Customer Reviews

Vertigo: Original Motion Picture Score (1995 Re-recording)

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Unlike most composers both before and after, Bernard Herrman was not interested in creating a melodic score reflective of popular music of the time. He instead approached the work as something of a "tone poem" that reflected the uniqueness of each scene and of the film in its totality. From the 1940s through the 1970s his work fueled the power of many famous films such as CITIZEN KANE--but it was really with the legendary director Alfred Hitchcock that he found his best partnership.

VERTIGO is possibly the single most studied American film of the 20th Century, a remarkably complex film that fuses everything from story to color design to create an almost inexhaustible vision of obsession. Not the least of the film's layers are the score, which is regarded as not only one of Herrmann's finest works, but one of the finest film scores in film history.

Much of the score has the dreamy, fluid tone of a calm stream--and Herrmann unexpectedly punctuates the flow to incredible effect with unexpected jabs of sound, sound that sometimes comes as suddenly as an unexpected blow, that sometimes rises from a covertly ominous tone to an overwhelmingly paranoid edge. The overall structure is open-ended, with little in the way of any direction that be considered a resolution.

Two of Herrmann's themes here are particularly famous. The most obvious of these might be termed "the Vertigo Waltz"--a strange, cyclical series of notes that emerges from the background flow and perfectly expresses the film's repeating themes of building obsession, disorientation, and emotional discord. Equally haunting is the "Madeline" theme, which seems based on a four-note, open-ended phrase that rises above everything from the "waltz" to Spanish accents associated with the figure of the long-dead Carlotta. This particular theme has the quality of the human voice calling out in tremendous longing--but without hope of a saving response.

The Varse Sarabande release, which offers the score as recorded by Joel McNeely and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, is very fine in quality. It also includes an extremely well-written and well-researched fourteen page booklet that describes Herrmann's work both here and in other films as well as the film itself. It is an elegant offering, well worth seeking out.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

There has never been a better film composer than the late great Bernard Herrmann.

His work in the 1958 masterpiece "Vertigo" is nothing less than astounding, in its haunting, evocative themes and moods.

Herrmann's work prior to this film was mostly in suspense films, and indeed he created more suspense-oriented music after his work on this film. But "Vertigo" is a memorable score because it suggests emotions to us without reminding us how we're supposed to feel. Although it beautifully coincides with Hitchcock's masterfully crafted visual images, it stands apart as a brilliant and powerful work on its own right.

I am especially fond of the opening titles, which perfectly sets the tone of the film and captures the subsequent feeling of dizzying emotion. "Vertigo" was Hitchcock's most emotionally satisfying and powerful film, underscored with dark themes of one man's unhealthy romantic obsession that made him see the line between fan! tasy and reality when it was all too late.

Pay special attention not only to the opening tracks, but to the "Scene d'Amour," which is the score to the great, extended kiss scene between Kim Novak and James Stewart. It's one of the great moments in cinema history, not simply for the brilliant camera work and special effects, but for Herrmann's effortless ability to masterfully communicate the power, emotion, and message of the scene in an evocative, memorable, ORIGINAL way.

"Vertigo," the movie and the music, one of the cinema's standout efforts. Music, in the movies or anywhere, does not get better than this.

The first of the mighty trifecta of Hitchcock/Herrmann collaborations from 1958-60 (the other two being 'North by Northwest' and 'Psycho'), the score for 'Vertigo' is an out-and-out masterpiece. This was the first Hitchcock film I ever saw, and consequently the first Herrmann score I ever heard, and the impact (even during the Paramount logo before the actual credits!) is tremendous. The unresolved arpeggios and minor-key blasts of brass are both riveting and frightening, perfectly setting up the obsessive descent of the film's protagonist. The whole score revolves around a powerful love theme (heard most fully in the 'Scene d'Amour'), various shades of which would color all the romantic material Herrmann would pen for the rest of his career. Overall, from the downbeat to the final chord, this is as close to perfection as film music gets, and Varese has done it full justice. Although they have generously made the restored original tracks available on a separate album, I think this is the one to get. This was Joel McNeely and the RSNO's first crack at a full-length Herrmann score, and the enthusiasm the conductor has for the material is immediately apparent. Indeed, I think this might be the performance Herrmann himself would prefer, as he was unable to conduct the original cues and expressed some dissatisfaction with them. McNeely has been scrupulously faithful to all of the composer's desired conducting notations, and the result is a more dramatic performance that still replicates the overall sound of the original. (With one or two exceptions, all of McNeely's subsequent re-recordings have been gems.) Add in the detailed liner notes, and this is a first-class album in every department.

Having over the past 10 years owned and listened obsessively (vertigiously?) to this soundtrack in its other incarnations, I must recommend this recording as the ultimate.

Not usually overwhelmed by McNeely and the Royal Scottish National's treatment of Herrmann - though I applaud their efforts, even when they fall short of the mark - I can only say that their Vertigo is overwhelmingly beautiful and powerful, start to finish. And what a start and what a finish!

If you truly love Herrmann, or have never heard this entire score separate from the movie -- accept no substitutes. This is the best of the best!

Herrmann and Hitchcock were definitely two gentlemen that understood each other. The composer was in tune with the whims and fancies of this most skilled storyteller. "Vertigo" ranks as one of the best film scores of all time, sweeping the listener into the complex tale of obsession, lust, and betrayal.

Joel McNeely and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra have lovingly produced as fine a rendition of the classic score as could be made.

Like the film from which it comes, this soundtrack is a masterpiece.

The music in the film "Vertigo" (when I first saw it several years ago) captured me immediately with an enchanting yet chilling opening. Bernard Herrman had an almost spiritual bond with the Hitchcock films he scored and somehow knew precisely what Hitch wanted in each scene. Although the original Herrman recording of the score is the ultimate auditory gem, the masterful re-recording of the score by Joel McNeely's Royal Scottish Orchestra captures the passionate obsession of the film with great flourish. To all fans of "Vertigo" the film and to movie music enthusiasts, I highly recommend this score. The only suggestion I would venture to potential listeners would be to see the film first (of course), as the story greatly intensifies the emotion of the score. Chills run up and down my spine each time I listen to the score. It will never cease to excite me. Bravo!

VERTIGO, composed by Bernard Herrmann and performed by The Royal National Scottish Orchestra, is the most beautiful and thoughtful film scores I have ever heard. The sound is spectacular and once that opening Prelude sounds its first spellbinding notes, the listener is hooked. It is absolutely amazing how a man can actually convey love, terror and suspense through music. That is what Bernard Herrmann has done here. Definitly worth the money. Should be considered the most beautiful music ever composed. Awesome!

The Film music for "Vertigo" ranks as some of the best ever written by one of the best film composers ever, Bernard Herrmann. I regret I lost an old LP of the score but now have the CD and it is a masterpiece, mysterious, other-wordly, beautiful,and moving.Starting with the Prelude, the listener is drawn into this strange story of obsession, murder and lost love. Herrmann weaves in Spanish textures for Carlotta's Portrait and James Stewart's nightmare,when you can hear again a haunting Spanish dance theme and the swirling music of madness. The love theme is one of the most famous in the history of the movies and is gorgeous yet still has an underlining uneasiness in it, that the lovers will be doomed.Herrmann has managed to put this doom and fate into music,and even in the quieter scenes that take place along seashores, art museums, giant tree forests, San Francisco, and Spanish missions. It is as if, as Scotty (Stewart) stalks Madeline (Kim Novak) Herrmann's music stalks the pair also, part of the plot. And again I could not imagine this great movie without the music; so great does it add to the atmosphere, hypnotic, mysterious and sad.Herrman wrote other great scores with Alfred Hitchcock (North by Northwest, Marnie, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Psycho) but "Vertigo" is his greatest score. It has so many admirable qualities and is so evocative that it is almost impossible, on this CD, not to respond to it, even if if you havn't seen the film for a few years. For any sountrack collection, it is a must, a landmark, from one of our greatest film music composers. Highly recommended!

Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 masterpiece "Vertigo" with James Stewart and Kim Novak is one of the most beloved and studied motion pictures of all time despite the mixed reaction it received upon its first release over half a century ago. The movie is extraordinarly absorbing and obsessive and part of this reason is the music score conducted by the great Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann's score for "Vertigo" is hands-down brilliant. It's absorbing, entrancing, and sometimes heart-breakingly beautiful.

Now, in terms of this re-recording done by Joel McNeely, it's a mixed bag. McNeely is a great conductor and the music here sounds wonderful. There's only one problem. It's not faithful to the original conduction by Muir Matheson, which was by far superior. McNeely's recording sounds too modern, like a remake of "Vertigo" and just doesn't have the same passion and wonder that the original did. There are times when it's very good (like the Scotty Trails Madeleine track) and there are times where it's pure disappointment like ending of The Beach track, which was so beautiful in the film and so rushed-forward here. Sometimes the music is too slow or too fast and that's also something I have to complain about.

Of course, the reason more people are lured to this re-recording is because it has more tracks than the original Muir Matheson conduction, which is also available, but with only about half as many cues. So, if you want as much music as you can or if you're a collector like me, then this is recommended. But if you want the original, hauntingly beautiful sound and feeling from the film, avoid.

Bernard Herrmann certainly seems to have understood the essence of Alfred Hitchcock's VERTIGO as he captured the erotic passion and ultimate hopelessness of its characters with his haunting score. Joel McNeely and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra equally have captured that passion with this emotionally powerful recording of Bernard Herrmann's score. This recording is outstanding from both a technical and aesthetic perspective. Having owned this recording for some time now and listened to it to infinitum I still can't help but think that Bernard Herrmann had such a great understanding of the cinema and its power over human emotions, yet it seems to have remained an enigma even for him purely because his music is so haunting as if it were searching for something burning inside all of us to be explained.