Christopher Lee -- the actor with the magnificent voice who starred as Dracula in all those Hammer films, and who younger audiences will recognize as Saruman the White from Lord of the Rings and Count Dooku from Star Wars -- has produced a "symphonic metal music" album entitled Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross. This concept album was composed by Marco Sabiu and written by Marie-Claire Calvet, and tells the story of the great king looking back at his life on his deathbed. It is available today.
Of course I had to buy it. It's about Charlemagne, after all. And I could definitely stand to listen to Christopher Lee's voice for an hour or so. I can honestly say I'm not sorry I did.
Far and away the best thing about the album is Lee's performance. Now that he's in his 80s, his voice doesn't have the clarity it once had, but it still has extraordinary power and depth. The narration by his daughter, Christina, is quite good. The music is listenable, although there isn't a single track I felt compelled to listen to again, and some of the melodies stay with you. And, miracle of miracles, the content is historically accurate. I don't want Mr. Lee thinking I doubted his and his associates' ability to pull together an accurate portrayal of a medieval figure; it's just that I'm so used to popular culture falling short that it's a delightful surprise when somebody gets it right.
Unfortunately, although the lyrics were interesting as well as factual, they lacked poetry; and while the music was enjoyable, it wasn't as exciting as I'd anticipated. Of course, this is only my own personal opinion; music critics who know more about these things will probably think differently. I'm simply an extreme history enthusiast, and as such I can only tell you that, yes, Charlemagne did have trouble with his brother Carloman in the early years of his reign; and yes, according to Einhard he was betrayed by the Gascons on his Spanish expedition; and yes, he did have more than 4000 Saxons brutally executed when they refused to convert to Christianity.
More about Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross can be found at Christopher Lee's Website; samples can be found at his Myspace page; and you should be able to find the album for sale on CD or as an mp3 download at your favorite online music store.
Will you get Lee's album? Have you listened to any of it yet? What do you think of it? Let me know in the comments section.



