Customer Reviews

The Agony And The Ecstasy (1965 Film - 1997 Score Rerecording)

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I had the original soundtrack for The Agony and the Ecstasy on LP when it was first issued, and I loved the music very much. I had high hopes for Jerry Goldsmith's recording of the score, since I also regard him as among the best film composers. There is, however, something missing from the music: the fire and energy that Alex North, himself, brought to it. I am sorry to say that this recording did not come up to my expectations.

In particular, I found the orchestra balance is a bit off and sometimes the tempo seems slow. In "First Battle" the horns answer the calls of the trumpets and trombones weakly, as if they were moved off stage. I was accustomed to hearing a more full bloodied sound. Some of the tracks, notably "Blind" and "Painting", come off quite well.

Also, parts of the sound track were never recorded like the tavern scene where Michaelangelo comes to regard his initial work on the Sistine to be imperfect. Also, where is the overture? At barely over 40 minutes I think this disc could have given us more of the soundtrack and less empty space.

Alex North is probably the John Williams of his time besides Bernard Hermann. All of his works were great and his effort put into them was enormous. The Agony And The Ecstasy is one of his great scores besides that of Spartacus and Cleopatra and was nominated for best score. What sets it apart is the style. The style was based on the music of the movie's setting and the instruments used were very medieval and religious-sounding, obviously requiring Alex to do much research. The main title for the film sounds majestic and as beautiful as the painting on Sistine Chapel. The pope's theme is majestic and the music describing the chapel is epic and religious in quality. The battle scenes actually sound like what they would in their time, a unique treat to listen to. The only thing missing was the beautiful choral pieces in the film but they were done by someone else so I don't blame Varese. The liner notes were extremely helpful and the performance made me forget about the difference between the original and the rerecording. I very, very strongly recommend it. It is very unique, ambitious, and one of the best things I've ever heard since Star Wars A New Hope.

A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

"...This is one of the landmark film music releases of 2004, arguably the finest. The score has been released on CD twice before - the original album on Cloud Nine Records, and a re-recording of some 40 minutes of North's score conducted by Goldsmith on Varese. This is undoubtedly the recording of choice however, combining Goldsmith and North's works for the first time, and adding some additional tracks as well. It's one of North's finest scores (and therefore one of the finest scores), demonstrating once more (as if such demonstration were needed) that his music has a timeless quality quite unlike any of his Golden Age peers. Sound quality of this album is acceptable rather than exceptional, but that doesn't detract from the sheer genius of the music. Simply magnificent..."

http://www.movie-wave.net/titles/agony_ecstasy.html

This is one of a series of rerecordings of Alex North's music Jerry Goldsmith conducted for Varese Sarabande - some others being VIVA ZAPATA!, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE and the rejected score for 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. It was a welcome series and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra is a very, very good orchestra - IMO much better than the one which recorded the OST. In another realm and with Neeme Jarvi conducting, they've done some of my favorite recordings (Glazunov's ballets, RAYMONDA and THE SEASONS). Goldsmith gets a good sound out of them, too. It's a pretty sound, a concert hall sound, unlike the drier sound of the original soundtrack conducted by North himself.

The liner notes for this rerecording identify three composers who worked on the film. In addition to North, none other than Jerry Goldsmith himself did the nearly 13 minutes of music heard behind the narration to the film Prologue, "The Artist Who Did Not Want to Paint". That music is not on this disc, but IS included on a 1989 Intrada disc, conducted by Goldsmith himself, which features his score to RIO CONCHOS. That is a beautiful recording. The Prologue is also on a 2004 Varese Club disc of much of the original soundtrack.

North's score is touched by Renaissance practice. Parts sound a little like Gabrielli (his intent) and there's a feel to it that it really is of the Church and meant for presentation in the round with choirs answering one another (antiphony), their "voices" reverberating throughout the structure. Track 8, "Festivity" is different but complementary. It could almost be a transcription of one of the old (1480-1520) Italian lute pieces I used to play myself. But of course this is not actually music of the period. North's fusion of the old with the new is so adept that one might not initially realize it is new. For THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY, he captured the spirit of Pope Julius's II's Vatican in a language that recalls the time but speaks directly to us.

This is my favorite of North's works. Highly recommended.

I really don't like scores that have been re-recorded by another composer because they just don't sound the same. The Agony and Ecstacy however is great. Jerry Goldsmith, who just passed away did a terrific job with this and made it sound really good. I recommend this CD to any soundtrack fan.

A superb work by Alex North,better than the Spartacus soundtrack, I believe! It pays to have some taste for music that includes period instruments, but I find the inclusion, which by no means dominates the compositions, to be an enhancement! The item was priced reasonably for something so obscure, and arrived with LIGHTNING speed! Trust this vendor! I highly recommend this CD!