Sally Doherty created this music for the BBC series “Empire of Death”, about archaeological discoveries made in a region of the Sudan called Nubia. Here remains of what must have been mighty kings were found, comparable to the pharaohs of Egypt. An important focus of the documentary was the bizarre death culture with enormous tombs. Perhaps an important reason for Doherty to give this soundtrack a ‘dark and mysterious’ character.
According to the notes in the booklet, she found inspiration in Arabic Music from Northern Africa. The music on this album is dominantly instrumental, with many classical instruments like flute, cello, violin, clarinet, oboe and cornet, with some keyboard sounds added. There are vocals on the album, but Sally uses her voice more as an instrument here, with sounds instead of words, making me think of mantra’s.
With “Empire of Death” she has created a nice haunting and moody filmic work. Recommended if you like for instance the film scores of In the Nursery. The album is rather tranquil and subtle, with elegantly flowing sounds, therefore pleasant background music.
