. It asks, how can we honor the loved ones we have lost and yet make space for new people that may enrich our lives? Is this replacement an unforgivable betrayal, or a necessity without which we would start to harbor resentments against the dead? “Sarah Plain & Tall” is one of Shire’s most beautiful, elaborate works, a score of serene beauty and elegance close to his heart. While his music doesn’t copy the style of Aaron Copland, it is inspired by a particular kind of Americana that relies heavily on strings and includes folk tunes that are subtly woven into the score’s fabric. As an example, in You Still Do, Shire quotes the folk tune ‘Billy Boy’, which Anna (Jacob’s daughter, played by Lexi Randall) sings to herself during the film’s opening credits. Incidentally, ‘Billy Boy’ is based on an English folk song that Ralph Vaughn Williams had collected and published in 1912.
The score’s backbone is Shire’s memorable and catchy main theme for Sarah and the family that he weaves in and out of scenes in colorful and complex variations. The theme also serves as the backbone for the sequel, “Skylark,” which premiered on Hallmark in 1993. Jacob and Sarah are now married, but a severe drought threatens their happiness.
While a third ‘Sarah’ film – “Winter’s End” – was produced and shown on television in 1999, David Shire’s score recording is unfortunately lost, hence we were not able to include it on this disc.
“Sarah Plain & Tall” and “Skylark” alone demonstrate the composer’s remarkable versatility in showing how adept Shire was at crafting tuneful Americana while incorporating classic folk songs in his compositions. The 62nd CD-release of Caldera Records features a detailed booklet text by Stephan Eicke and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was mastered by Richard Moore and produced by Stephan Eicke and David Shire.
