Intrada Soundtrack Forum

March 06, 2001

Battle Of Neretva
Composed & Conducted by Bernard Herrmann
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Southern Cross SCCD 5005
Total Time = 35:00

An important score, often neglected by Herrmann fans. Why?

This one shows both Herrmann's grand, imposing style and his rare lyrical side. It's got powerful brass, churning action, marches going forward, marches in retreat, elegiac strings, lots of pretty stuff. And it's more thematic than usual too.

There's a lot more than meets the ear, so to speak. It's worth multiple plays. Yet it's rarely mentioned when Herrmann's name comes up.

This newly remixed and remastered issue makes the music readily available again. Hopefully fans will go for it this time around. There's an oddity though. More later.

It was a pretty routine war movie. The edited version I saw as a teenager anyway. There's a three-hour cut somewhere, made in 1970. What I saw was less than two hours. Safe to say something got mangled in the story somewhere. I kind of recall thinking Yul Brynner was good and Franco Nero wasn't. And I recall thinking the music was great and looked for the record. There wasn't one.

It wasn't until around 1975 that John Lasher's ultra-select label made an album of Herrmann's music. What a great album too!

One of the most striking things in this score is the dramatic use of minor keys. The main theme is in a minor key, the melody outlines a basic minor chord. Most of the harmonies are minor. The marches are minor-keyed, ditto the retreat. The main action motif hammers about within a minor third. Even some of the pretty music is minor keyed.

Herrmann wasn't being particularly strident, dissonant. Just minor-keyed. It's a stark, dramatic approach for a war movie score.

There's plenty of contrast too. Less harmonically than dynamically. The massive, unrelenting sound of percussion and brass drive loud cues deep into the red zone. But quiet, haunting passages for strings melt the heat entirely. Herrmann manages to bring a degree of warmth and sorrow into the battle. By using variants of major thematic ideas during these quiet parts he brings coherency to the work as a whole. It's remarkable.

When Herrmann's intent is conflict and battle he relies less on dissonance than on a ferocity of unison snippets, repeated rhythmic figures, sheer volume. Loud, forceful brass blaring in unison over pounding drums. It's interesting that Herrmann reduced the color and variety of percussion in this score from his usual, instead spotlighting the few parts in density with increased players. There's snare drum, bass drum, tam-tam, timpani. Limited in color maybe, not power. The sound of multiple snares is unforgettable.

"Prelude" opens with those pounding drums, plus jabbing low brass. A theme for Tito's partisan army, played in minor, quickly enters on French horns. It weaves up and down, rises and falls. Soon unison brass fanfares identify Hitler's army. And always, those unrelenting drums. It's a war.

"The Retreat" begins with nothing but minor chords in muted brass. A new melody emerges, the partisan theme in disguise. Also in minor, also rising and falling.

"Separation" moves away from the battle, but not the war. Harmonies in minor thirds highlight yet a new theme, low bass figures recalling the war. A love theme, it stays sad, modest in register. Immediately following, and in beautiful contrast, is "From Italy". A thematic high point, this second love theme is characterized by violins moving in thirds throughout. And this time it's in major! However, testament to Herrmann's skill, this theme discreetly moves to a minor key near the end. Musically, it's a profound way of keeping this new, brighter theme within established borders.

Variants of the brass Hitler fanfares propel "Chetnik's March". Again, percussion hammers above all. In contrast to earlier war cues, here drums play not a cadence but forceful punctuation figures, exclamation points. Rhythmic interest is provided by an ostinato in low woodwinds and by the melodic line itself. It's a striking effect.

Other highlights.

A powerful variant on the partisan theme (this time harmonized!) drives the "Partisan March" against dramatic percussion figures. This version stands out, developing the tune somewhat, extending the line into slightly more heroic territory.

A powerful unison horn figure opens "The Turning Point". A key piece in the score, this music brings a clash of several important ideas into a massive five-minute battle. Brass and percussion dominate.

And a genuine high point. The "Victory" finale. To close his score Herrmann pulls out a magnificent "ace-up-his-sleeve". He ends the music in a resounding major key! With so few major chords behind it, this fortissimo conclusion of triumphant brass and percussion stands out with honor. It's pretty impressive.

This new issue has richer sound, not as harsh as previous lp and cd releases. Strings are warmer, brass less strident. Bass drum and timpani reveal particular improvements. BATTLE OF NERETVA never sounded so good.

And that one oddity? With such a brilliant coda, identical to the original album to this point, why add a "bonus track" from out in left field? It's not mentioned on any of the printing, not in the track listings anywhere (which are now incorrect by a digit), nor on the label! If you lose the little sticker on the front of the jewel box you'll lose all trace of it. Since printed graphics (including the album number!) are identical to previous cd versions, this "bonus" is really buried. However, you won't need to play it after such a stunning finale.

Just what is this little oddity? A brief, unnecessary "arrangement" of Danica's love theme done by Roland Shaw! What's this about?

Trust me. Stop the player after "Victory" and let Herrmann have the last word.

It's his music.

March 13, 2001

The 3 Worlds Of Gulliver
Composed by Bernard Herrmann
Joel McNeely Conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Varese Sarabande 302 066 162 2
Total Time = 49:56

Herrmann again. Popular these days, and with good reason. Talent. On this one he did three scores in one.

THE 3 WORLDS OF GULLIVER was the second of four Ray Harryhausen/Bernard Herrmann collaborations. Lacking Harryhausen's usual array of fantastic creatures the movie seems minor in his career. But it's got one of the strongest stories. Jonathan Swift, of course.

Jack Sher did double duty as director and co-writer. He divided his movie into three basic parts, though not equally. Gulliver in his own world. Gulliver in Lilliput. Gulliver in Brobdingnag.

Gulliver's a doctor in 18th century England. He plans on marrying sweetheart Elizabeth, buying a cottage, settling down. Instead he signs on as surgeon with a ship headed for the East Indies. He's washed overboard during a storm, wakes up in Lilliput.

The movie wastes little time on the setting. It's a Harryhausen movie and audiences want effects. So in no time there's Gulliver the giant amongst little people. Then there's Gulliver the tiny in a world of giants.

Herrmann's music is essential to all three parts of the movie. In part one, pomp and pageantry identify England, the empire. Strings and pastorale sounds evoke home, Elizabeth. Lilliput has "tiny" music, Brobdingnag gets "big" stuff. Orchestral color and dynamics are extreme.

Herrmann's "Overture" is scored for full orchestra and skillfully blends all three elements. The ceremonial British sound starts. A half minute later Herrmann puts us in Lilliput. Then briefly in Brobdingnag.

A "Minuetto" frames the 18th century locale, scored for strings, oboe and horn in pairs. "The Lovers" introduces a romantic line for strings. These ideas keep part one of the movie rooted in reality and recur in several early cues.

When "The Storm" sends Gulliver overboard, the main theme gets tossed about in minor. On top of things, Herrmann throws his primary material out to sea for awhile as well.

Lilliput is scored for a totally different group. Brass, woodwinds and percussion dominate. But here Gulliver is a giant amongst little people. Seeking a "tiny" sound, Herrmann emphasizes toy drum effects and mutes the brass. Particularly striking are three trumpets playing with different mutes. Straight mutes retain vibrancy but diminish volume. Cup mutes diminish volume and mellow the sound. Herrmann has the players trade notes amongst each other, alternating between the subtle colors. Hear it during "The King's March", "The Fight" and "War March".

Gulliver performs great feats for the Lilliputians, clearing forests, catching fish. Herrmann finally reprises colors from part one, almost. The stately English feel is captured, but with a new tune. And when Herrmann does reprise the main theme he reduces the sound to his "toy" orchestra. It's a neat way of unifying parts one and two while keeping colors unique.

Brobdingnag. The third part, the part I like best. Low brass dominate.

When Gulliver leaves Lilliput he's again beached in a new world. Giants this time. He appears in the sand, accompanied by high strings and serene French horns during "The Beach". The mood's broken swiftly by the appearance of Glumdalclitch, a girl towering forty or fifty feet higher than Gulliver! Her "Shadow" introduces all new material, a bigger, darker sound. Trombones, tuba and lower woodwinds predominate.

Herrmann here fashions a theme of sorts out of massive shifting major chords. It's one of the highlights of the score. Another comes with "The Chess Game". Here Gulliver moves giant chess pieces in contest with the King. Low woodwinds and horn provide a blanket of sound over which tuba plays a variant of the new material.

The only "creatures" allowed in the story come during this third part. A squirrel. A really big squirrel, actually. And a crocodile. "The Squirrel" uses a favorite Herrmann device. Descending scales over rhythmic triplet figures. "The Crocodile" generates a more animated mood, part playful, part dangerous. As Herrmann linked parts one and two, here he unifies parts two and three. He keeps his brass muted throughout, imitating Gulliver's relative small size amongst giants, musically linked with Lilliput.

Gulliver finds Elizabeth in Brobdingnag too. Herrmann reprises their love theme in "Duo", scored entirely for strings.

Gulliver and Elizabeth eventually get back to England. So does Herrmann.

Varese Sarabande presents the score in a brand new recording conducted by Joel McNeely and played by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. It's a clean, dynamic recording, recommended. But not without some reservations. The performance is fine but I would have enjoyed more attention to the subtle details with Lilliput. Perhaps creating directional effects with trumpets, emphasizing different muted colors, so forth. Here everything seems more straightforward.

Packaging indicates a single day for recording the entire score. Conditions like that leave little time for preparing subtle nuance. Still, details do come through. Tiny figures in harp, percussion, xylophone are crisp, well played. Tempos match the original picture performance very well. Liner notes focus on the composer and his activities at the time. There are virtually no notes about the restoration of the music or the recording itself.

It's not often you get three scores in one. Leave it to Herrmann.

March 20, 2001

Enemy At The Gates
Composed and Conducted by James Horner
Sony Classical/Sony Music Soundtrax SK 89522
Total Time = 76:39

1942. Germany invades Russia.

Stalin orders the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) to be held at any cost. The Nazis soon find themselves battling the same adversary Napoleon once fought. Russian winter.

The Battle of Stalingrad was one of the most important battles of World War II. Germany suffered its greatest defeat in history. In February 1943, the Nazis went in retreat. They never recovered.

During the battle, a real-life Russian sniper rose to prominence, boosted morale. Germany countered with a sniper of their own. A personal battle within a bigger battle. This story forms the core of ENEMY AT THE GATES.

I'm anxious to see it when it opens. Word ahead of time is mixed, but I'm up for it. James Horner certainly was.

People sometimes ask how film music can be discussed without seeing the movie first. That's what it's for. It's reason for being.

Yes. As film music. But as music in my living room, without pictures, that's something else. Now it's abstract. It's Copland's ballet music without dance. It's Puccini's operas without costume. It's Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker without a sugarplum fairy. And it works just fine.

Sometimes.

Great film composers fashion music that serves a movie now, plays by itself later. If the movie score is a series of short cues, ideas to simply illustrate specific gestures on screen, maybe the music by itself is tame, unrewarding. But if the composer can lay a foundation, build his composition, work with it. That's something else. And it's a treat.

James Horner may be the most symphonic of composers today. He no longer attempts to mirror specific actions, the "mickey mouse" approach. His music scores moods, images as a whole. More than any other composer Horner writes substantial cues, movements, whole pieces where you can hear structure and development. If the vernacular isn't always wholly original the treatment is. Horner is composing for film the way one approaches a symphony. There are big ideas and little ones. They relate to each other! Openings are planned out, subsequent ideas get presented with logic, endings are literate, profound.

So it is with James Horner's ENEMY AT THE GATES. His world is one of Shostakovich and Prokofiev. Colors are vast, the array is huge. Orchestra and chorus, chimes and percussion to bring down the roof.

The first cue ("The River Crossing To Stalingrad") is more than fifteen minutes long! No cut-and-paste job either. It's a magnificent assembly of ideas.

It begins with the tiniest of gestures. High violins, harmony in two parts. A phrase is played then - and this is rare - a pause. Not just a break, a real musical pause. Silence that's part of the music. The violins continue, the silences recur. Already Horner's fashioning music with a game plan.

Most of his primary ideas become part of the movement. There's a rapid triplet figure, heard first against a descending chromatic line in the bass. Despair, defeat from the get go. There's an anthem, the main theme. The chorus, percussion, all get their say. Fragments of a tune on trumpet foreshadows another important theme coming later in the score.

It's a big cue. Rhythms appear, the massive weight of armies and war. When it's played through, in brilliant fashion, Horner brings it all back down to those violins in two parts. Then down to a single soloist on one note. Wow!

An important device is Horner's shaping of themes. They're almost always stepwise, moving from one note to the next, up or down. They rarely leap in intervals. The triplet motif, the anthem, the secondary theme, all move around by steps.

While it's been touched on through several cues Horner finally exposes his secondary theme on clarinet with track six, "Bitter News". Dramatically, it's heard without introduction, without harmony or accompaniment of any sorts. Minor chords enter, the mood darkens. Later the line is repeated in two part harmony, bringing unity with the original opening violin idea.

The triplet figure is developed during "The Tractor Factory". While other ideas are touched upon, the triplet takes front and center. Sometimes alone, sometimes with the descending chromatic line, always close at hand. Late in the cue French horns play in two parts. More unity. It all climaxes with a crash of the tam-tam.

The highlights are many. This is a massive, major work. There are themes, developments, crescendos, intimacies, rampages, thunder. You name it.

It all probably comes down to Horner's finale. The secondary melody starts it. The main theme takes it across the finish line. With chorus in front, Horner lets the material soar. A variant of the secondary theme in violins leads to a series of rich string chords. The secondary theme again tries to assume importance, again on clarinet.

This time it does. With flute and chorus joining, it moves towards conclusion. Then Horner brings solo trumpet into view. He reduces things. Soon it's solo horn over chimes. Then, finally low strings in unison.

I've said it before and it's evident here. No composer working in film today concludes a score with such care, such musical reward. It's a business where most composers deliver cut-and-paste finales, building simple medleys from earlier cues with jarring edits. Long scores, sometimes really good ones too, come to uninspired "made-on-the-fly" conclusions.

But James Horner takes his movie music to another level. He presents his finished composition with dignity. He's saying if you stick with his stuff for an hour or so, he'll tell you a story, finish all the chapters, close the book.

That counts for a lot with me.

March 27, 2001

Cleopatra
Composed and Conducted by Alex North
Varese Sarabande 302 066 224 2 (2-Disc Set)
Total Time = 151:01

Lots came out this week but it's impossible not to single this one out.

Even without musical skill one can appreciate the sheer magnitude of CLEOPATRA. What an enormous amount of material! Big themes and little themes, tiny motifs that grow important, complex harmonies, a sophisticated vocabulary. There's structure, development. Were more film scores this great, important music scholars would champion the art.

But there aren't and they don't.

Comparisons to SPARTACUS are natural. Both are massive compositions about the Roman Empire. Interestingly, the former covers Rome just before Julius Caesar's reign, the latter captures the end of it. John Gavin plays him young, Rex Harrison plays him old.

It's also interesting to note SPARTACUS begins with a powerful main title, ends with a powerful coda. CLEOPATRA starts with a gentle, unassuming main title, ends in a whisper. Whereas SPARTACUS shows the power and barbarity of Rome, CLEOPATRA shows its infrastructure and vulnerability.

North divides his music into roughly two halves. Cleopatra and Caesar. Cleopatra and Antony. Half one sees Cleopatra with ambition, seeking marriage, an alliance between Egypt and Rome. Half two sees her sacrifice, falling hopelessly, tragically in love with Antony. From these two halves North subdivides his material further. He first addresses Roman might, Rome under Julius Caesar. Later he scores an empire divided in dispute, torn between Mark Antony and Octavian.

These are ambitious goals, and it's impressive that North succeeds. Part of the success comes from North's own thematic structure. It's very interesting that while he has a main theme for Cleopatra, he doesn't rely on a "theme and variations" approach. With material this size North instead sews something of a quilt. Additional themes have major importance, often beginning at key points in the story. Each idea gets introduction and development. There's a balance between music for the main characters and events taking place around them. And music for battles and set pieces share ideas with music for characters, creating a cohesive overall work.

Analyzing CLEOPATRA's music in depth would take more room, certainly more inertia than I have. Instead I'll just make random points, then highlight my favorite part.

Cleopatra's theme begins as a gentle line for alto flutes, accompanied by harpsichord. Though tender, it's not a love theme, rather a simple, direct melody addressing Cleopatra the queen, Cleopatra the ruler, Cleopatra the diplomat. By introducing it in minor, North also makes her vulnerable.

North has a theme for Egypt, Cleopatra's world separate from Rome. Forming the bulk of North's "Overture" this jagged melody appears in key sections where Cleopatra plays ruler or diplomat. It's brought into the score proper as she rolls from a carpet at Caesar's feet. Nothing's occurred yet between her and Caesar, Antony is yet to be. North simply announces Egypt appearing at Rome's doorstep. It's heard again during Cleopatra's spectacular parade into Rome, again when she later returns via barge.

The movie introduces Rome in civil war with Caesar as conqueror of rival general Pompey. Interestingly, Egypt and Cleopatra are introduced in similar fashion. It's also civil war, between Ptolemy and Cleopatra, for the throne of Egypt. Early sections of the score use low strings to suggest turmoil within both countries. Low strings underscore Ptolemy, and Caesar's displeasure with him. Even fanfares announcing various armies utilize dark, dissonant harmonies. There's a grim, somber feel to this first chapter of North's score.

It's very interesting to note Caesar hasn't his own strong theme, rather music used for events happening about him, around him, because of him. Strong ideas underscore his illness (epilepsy), his frail and barren wife (Calpurnia), his assassination. This last event is particularly notable. The famous stabbing occurs through a vision displayed to Cleopatra, her theme begins the music. Portrayed as horror, the music increases in density, finally shrieking with trumpets and horns in extreme high registers.

Anyway, to my favorite music. The Mark Antony stuff. There's lots of it, including a love theme for him and Cleopatra, but the one for me is the regal line for Antony as noble avenger of Caesar's death. It's an angular theme identifying Roman might but North uses it primarily for Antony, linking him directly with that power. It's heard in brief, sometimes disguised quotes several times before emerging in full. North literally lets Antony rise in prominence from background to foreground. It begins "Calpurnia". A quick variant on trumpets comes early in "Cleopatra Enters Rome", a solemn quote on tuba occurs during "Death In The Garden". A big quote in full brass opens "Requiem", partially disguised by strident harmonies.

But it takes command after Caesar is slain. Antony addresses crowds wishing him to assume leadership. Midway through "Hail Antony" the brass play an ascending line of chords. Appropriate. Then, for me, everything in the entire score comes down to Antony's moment of glory. His angular line becomes a triumphant moment for French horns and strings in unison, emerging from the massive chords. Soon it divides into two-part harmony, Copland-like. Against it are more massive chords, thick and complex, hailing from the orchestra. Mark Antony at the top of the world!

Of course, Cleopatra and Antony fall in love. Ambition falls by the wayside, as does honor. In fact, virtually everything will be lost. Having drawn Antony in such broad, triumphant colors, North now gives him somewhere to go. Down.

Much is made of a theme representing Antony's fall. It's first appearance is certainly dramatic. During the lengthy sea battle of Actium it roars in on French horns in unison. Antony, now allied with Egypt, engages in naval combat with Rome and Octavian. Cleopatra, fearing the worst, leaves by barge in the distance. Antony sees her, deserts his men and follows. The line, replete with twists, turns and trills, plays ahead to the outcome. In fact, it carries much of the remaining score. Eventually it becomes the musical centerpiece of Antony's own attempts to die an honorable death.

North closes the score proper by returning to his initial Egyptian theme, then Cleopatra's theme. The score comes full circle. For playout music, North lets people exit to his love theme for Antony and Cleopatra, a love story passionate and timeless.

Varese Sarabande hits one of their proudest moments here. All two and a half hours of music are presented, in stereo. Three important, prolific experts in restoring and producing soundtracks combine forces to make it all happen. Ace producer Robert Townson is expert on North, the man and the music. Here he also designs an informative, attractive booklet to chronicle extensive notes on the movie and the composer, the music and the restoration. Nick Redman leads the pack in restoring classic soundtracks. He finds them, fixes them, makes them happen. Lukas Kendall brings considerable experience in preparing such music for listening. So quality on this one is assured.

It's a magnificent package with countless musical highlights. Enough for anyone interested in 20th century music to find reward.

My favorite part was Antony's triumph. What's yours?