The Private Lives Of Elizabeth & Essex: World Premiere Recording Of The Complete Score (1939 Film) [SOUNDTRACK]

Erich Wolfgang Korngold (Composer)

Product Details

• Composer: Erich Wolfgang Korngold
• Audio CD (March 10, 1998)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B0000060DY
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #330,166 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Suite One: Elizabeth and Essex

2. Suite Two: The Queen

3. Suite Three: Reconciliation

4. Suite Four: Ireland

5. Suite Five: Essex Returns

6. Suite Six: The Tower of London

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Extensive, But Not The Greatest, January 12, 2002

By	William F. Flanigan Jr. (North Potomac, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the most complete rendering of Korngold's film symphony
in a modern recording. (By the way, the composer is NOT the
conductor; the recording was conducted by Carl Davis and
performed by the Munich Symphony Orchestra.) The CD stands alone
in this regard, but there are other CDs out there that are vastly
superior, albeit more abridged. Essentially, Mr. Davis' version
suffers from impoverished diversity of instrumentation
(especially for non-string instruments) and yields a rather flat,
two-dimensional performance (most notably in the center). Sure I
would buy this one, but I would also get: (1) Elizabeth and
Essex; BMG RCA Victor GD80185, 1973; conducted by Charles
Gerhardt; performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra
(simply superb); (2) The Film Music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold;
DCC Compact Classics GZS-1094, 1996; conducted by Lionel
Newman and Kurt Graunke; performed by an uncredited sixty-piece
orchestra (also superb); and (3) The Mark of Zorro - Swordsmen of
the Silver Screen; Silva America SSD 3010, 1997; conducted by
Paul Bateman; performed by The City of Prague Philharmonic (most
excellent).

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Korngold shows why he was an icon composer", April 9, 2002

By	J. Lovins "Mr. Jim" (Missouri-USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Varese Sarabande present the complete score in chronological order...the loves and hates of
the two main characters are expressed through the brilliant score of this legendary icon, Erich
Wolfgang Korngold...nominated for Best Score of 1939 by the Academy (Max Steiner's -
"Gone With The Wind took the oscar), previous Korngold scores include "Captain Blood",
"The Sea Hawk" and "Kings Row", all with the signature sound that gave the audience a
Korngold music thrill.

Korngold saw "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex" as an ideal "opera without singing",
with its two primary characters became virtually a theatre piece, with orchestration to live
for...a love affair between Queen Elizabeth I (Bette Davis) and the Second Earl of Essex
(Errol Flynn) is forced to choose between her Kingdom and Lover, Davis and Flynn give
memorable performances, but nothing can compare to the unusally complex, detailed
arrangements blending passages with saxophones, two harps, a piano, a spinet, a vibraphone
and harmonium...perfection is the only word that comes to mind, brilliant symphonic strings,
woodwinds, brass and percussion abound, this is "Pure Korngold" at his greatest
hour...always referring to his film scores as "my little operas without singing"...the likes we will
never see again!

Total Time: 65:43 on 6 Tracks ~ Varese Sarabande VSD-5696 ~ (1998)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Korngold's Four Best Scores, September 22, 2000

By	G M. Stathis (cedar city, utah USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The film scores of Erich Wolfgang Korngold covered a good deal of varied turf in the 1930s and 1940s, but will probably be best remembered for what they added to four costume-period pieces..."Captain Blood," "The Adventures of Robin Hood," "The Sea Hawk," and "The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex." Korngold's lush music gave these films an added dimension, and did so in ways that many other composers have only been able to envy. This is the first full, or nearly full, recording of "Elizabeth and Essex," and it is one of the best recent recordings of Korngold's music. His score matches the film's personal drama and epic grandeur. Korngold's characteristic flourishes for brass and percussion, and romantic themes for strings are well played here. This may not be the best of the four scores listed ("Robin Hood" and "The Sea Hawk" deserve that praise) but this is Korngold at his best on a fine recording. "Elizabeth and Essex" is not as well known as the other films mentioned, and because of that this score has not had the recognition that it deserves. Sadly, students of film music are still waiting for an equal treatment for "Captain Blood," and another period piece that almost merits this company, Korngold's score for "The Prince and the Pauper." It is interesting that all five of these films were vehicles for that great swashbuckler Errol Flynn, and it would be hard to think of Flynn without Korngold's lavish music