Customer Reviews

Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Music From The Adventures Of Robin Hood (1988 Re-recording of 1938 Score)

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As a little child my favorite movie was The Adventures of Robin Hood. While I still love the movie (still waiting rather impatiently for the DVD), the original score to the movie is now among my favorites. Robin Hood is one of if not the best movie score written by Korgold. The sense of adventure, danger, excitement and romance are captured perfectly in the different cords of his music. Whether its Robin's Merry Men sliding down vines and attacking Guy of Gisbourne in Sherwood, the climactic sword fight in the castle or the classic ending as Marion and Robin duck out of the castle, Korngold perfectly captures the emotions of the movie. The Adventures of Robin Hood is the kind of movie that helped make Hollywood what it is today.

Varese Sarabande presents this classic among classics - "The Adventures Of Robin Hood" (1938), rollicking tale of the legendary outlaw, regarded as the standard-to-go-by swashbuckler. Grand castles and lush forest photography, with Errol Flynn in his prime, as our hero who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor - enthusiastically performed most of his own stunts, including intricate swordplay advanced tree and wall climbing.

His Robin brimed with charm and bravura, protector of poor Saxons everywhere, declaring war on the Normans Prince John (Claude Rains) and doing battle with Sir Guy (Basil Rathbone) in one of the most spectacular sword-fights ever filmed.

Erich Wolfgang Korngold was called upon to compose the archetypal score, more so even than his score for "Kings Row", in "Robin Hood" he came closest to creating an opera without singing, bolstering and carrying the action, at the same-time blends uninterrupted streams of colorful music. For "PROLOGUE(MAIN TITLE) use motif a sweeping, heroic trumpet theme...rest of the score a multitude of themes and variations entirely original, but track 5 "ROBIN MEETS LITTLE JOHN" is English folk song "Sumer Is Icumen In", with exceptional orchestration by Hugo Friedhofer, marked every texture and nuance - even exact voicing of chords highly dramatic and unique.

Korngold set standards for Williams, Goldsmith, Horner and every composer from that time on, listen to this classic masterpiece and see what I mean...a great film and Korngold made it a classic!

Total Time: 42:43 on 16 Tracks...Varese Sarabande 47202...(1988)

Varese Sarabande's digital recording of the Erich
Wolfgang Korngold score for THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN
HOOD is a feat of great courage, and memorable
results. Far superior to previous attempts to
re-record these epic themes, Varujan Kojian and
the Utah Symphony Orchestra superbly capture the
heroic zeal, lyrical magic, and burning passion
which so emblazoned Korngold's music unto the
hearts of all who experienced the 1938 Errol
Flynn-Olivia deHavilland film classic.

While it is hoped that someone will issue a
digitally-remastered CD of Korngold's original
soundtrack (certainly Warner Video's restoration
of all aspects of the film suggests that this
is possible), it is no reason to belittle the
merits of the Kojian recording. It should be
remembered that this recording is of the score,
which would not have the minute -though precious-
cues which Korngold ingeniously added later. That
Kojian is able to bring out the polyharmonic
wonders of this music is no mean feat, and is
quite commendable.

If anything, this recording spurred some exceptional
recordings of epic film scores which followed this
1980s release. Certainly, composer Bruce Broughton's
1994 recording of Miklos Rozsa's chivalrous score for
IVANHOE is a marvelous accomplishment in itself, one
further noteworthy in that it aided in the eventual
issue -albeit limited- of Rozsa's original 1952
soundtrack by Rhino in 2002. Certainly, the digital
recording of Georges Auric's score for Cocteau's LA
BELLE ET LE BETE, or Philip Sainton's seafaring music
for the 1956 version of MOBY DICK represents magnificent
achievements in presenting some of the finest music
ever conceived - music which might never be heard
for its own beauty but for enterprising recordings
such as these.

Listen to this recording, and gain an appreciation
of what the imagination of one man can inspire in
so many, for so long a time.

Still, after almost 25 years, this is the finest recording of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Robin Hood (1938). Produced by George Korngold (the composer's son and legendary film music recording producer) and supebly performed by the Utah Symphony Orchestra under Varujan Kojian, this is a must-have recording.
The CD (itself a reissue of the original 1983 LP) contains about 2/3 of the complete original score, but this does not diminish the importance of this recording in any way. On the contrary, this recording demonstrates that a wonderful film music album does not have to contain every note of the score.
All essential score material is included and some tracks are in fact the composer's own radio/concert hall arrangements of the original film cues.
Just listen to The Archery Tournament and The Coronation Procession tracks and be stunned!

While this recording fills a big gap, it somehow does not measure up to the conducting verve of Lionel Newman and Korngold in their respective versions so well known to film music collectors.

Some years ago (about 25 years!) Warner Bros issued a double LP set which includes excerpts from Korngold`s Robin Hood score viz. the cue where you can hear Errol Flynn declaring his welcome to Maid Marian: "Welcome to Sherwood Forest, my lady" after a robust ambush of the Sheriff`s party. I think this set has never been re-issued on CD. It also contains excerpts from The Sea Hawk and Kings Row. I don`t think the recent Rhino Korngold double-CD versions can surpass these LP recordings issued by Warner Bros. I`m especially appalled at the exclusion of the cue entitled Free At Last where the choral exuberance is brilliantly captured via music, dialogue and choir.

Kudos to the late Tony Thomas for his innumerable contributions to film music but unfortunately the Rhino Korngold has been marred by poor sound. In fact, my copy of his book "Music from the Movies" fired my interest in film music. I got to know the book existed through an LP soundtrack A Star is Born (music by Max Steiner and starring Frederic March).

Coming back to Robin Hood, my vote goes to Korngold for his robust and beautiful score.

THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD complete film score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra is the most magnificent rendition of this remarkable, hauntingly beautiful music. COMPLETE is the key word here as the Moscow Symphony performance has not edited the score for time considerations. John Morgan of Marco Polo Classic Film Music Series has restored bars of music previously taken out, and returned to the original full orchestration the score deserves. Don't buy this old, almost tinny recording when an infinitely better rendition awaits you.
It is available through Amazon. Play the previews and hear the difference!
The Adventures of Robin Hood, film score
Composed by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Performed by Moscow Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by William T. Stromberg

The Adventures of Robin Hood set the standard for action/adventure films nearly 70 years, and the score by Erich Wolfgang Korngold equals that high standard. The music so perfectly complements the scenes of the film that it's hard to imagine one without the other. Just hearing "Robin Enters The Great Hall" conjurs up the wonderful image of Errol Flynn confidently striding into the banquet at Nottingham Castle, deer draped over his shoulders and confronting Prince John and his minions. "Ambush in Sherwood" is so brilliantl, mixing the light and airy passages of Guy of Gisbourne's unsuspecting group with the frantic preparations of the Merry Men in the forest, culminating in Robin's marvelous swing across the forest. When I hear this selection, I can hear Flynn at the end..."Welcome to Sherwood my lady. What, Sir Guy? No greeting from you?"

A wonderful CD.

Steve

The soundtrack for 'The Adventures of Robin Hood' is outstanding. You can almost see in your mind what action is taking place. Korngold did numerous scores for various movies, but none as great as the ones starring Errol Flynn.

In order to understand the score to "Robin Hood," you must first venture back years earlier to Korngold's childhood in Vienna. As a boy, his talents had shown themselves quite early. At the age of five, he was a good enough pianist to perform in public (and he was mostly self-taught at that!), by six or seven, he was composing, and, most astonishingly of all, had developed a completely mature and instantly recognizable style by the age of nine, a feat unprecedented in all music history (even by Mozart!). His compositions were soon after picked up by the musical luminaries of the time, including Mahler, R. Strauss and Schnaebel among others, as well as by an unusually enthusiastic public. As a teenager, he was producing masterpiece after masterpiece, often getting praise from the critics (who had nicknamed him "the second Mozart") and audiences alike. It is ironic, therefore, that the early work that this award-winning score was primarily based on, the Sursum Corda Overture (written when the composer was 21-22), had proved actually to be his first all around public failure. It was, in fact, booed off the stage three times and considered too radical and modern. Additionally, its complex orchestration made it one of the most difficult pieces to play in the repetoire. He was derided for attempting to imitate R. Strauss' tone poems, whereupon one critic went as far as saying that Strauss wasn't even good enough to copy, and also for his complex rhythmic structure which called for a seemingly constant bombardment of meter changes. But (thank goodness!), this work may now be returned to a hopefully more savvy public in the guise of "Robin Hood," and perhaps eventually, Sursum Corda itself will be able to lay claim to its rightful place in the regular orchestral repetoire.

This is a masterful CD of some of the most popular film music of all time. Like the movie, this movie music doen't age; it is still fresh, rousing, thrilling, and romantic, in other words everything you would want for music portraying the same themes. Eric Wolfgang Korngold was a great composer in movies and so-called more serious "classical" music. I have been of the opinion that certain great composers like Korngold write scores for the movies as good or better than their serious scores. This CD shows how the music can carry and add to the power of the legendary story of Robin Hood. Korngold, of course, wrote many other wonderful scores for adventure films, such as The Sea Hawk and Captain Blood, all vehicles that made Errol Flynn a movie star. He raised the bar for quality film music and many composers have followed his example. This is one my all time favorite film scores, one I remember from my youth, music to sword fight by or joust by, music of Lincoln Green, Will Scarlet, Maid Marian, Little John, and Richard the Lion-Hearted, music of gilimmering castles and archery contests set to rows of golden trumpets announcing the competitors. It will always be a special score for those stirred by medieval customs and valiant knights, a score that stirs the blood and the spirit. Buy this CD and step backward in time. Korngold's score is that good.