Reviews: Bernard Herrmann: Music from Hitchcock Films
Mark Koldys, American Record Guide, American Record Guide
The MHS Review 401, VOL. 12, NO.5 • 1988
Psycho (A Narrative for Orchestra); Marnie; North by Northwest; A Portrait of "Hitch" (from The Trouble with Harry); Vertigo: Prelude; The Nightmare; Scene d'amour. London Philharmonic Orchestra; Bernard Herrmann, Conductor.
One of the first of the modern series of film music recordings (aside from the usual "original sound track" releases) was this Phase-4 stereo collection of Bernard Herrmann classics. And classics they are, imbued with the individuality that marks this composer's style.
Musically, there is nothing here that is without interest. Top honors, however, must go to the 14-minute "narrative" derived from Psycho. For this black-and-white film, Herrmann decided on a black-and-white sound: strings only. The work, brilliantly conceived, is pure tension, from the first note to the last. Equally effective are the Overture to North by Northwest, a kaleidoscopic orchestral fandango, and the droll Portrait of Hitch, a pluperfert sonic portrait of the man who inspired all of these scores.
The remaining items are no less worthy musically, but their impact suffers from the composer's predominantly sluggish tempos. So the music from Vertigo, by turns mystical and romantic, sounds earthbound; and the neurotic emotions of Marnie are compromised (although the fox hunt comes off well).
London would devote more care and attention to later Herrmann recordings (once their popularity became apparent), but this first of the series was not even released as part of their classical line. The studio acoustic is dry in the extreme, which works against Marnie and Vertigo in particular. But the sound is otherwise vivid and loaded with presence, and better on this 47-minute CD than on any previous incarnation.
There is much more Herrmann from London that deserves CD availability, and the best way to urge MHS to continue to mine those rich vaults is to buy this one.
Psycho (A Narrative for Orchestra); Marnie; North by Northwest; A Portrait of "Hitch" (from The Trouble with Harry); Vertigo: Prelude; The Nightmare; Scene d'amour. London Philharmonic Orchestra; Bernard Herrmann, Conductor.
One of the first of the modern series of film music recordings (aside from the usual "original sound track" releases) was this Phase-4 stereo collection of Bernard Herrmann classics. And classics they are, imbued with the individuality that marks this composer's style.
Musically, there is nothing here that is without interest. Top honors, however, must go to the 14-minute "narrative" derived from Psycho. For this black-and-white film, Herrmann decided on a black-and-white sound: strings only. The work, brilliantly conceived, is pure tension, from the first note to the last. Equally effective are the Overture to North by Northwest, a kaleidoscopic orchestral fandango, and the droll Portrait of Hitch, a pluperfert sonic portrait of the man who inspired all of these scores.
The remaining items are no less worthy musically, but their impact suffers from the composer's predominantly sluggish tempos. So the music from Vertigo, by turns mystical and romantic, sounds earthbound; and the neurotic emotions of Marnie are compromised (although the fox hunt comes off well).
London would devote more care and attention to later Herrmann recordings (once their popularity became apparent), but this first of the series was not even released as part of their classical line. The studio acoustic is dry in the extreme, which works against Marnie and Vertigo in particular. But the sound is otherwise vivid and loaded with presence, and better on this 47-minute CD than on any previous incarnation.
There is much more Herrmann from London that deserves CD availability, and the best way to urge MHS to continue to mine those rich vaults is to buy this one.