Quo Vadis & Ben-Hur [IMPORT] [SOUNDTRACK]

Miklos Rozsa (Composer), Miklós Rózsa (Conductor), National Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra)

Product Details

• Orchestra: National Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Miklós Rózsa
• Composer: Miklos Rozsa
• Audio CD (July 2, 2007)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Import, Soundtrack
• Label: Dutton Labs UK
• ASIN: B000KLNQ64
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #75,737 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Prelude

2. Marcus and Lygia

3. Fertility Hymn

4. Burning of Rome

5. Petronius' Banquet - Meditation and Death

6. Ave Caesar

7. Chariot Chase

8. Assyrian Dance

9. Aftermath (Death of Peter - Death of Poppae - Nero's Suicide)

10. Hail Galba

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Fanfare to Prelude - Star of Bethlehem - Adoration of the Magi

2. Friendship

3. Burning Desert

4. Arrius' Party

5. Rowing of the Galley Slaves

6. Parade of the Charioteers

7. Mother's Love

8. Return to Judea

9. Ring for Freedom

10. Leper's Search for the Christ

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Film score fans will enjoy this, July 7, 2007

By	Larry VanDeSande (Mason, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

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You probably know if you'll enjoy this before buying it since you've probably heard these selections before or heard short suites of the films on other Rozsa CDs. If none of that applies, this new 2-CD set constitutes about 40 minutes' music each from a pair of religious epics, "Quo Vadis" (1950) and "Ben Hur" (1957), with the composer conducting all the music that accompanied the films.

There are 12 selections from each film score; the music from each film is alloted one CD. Considering they could have gotten the entire thing onto one SACD or, by marginally increasing the speed of the recordings, onto one standard CD, this becomes something of an expensive proposition for barely more than 80 minutes of music.

Still, it is the original scores for the two movies, making these definitive recordings. Dutton Laboratories took the original London Phase 4 tapes and remastered them for these CDs. I did not notice much difference in terms of fidelity from the selections of "Ben Hur" and "Quo Vadis" I heard on Angel's "Film Scores of Miklos Rozsa" CD. The main advantage is completion, meaning the vocal scores with wordless choruses are also included.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus and the National Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus do the playing and singing. Alan Hamer of the Miklos Rozsa Society gives you five pages of notes on the production, Rozsa, and the scores. They give newcomers information about why this composer wrote such wonderful film scores during the golden age of religious epics on the big screen. The back page also includes a visual advertisement for other film scores available from Vocalion. All in all, fans of Rozsa won't be disappointed.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Terrific!, August 21, 2007

By	Steven Schwartz (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I second everything Larry wrote, except I give it five stars. For one thing, the original Ben-Hur soundtrack album is significantly bettered by the composer's remake on London/Decca -- better orchestra, better sound -- and add to this you get more of the score. Quo Vadis, probably less known, is an even bigger knockout of a score, and, again, you get more than stingy little excerpts. On the other hand, the two-CD price *is* annoying.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best of the Best, March 15, 2008

By	J. A. Retzer (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first became aware of this recording in the mid-1980's when I stumbled across the LP version of the QUO VADIS score. It quickly became one of my favorites. I have searched and searched for it on CD ever since.

Rozsa's seminal score for this grand-daddy of all Biblical epics is one of the lost treasures of film scoring. From the massive chimes and chorus of the Main Title, through the crushing brass of the burning of Rome to the whispered chorus and organ of the finale -you could not ask for a better textbook introduction to the art of film scoring or the works of Miklos Rozsa.

This CD presents both the QUO VADIS and BEN HUR re-recordings on separate discs of this two-CD set. Both discs have a running time of about 44 minutes each -for a total of just over 88 minutes.