The Fantasy Film World of Bernard Herrmann

Bernard Herrmann was undoubtedly one of the greatest film composers of the 20th century. From all the accounts I've ever read of him, it seems like he stepped out of an Ayn Rand novel. A fiery and outspoken character, but when it came to his work completely surefooted and unwilling to compromise: "I count myself an individual. I hate all cults, fads and circles. I believe that only music that springs out of genuine personal emotion and inspiration is alive and important." As Alfred Hitchcock, the film director for whom Herrmann is most often associated with, would ignore film producer David O. Selznick's wishes on how to improve his films, so too would Herrmann veto Hitchcock's occasional suggestions when it came to how to score his movie. However, while Herrmann was confident and unwavering with his own work, his cantankerous temperament and unabashed criticism of his peers' work were qualities that probably didn't make him a social darling. Friend and fellow film composer David Raskind once described him as "a virtuoso of unspecific anger, which he bestowed so impartially upon friend or enemy that I often wondered whether he knew the difference." Nor did Herrmann's personal qualities likely easily earn him assignments once Hollywood's golden age came to an end, perhaps prompting his move to London in the latter years of his life. Yet, cranky or not, the bottom line is that he had the artistic genius to back it all up, a truly remarkable ability for unlocking a film's essence and translating it to music. Whoever has watched a Hitchcock film is not likely to forget the jumping and lurching fandango overture that perfectly complements the action-adventure of North By Northwest, the genuinely hypnotic harp cycles and sedated, piercing brass lines of Vertigo, or the slashing strings of Psycho.

This album, available on CD as one of Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's Ultradisc-II gold discs, was made as a series of albums released by Decca/London Records that featured Herrmann's film scores in suite form. This third entry of the series was recorded in 1974 just one year before Herrmann's untimely death, and features him conducting the National Philharmonic Orchestra in suites for four of his scores taken from fantasy or sci-fi films.One of the excellent things about Herrmann was his bold experimental leaps with the traditional orchestral format. This would include drastically altering the traditional orchestra composition and by incorporating some very atypical instruments, including electronic ones. For example, the first piece, "Journey to the Center of the Earth," completely eliminates the string section, includes not one but five organs (one Cathedral and four electronic), several harps, and brings back from the grave the 'serpent,' an antiquated medieval instrument that definitely was not a staple on the modern orchestral instrument roster. The results are fifteen minutes of musical joy: the organs, crashing cymbals, and lithe harps flooding over the listener with an unadulterated sense of majesty and mystery. Utopia did a rock version of the first segment of this suite on their album Ra, and fans of Danny Elfman (an acknowledged Herrmann devotee) who listen closely may be able to discern where he got his famed Batman motif. Herrmann's score for Ray Harryhausen's "The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad" is the most conventional offering on here (yes, even Herrmann played it straight every now and then), but still the "Overture" is lively and fun. Unfortunately, the piece is diminished somewhat by the now-cliched xylophone characterization ("Duel with the Skeleton") that comprises its middle.

And then we get to "The Day the Earth Stood Still," his score for the classic 1951 sci-fi movie. Here, he does away with woodwinds and instead bolsters the orchestra with a full-fledged electronic section consisting of two theremins, electric violin, bass, and guitar. The main portion of the piece ("Outer Space") single-handedly paired the 'spooky' sound of the theremin with the science fiction movies of the 50s, so often copied and parodied ever since. But with its all-engulfing intensity, swelling dynamics, kaleidoscopic ostinati (foreshadowing the overture of Vertigo) and chord changes that morph from sweet to sinister and back again... this piece is classic, classic, classic Herrmann. If you can't hear in "Outer Space" what made him such a great composer, then you never will. The album wraps up with Herrmann's music from François Truffaut's "Fahrenheit 451," once again making heavy use of strings to convey a sense of fragility, and a mood that conveys intense emotions bubbling under a repressed surface.This disc is a great treasure, made even sweeter that it's on Mobile Fidelity, with excellent sound all around. If you are a symphonic prog fan who wants to look into something different, try to get a hold of this and you'll be hooked...

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http://rapidshare.com/files/102882/bh_tffwobh_mfsl.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/102994/bh_tffwobh_mfsl.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/102984/bh_tffwobh_mfsl.part3.rar

Again, thanks to Johannes for providing the link.

Journey to the Centre of the Earth - Suite 14'58
1. Mountain Top and Sunrise
2. Prelude
3. The Grotto
4. Salt Slides
5. Atlantis
6. The Giant Chameleon and the Fight
7. The Shaft and Finale

The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad - Suite 8'23
1. Overture
2. The Duel with the Skeleton
3. Baghdad

The Day the Earth Stood Still - Suite 11'39
1. Outer Space
2. Radar
3. Gort
4. The Robot
5. Space Control
6. Terror
7. Farewell and Finale

Fahrenheit 451 - Suite 10'44
1. Prelude
2. Fire Engine
3. The Bedroom
4. Flowers of Fire
5. The Road and Finale