Customer Reviews

Film Scores (Sl)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This album of Bernard Herrmann film scores, performed by Esa-Pekka Salonen and the LA Philharmonic, is truly astounding in the SACD format. Selections range from The Man Who Knew Too Much, to Psycho, from Marnie to Vertigo and from Fahrenheit 451 to Taxi Driver. Listening to this music you discover a power that few composers have been able to inject into their compositions. If you've seen any of the films from which these selections are taken, close your eyes, the movie plays in your mind and you'll realize the extent to which Herrmann was a cinematic musical genius. His music perfectly captured the mood, ambience, story and characters of the movies he scored. This recording is a true delight. Highly Recommended.

The CD that I really want does not exist. The best way, in my humble opinion, to hear the masterfully-composed film scores of Bernard Herrmann, short of watching the magnificent films in which they appear, is to hear the original soundtrack recordings. If somebody would get around to taking the best excerpts from all the films represented on this disc, plus Citizen Kane (of course!) and The Twilight Zone, and rerelease their original versions, now THAT would be the CD to get.

But here is our predicament. You'd have to buy 10 or so CDs to get the original recordings of all this wonderful music. When that is considered, this CD sounds like a great bargain, and in that respect, it is.

The excerpts represented on this disc are the best excerpts, and the playing is accurate and precise. The engineering also receives high marks for having completely clear sound and firmness of bass where the original recordings would not.

The Vertigo represented here is wonderful in its range and the depth of its tenderness, something the original soundtrack aspired to but did not achieve. It reminds me in the best way of Tristan and Isolde, but that's another conversation. The excerpts of Fahrenheit 451 and Taxi Driver are also very well played, especially the latter. The interpretations are in the spirit of the originals, and Salonen is to be commended.

Unfortunately, sometimes he just takes the wrong tempo. The overture to North by Northwest may sound better played faster, louder, and more obstreperously, but the original was smaller, quirkier, full of understated irascible ticks and obsessive weaving. I'm not sure which I like better. The rerecording is not bad, just different. (At high volume, though, it's better!)

The suite that really hit me the wrong way was Psycho. The quieter passages are perfect, but the violently urgent parts, like the overture and The Murder, seem to be played with an ounce of reserve. I realize that's not much, but any reserve can sink what should be complete terror. The players on the original recording sound like they are physically hurting their instruments. Here, they sound like they're only annoying them. However, this may be the result of my eccentric preference for original recordings. I'm used to hearing the Psycho score with scratches and pops and overplaying and mistakes. Maybe Salonen has improved on the original by refining it, but it will take me a while to forget the originals and appreciate these.

Bottom line: the engineering is much better, the playing is more accurate, the selections are superb, and the price is preferable. These benefits outweigh any of my insignificant bickering about the originals, because out of all the CDs you can buy of Bernard Herrmann, this may not be definitive, but it probably is the best we have.

I have known Bernard Hermann's music since my father took me to see 'Mysterious Island' at the age of nine at the local fleapit. I took memories of the score home rather than the flawed movie, witb its tacky special effects. This magnificent CD gives us some of the best of Hermann, played in the enormous orchestral gestures that he demands from his orchestras and fabulously recorded for all fans. Play 'Psycho' and you realise those enormous tensions that had you squirming in your seat were as much Hermann as Hitchcock, Leigh or Perkins. The depiction of the brooding house, the sad shape standing alone, the famous stabbing strokes and those huge jarring chords, falling back in terror, make watching the film almost an optional extra. I read somewhere that Hermann composed orchestrally in his head at first instance, not needing to sort things out on instruments, etc. after he had composed something on piano like most composers. Hearing 'Marnie' with its yearning theme depicting her psychological strain you can believe this. Hermann's music is the biggest sound you can get with the modern symphony orchestra. He composed for 120 pieces, 8 horns, triple woodwind, large battery of percussion, divided massed strings...the whole works and his coloration with this large body is unique. My personal favorie is his use of the brass which he does with more versatility to my mind than any other composer. His melodic gift is of the highest order and his large structures create immense blocks of sound which transport the listener into a mood that is totally different to where they started out at. For me the disc will enable any stranger to the work of this composer of the first magnitude to really appreciate this genius who helped entertain whole populations rather than stick with a cultural elite in the concert hall. His music made rather than supported the action in these movies. I do not believe he compromised his art in any way as every bar seems as authentic as Debussy. Over a hour of joy for the purchaser, nothing more to say!

Usually, the rule is: Stay away from classical music orchestras trying to be convincing in the realm of Hollywood.

Not so for the LA Phil though, and especially not with a daredevil such as EPS! Nobody brings Hermann's music better to life than the ravishing strings in Psycho than EPS and his LA Phil. If they do it, they REALLY DO it! A wonderful and uncompromising approach to Filmmusic!

Total dedication. Go for it.

Psycho, one of my favorite films, is truly a mastepiece, and one of the things that makes the film so outstanding, is Bernard Herrmann's great musical score. This music has been sounding in my ears ever since I watched Psycho for the first time (and I have watched it many times after that) and when I heard about this CD with the music from Psycho and other great films by Hitchcock I didn't hesitate one minute and ordered it right away from Amazon. I was not disappointed. Herrmann is undoubtedly one of the great composers of the 20th century although far too many music lovers have never heard about him. The recording is excellent and Salonen conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic with style and accuracy making it perfectly clear that good film music can stand on its own if the composer is a master of his craft. One of the best CD of the ninetys.

This is interesting, even gripping, music that stands on its own very well. It's atmospheric, without being necessarily programmatic. You don't have to have liked or even to have seen any of these films to be enthralled. Salonen and the Los Angeles peform it with verve and intelligence. After repeated listenings, I'm convinced that Hermann was a major composer, on the edge of but never in thrall to some of the leading movements in 20th century music. He was not a "film composer," a term that still reeks of condescension, despite the fact that Prokofiev, Copland and Shostakovich all worked in the genre; he was an original and important composer who happened to write music for films. If Salonen brings Hermann's music some of the recognition it deserves, then he's performed a valuable service.

This is breathtaking music that's a fantastic inspiration for contemporary musicians/DJs like David Holmes and Dimitri from Paris. Herrmann's ability to create memorable, short motifs prefigures the scratch'n'mix styles of contemporary music. You'll most likely have already heard much of this music as samples. And it's powerfully emotional. A superb recording.

I've wanted a Bernard Herrmann CD for the longest time....I finally settled down and ordered this one. After my first listening I'm hooked! How lucky to have all this incredible music on one CD! I've always loved the PSYCHO and NORTH BY NORTHWEST soundtracks. And VERTIGO is incredible as well. But I was unfamiliar with TORN CURTAIN, FAHRENHEIT 451, and TAXI DRIVER. Herrmann really is a master. This is a very generous CD (I think it's about 37 tracks!) and offers such a range of Herrmann scores. I really enjoyed it, and will continue to.

These recordings are ALL WRONG. The music is pushed and rushed, with Salonen's typical efficiency, but he doesn't let the music or the orchestra BREATHE. Listen to Herrmann conducting this same music and it's VERY clear. Also, in the Torn Curtain cut, the orchestration has been altered, due to the producer being CHEAP. Originally, Herrmann called for NINE trombones, grouped in threes, one open, the other two muted with different mutes, straight and mega. The idea was to produce a kaleidoscopic vamp of three trombone chords of different colors. THIS IS NOT ON THIS RECORDING. The only place to hear it is on the original soundtrack.

Don't waste your money on this. The Taxi Driver music is so sexless it's pathetic. UGH... This is the worst recording of Herrmann's music I own... and I have the SACD...

Stick with the original composer-directed recordings.

Promptly delivered in first rate condition at a fair price! If you have a good subwoofer and like the bass to roll comfortably across the floor either Bernard Herrmann or Wagner on Telarc will convince you that SACD offers a lot more music to both body and ears...