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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magic Music "Undeserved" By The Film!, December 24, 2007
1. Folks, this is flat-out BEAUTIFUL music. And it's another one-of-a-kind classic-film score restoration and recording masterpiece from the Messer. John Morgan and William Stromberg. (How do they keep doing this? Topping each of their previous CDs with yet a better one!)
2. Classic-film composer Bernard Herrmann's usual style was to reach out and grab the listener by the forelock. But the music here is seemingly unlike anything previously written for the cinematic screen by Mr. Herrmann. More for concert halls of the future than for art-house movie theaters of the past. Although FAHRENHEIT 451 (1966) is a sci-fi film (or tries to be), Mr. Herrmann's score is far from and far above "typical" sci-fi music from yesteryear or today. It is a breath taking, haunting, and acoustically gorgeous, delicate creation as fully realized on this CD release. The music and the film reside in drastically different universes.
3. This recording is one of the two kick-off releases from a new CD label--Tribute Film Classics (the other release is Mr. Hermann's starling score for MYSTERIOUS ISLAND[1961]). Tribute's star line up is one of a kind: classic-film score Restoration/Arrangement Masters John Morgan and William Stromberg with Maestro Stromberg on the conducting podium for starters.
4. Once again, the conductor is at one with the orchestra (as is his custom). Orchestral performance is superb. It sounds like much rehearsal time (instrumentalist by instrumentalist) preceded the final product. Sound engineering and editing are also first rate.
5. The CD booklet is a special treat. It is extensive and contains at least one surprising revelation. Restoration Master John Morgan's "Recording Notes" kicks things off. As usual, Morgan's contribution makes for a fascinating albeit frustrating read. His description of having to stick together bits and pieces of paper containing Herrmann's original score sheets (the composer had cut the score up--literally--to rearrange and shorten cues for a suite) is fascinating; but Morgan's brief contribution is frustrating (please sir, more!). Kevin Scott's track descriptions are outstanding, but he does tend to wonder a bit off topic and into the academic realm now and then. Ray Bradbury reveals how he got Herrmann his scoring commission for the film shortly after the composer was canned by Alfred Hitchcock (for those only recently returned from a stay in a colony on Mars, Bradbury wrote "Fahrenheit 451" some 13 years earlier).
6. The CD also includes music from a THE TWILIGHT ZONE episode called "Walking Distance." A pleasant bonus.
7. This recording could very well result in not one, but three sell outs--the film-score CD, reprints of the story, and newly-pressed DVDs of the film!
William F. Flanigan, Jr., Ph.D.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Herrmann music, October 6, 2008
This re-creation of Bernard Herrmann's score for Fahrenheit 451, along with the bonus recording of Herrmann's Walking Distance, is a must-have for fans of this great film music composer.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A revelation!, October 4, 2008
Hermann fans, rejoice! This is a truly spectacular CD -- the sound quality is amazing, the performance is terrific, and listening to it the first time was as if I'd only ever heard it before with cotton in my ears. And, as the other reviewer stated, the booklet is very detailed and full of interesting information. Yes, it's expensive, but worth it.
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