National Philharmonic Orchestra
Charles Gerhardt
Classic Film Scores
National Philharmonic Orchestra
Charles Gerhardt
GOOD NEWS!! THESE MAGNIFICENT RECORDINGS ARE
AVAILABLE FROM ARKIVMUSIC. BUY NOW TAGS FOLLOW EACH LISTING
|
The late Charles Gerhardt loved movies and music written for them. His
goal was to record film music in a way that would do full justice to the
scores. After much cajoling Gerhardt was able to convince RCA to give it a try. In 1972
the first LP in
the Classic Film Scores series was issued - The Sea Hawk.. This
LP featured music of Erich
Wolfgang Korngold, distinguished Viennese classical composer who later came to
Hollywood where he wrote music for many major Warner-Bros. films. Always a favorite with Gerhardt, he brings a rare sensitivity to the sweeping
romantic lines of the music as well as bravura to the stirring action/battle
scenes. For all
of the recordings in the series Gerhardt conducted London's
hand-picked National Philharmonic
Orchestra. George Korngold, son of the composer, was producer for
this and remaining recordings in the series. Engineering was by the legendary dean of
the craft, Kenneth Wilkinson. The Sea Hawk was a
brilliant achievement, offering the seldom-encountered combination of interpretive insight, magnificent
performances, and stunning sonics, qualities that continued throughout the entire
series. Those who heard the brilliant
brass fanfares at the beginning of The Sea Hawk were immediately
aware of the glories of film music properly presented. Indeed, the music sounded
infinitely better than it ever did in the movies as often it had to be subdued so
that dialogue
could be heard.
The Classic Film Score series was an enormous success, and eventually consisted of
15 LPs, the first recorded in 1972, the last about a decade later. At the end of this article there is a listing
of complete repertory for each of the CD issues; unfortunately the superb LPs --
which are treasured by audiophiles -- have long disappeared from the
scene. The entire series was recorded analog. However the
outstanding performances brilliantly convey the best of analog sonics. All were made in London's Kingsway Hall, a site known for its ideal
acoustic properties. RCA commissioned Gerhardt to remaster the entire Classic Film Scores series for CD. Anxious to take advantage of CD's extended playing time, and with the consent of RCA, Gerhardt wanted to include music that would not fit onto the LP format. The re-edited, expanded CFS series would then be issued on 12 well-filled CDs including a number of selections of music which Gerhardt had recorded but which had never been issued. On the new CD issues music would be programmed slightly differently, bringing together excerpts that previously were issued on separate disks. This project would delight the hundreds of thousands of collectors who bought the original LPs, as well as creating a new audience among recent generations of collectors.
The Sea Hawk, as re-edited and remastered by
Gerhardt, was issued
on CD by RCA in
May, 1989 (RCA 7890). In notes for this CD, Gerhardt outlines the process he
followed in planning CD issue of the series. The Sea Hawk CD is Gerhardt's expanded
version, quite different from its black disc counterpart -- and from the
second CD version issued less than a year later. The original Sea Hawk LP had
a total playing time of about 51 minutes; CD#1 (1989) is more than 70 minutes. The
suite from The Sea Hawk on LP had a playing time of 6:53; the CD version is
15:35, including excerpts never before released. Of Human Bondage, which on
LP was 4:21, was expanded to 12:24 on CD; Between Two Worlds, originally 5:30,
is 7:30 on CD. Excerpts from Captain Blood, Juarez and Robin Hood
,
on the original LP, are not on the CD as Gerhardt included them on a second Korngold
CD. Gerhardt had plans to continue the series including The Women (Classic Film Scores for the Great Hollywood Actresses), Dodge City (Classic Film Scores for Westerns by Max Steiner), Frankenstein (Classic Film Scores for Horror Films), and Things to Come (Classic Film Scores for Science Fiction Films) as well as separate LPs for music of Victor Young, Elmer Bernstein and Sir William Walton. However, it was not to be. For some reason, in spite of commercial success, RCA decided not to continue the series.
CLASSIC FILM SCORES CDS
RCA/BMG 7890 KORNGOLD: The Sea Hawk - Classic Film Scores of
Erich Wolfgang Korngold. The Sea Hawk (Main
Title; Reunion; Finale). Of Human Bondage (Nora's
Theme). The Adventures of Robin Hood (March of the Merry
Men; Battle). Juarez (Love Theme). Kings Row (Main
Title). The Constant Nymph (Tomorrow, with contralto
Norma Proctor and The Ambrosian Singers). Captain Blood
(Overture). Anthony Adverse (No Father, no Mother, No Name).
Between Two Worlds (Main Title; Mother and Son). Deception (Main
Title). Devotion (The Death of Emily Bronte). Escape
Me Never (Main Title; Venice; March; Love Scene; Finale).
RCA/BMG 0136. Now, Voyager - Classic Film Scores of Max
Steiner
Now, Voyager (Warner Bros. Fanfare and Main Title; Love Scene and
Finale).
King Kong (The Forgotten Island; Natives; Sacrificial Dance; The Gate
of Kong; Kong in
New York). Saratoga Trunk (As Long As I Live). The Charge
of the Light Brigade (Forward
the Light Brigade). Four Wives (Symphonie
Moderne with pianist Earl Wild).
The Big Sleep
(Main Title; Marlowe; Bookshop; Murder; Chase; Love Theme and Finale). Johnny
Belinda
(Suite). Since You Went Away (Main Title). The
Informer (Main Title; Love Scene; Sancta
Maria, with The Ambrosian Singers). The Fountainhead (Main
Title, Dominique's Theme; The Quarry; Construction -- Enright House; Finale --
The Wynand Building). TT: 53:31
(AS OF TODAY (July 17, 2008, this is not yet released by ArkivMusic. As soon as it is available, the Buy Now tag will be listed) This CD offers some of Bernard Herrmann most imaginative music beginning with the rousing "Death Hunt" from On Dangerous Ground in which the National Philharmonic's brass does the near-impossible. The suite from Citizen Kane is well-chosen, with a young Kiri Te Kanawa singing the aria from the opera Salammbo. In the movie this was poorly sung by Kane's wife in an opera production mounted specially for her. Gerhardt decided that Hermann's glorious music should be presented in a first-class performance, the way Kane heard it in his own mind. This is the only time in the entire CFS series when music was not presented basically as it was in the film. You'll also hear the resplendent sounds of 9 shimmering harps in Beneath the 12-Mile Reef and a suite from White Witch Doctor with exotic percussion and a strange instrument called the serpent.  RCA 7017 Sunset Boulevard - The Classic Film Scores of Franz Waxman. Prince Valiant (Prelude; King Aguar's Escape; The Fens; The First chase; The Tournament; Sir Brack's Death; Finale). Peyton Place (Original Main Title). A Place in the Sun (Suite). The Bride of Frankenstein (The Creation of the Female Monster). To Have and Have Not (Main Title; Martinique); Sunset Boulevard (Main Title; Norma Desmond; The Studio Stroll; The Comeback; Norma as Salome). Mr. Skeffington (Forsaken). Objective, Burma! (Parachute Drop). Rebecca (Prelude; After the Ball; Mrs. Danvers; Confession Scene; Manderley in Flames). The Philadelphia Story (MGM Fanfare; Main Title; The True Love). Old Acquaintance (Elegy for Strings). The Two Mrs. Carrolls (Main Title; The Embrace; The Storm; The Poisoned Milk; The Window; Geoffrey's Madness; Finale). Taras Bulba (The Ride to Dubno). TT: 68:46 BUY NOW FROM ARKIVMUSIC The opening track on this CD is a stirring
suite from
Prince Valiant, swash-buckling music of the most exuberant
type. "Elegy for Strings" from Old Acquaintance is worthy of
inclusion on
symphony concert programs, and we also have diabolical sounds of "The Creation
of the Female Monster" from
The Bride of Frankenstein. The National Philharmonic brass bring
down the house with their virtuosity
in the exciting " Ride to Dubno" from Taras Bulba which was
recorded in a single take. Sunset
Boulevard also was released as a regular CD in Dolby Digital (0708) but
music from Peyton Place, To Have and Have Not, Mr. Skeffington, Objective,
Burma!, and The Two Mrs. Carrolls was omitted so the CD has
a playing time of 53:35. Obviously the one to have is 7017.  BUY NOW FROM ARKIVMUSIC One of the most popular recordings of the series, this opens with an extended suite -- with big orchestra treatment -- of Max Steiner's music from Casablanca including of course "As Time Goes By" Equally memorable are the excerpts from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Two Mrs.Carrolls. RCA
0912 Captain Blood - Classic Film Scores for Errol
Flynn STEINER: The Adventures of Don
Juan (The
King; Main Title; Don Juan; The Brocade; Don Juan's Serenade; Parade Into London;Don
Juan and the
Queen; Final Scene). They Died With Their Boots On (Morning;
The Farewell Before the Battle; Preparation and March; The 7th Cavalry; Garry
Owen; The
Sioux; The Battle of Little Big Horn; Custer's Last Stand). Dodge
City (Warner Bros. Fanfare and Main Title; The Open Prairie; The Iron Horse;
Surrett; The Comrades; The Covered Wagon; Grazioso; Abbie and the Children;
Wade and
Abbie; The Blarney; Abbie's Theme). WAXMAN: Objective, Burma! (Parachute
Drop). FRIEDHOFER: The Sun Also Rises (Prologue; The
Lights of Paris). KORNGOLD: The Sea Hawk (The Albatross; The Throne
Room of Ellizabeth I; Entrance of the Sea Hawks; The Orchid; Panama March; The
Duel; Strike for the Shores of Dover, with The Ambrosian Singers). The
Adventures of Robin Hood (The Archery Tournament; escape from
the Gallows;
Robin and Lady Marian; Coronation Procession). TT: 56:01 This collection of CFS for Errol Flynn is a rouser, opening with a dazzling
suite from The Adventures of Don Juan, with the more sensitive side of
Steiner displayed in They Died With Their Boots On and Dodge
City. The
crowning gem in this compilation is an extended suite from Korngold's
magnificent score for The Adventures of Robin Hood.
RCA 0452 Classic
Film Scores - Max Steiner's Gone With The Wind
TT: 43:27
RCA 0184 Captain From Castile
- Classic Film Scores of Alfred Newmann
How to Marry a Millionaire (20th Century-Fox Fanfare
with Cinemascope Extention
and Street Scene). Captain from Castile (Pedro and Cataña;
Conquest, with
Band of the Grenadier Guards). Wuthering Heights (Cathy's Theme). Down to the Sea in Ships (Hornpipe). The Song
of Bernadette (Prelude; The Vision, with The Ambrosian Singers). The Bravados (Main
Title - The Hunters). Anastasia (Main Title). The Best of
Everything (London Calling). Airport (Main Title). The Robe (Main Title; Elegy,
Caligula's March; The Map of Jerusalem, with The Ambrosian Singers and Band of
the Grenadier Guards). TT: 44:38 The big, bold Hollywood sound is heard often on this CD, and when the forces pile up as they do in the excerpts from Captain from Castile and The Robe, it is impressive indeed. But for many the most touching music on this CD is the suite from Song of Bernadette with its magnificent depiction of the Vision, angelically sung by The Ambrosian Singers over a rich orchestral tapestry of gorgeous sound.
RCA 0911 Spellbound - The
Classic Film Scores of Miklós Rózsa
The Red House (Prelude; The Morgan Farm; The New Hired
Hand; Swimming Scene; Meg Finds the Red House; Teller Shoots at Meg;
Pete's Death and Finale,
with The
Ambrosian Singers). The Thief of Bagdad (The
Love of the Princess).
The Lost Weekend (The Bottle; First Meeting; The Mouse and the
Bat;
Nightmare;
Love Scene and Finale). The Four Feathers (Sunstroke; River
Journey).
Double Indemnity (Mrs. Dietrichson; The Conspiracy). Knights of
the Round
Table (Scherzo: Hawks in Flight). The Jungle Book (Song
of the Jungle,
with The Ambrosian Singers). Spellbound (The Dream Sequence;
The Mountain
Lodge). Ivanhoe (Overture) TT: 54:25 A fine sampling of the wide-range of music of the distinguished Hungarian composer. For me the high point is the dazzling, short (1:17) scherzo "Hawks in Flight" from Rózsa's superb score for Knights of the Round Table, a tour de force for a virtuoso orchestra played to the hilt by the National Philharmonic under Gerhardt's dynamic direction.
RCA 0183 Classic Film Scores for BETTE DAVIS STEINER: Now, Voyager (Warner
Bros. Fanfare & It Can't Be Wrong). Dark
Victory (Blindness; Winter; Resignation). A Stolen Life (Main Title).
In
This Our Life (Main Title; Stanley and Roy; Finale). Beyond the
Forest (Main Title; Rosa Moline; The Train; Rosa's Death). The Letter (Main
Title). All This, and Heaven Too (Main Title; Henriette and the Children;
Love Scene; Finale; End Cast). Jezebel (Waltz). KORNGOLD:
The Private
Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (Elizabeth). Juarez (Carlotta). WAXMAN:
Mr. Skeffington (Forsaken). NEWMAN: All About Eve (Main
Title). TT: 40:50 In his notes for this CD, Gerhardt states, "it is my conviction that so powerful an artist as Miss Davis, through the strength of her portrayals, inspired a variety of composers to produce some of their best work....her composers created a 'Bette Davis sound'." Here is a varied program of music written for some of her greatest roles, high points being the excerpts from Dark Victory and Now, Voyager.
RCA 0185 Elizabeth
and Essex - The Classic Film Scores of ERICH WOLFGANG KORNGOLD
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (Overture). The Prince and the Pauper
(Main Title; The Boys Go to Play; Epilogue). Anthony Adverse (In
the Forest). The Sea Wolf (Main Title; Escape in the
Fog; Love Scene; Finale). Deception (Cello Concerto in C,
Op. 37, with cellist Francisco Garbarro). Another Dawn (Night
Scene). Of Human Bondage (Main Title;
Christmas; Sally; Lullaby; Finale). TT: 47:48 A major issue in the series, displaying the range of music of Korngold, from the rousing introductions to The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex and The Prince and the Pauper to the sheer gentle beauty of excerpts from Another Dawn and Of Human Bondage. Of major interest is a superb performance of the complete Cello Concerto from Deception.
RCA 1669 LOST HORIZON - The Classic Film Scores of DIMITRI
TIOMKIN Lost
Horizon (Prelude; Foreward Card; Riot in Baskui;
Mob Scene at Refueling Station; Morning After the Plane Crash; Arrival
of the Caravan; The Journey Over the Mountains; Entrance into Shangri-La;
Nocturne; Riding Sequence; The Waterfall; Chinese Children's Scherzo; Bell
Sequence; Funeral Cortege of the High Lama; Escape from Shangri-La; Return
to Shangri-La, with The John Alldis Choir). The Guns of
Navarone (Prelude).
The Big Sky (Prelude; Forest at Night; The Wide Missouri); The Fourposter
(Overture); Friendly Persuasion (Love Scene in the
Barn). Search for Paradise (Choral Finale,
with The John Alldis Choir). TT: 45:44
Dimitri Tiomkin won
four Oscars for his film scores and rightfully so. Thoroughly
trained in the classical idiom, he easily was able to provide, with the
greatest imagination and mastery, whatever music was needed for
films. Lost Horizon was his first score (1937) and his
grandest. Sessions for the extended suite heard here were the most
expensive for any CFS project, with extra players required for the mammoth
percussion, and a large chorus. It's quite spectacular, to
say the least. In addition there are other rousing Tiomkin showpieces,
particularly the Navarone Prelude. Look for this CD in
cut-out bins.
RCA
2792 THE SPECTACULAR WORLD OF CLASSIC FILM SCORES
Fanfares for Motion Pictures (Universal Pictures; Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer;
Selznick International Pictures; Warner Bros.; 20th Century Fox with
Cinemascope Extension); WILLIAMS: Star Wars (Main
Title). KORNGOLD: Captain lood (Overture).
STEINER: Now, Voyager (Love Scene and Finale). STEINER: Gone
With the Wind (Polka). KORNGOLD:
Elizabeth and Essex (Elizabeth's Theme). STEINER: The
Caine Mutiny (March). HERRMANN: Citizen Kane (Salammbo's
Aria, with Kiri Te Kanawa). RÓZSA: Knights
of the Round Table (Scherzo: Hawks in Flight). WAXMAN: Objective,
Burma! (Parachute Drop). TIOMKIN: The Guns of
Navarone (Prelude). RÓZSA: Julius Caesar (Overture). WAXMAN: Peyton
Place (Original
Main Title). TIOMKIN: The Thing (From Another World) Suite (Prelude;
The Flying Saucer Under the Ice; Melting Sequence; The Hand; Plasma I,
Plasma II; The Growing Plants; The Thing on the Walkway;
Electrocution). HERRMANN: King of the Khyber Rifles (The
Attack on the Mountain Stronghold). AMFITHEATROF: Salome (The
Dance of the Seven Veils) TT: 51:17 A "sampler" of the entire series, valuable in many ways as it contains Gerhardt's superb recording of the main title of Star Wars (the original CD - 2698 has beendeleted), plus the magnificent suite from The Thing and Amfitheatrof's Salome excerpt, neither of which are available elsewhere. Also included is a lengthy interview with Gerhardt about the entire series.
RCA 60767 STAR WARS - RETURN OF THE JEDI (Main Title; Approaching the Death Star; Parade of the Ewoks; Luke and Leia; Jabba the Hutt; Return of the Jedi; The Ewok Battle; Hans Solo Returns; Into the Trap; Fight in the Dungeon; Heroic Ewok; Battle in the Forest; Finale). TT: 46:24 The only John Williams score to remain in the BMG/RCA catalog. Perhaps the others were deleted because of excessive royalty costs; at any rate, get this one while it is still available. Jedi is one of Williams' finest scores, with more than a little help from Prokofiev, and his brilliant orchestrations are superbly played by the virtuoso National Philharmonic. Jabba the Hut, with its incredibly difficult tuba solo, is outstanding, and the battle episodes display astonishing horn playing.
RCA 2698 JOHN WILLIAMS: Star Wars (Main
Title; The Little People Work; Here They Come!; Princess Leia; The Final
Battle; The Throne
Room and End Title). Close Encounters of the Third
Kind (Barnstorming; Arrival of the Mother Ship; The Pilots' Return;
The Visitors; Final Scene) TT: 54:17
OTHER NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC/ GERHARDT FILM CDS
CHESKY
CD 71 HOLLYWOOD SCREEN CLASSICS Strauss: Also sprach
Zarathustra (opening). KORNGOLD: Robin Hood (March
of the Merry Men). Suite from Kings Row. ROSENMAN:
East
of Eden. STYNE: Three Coins in the Fountain. RAKSIN:
Laura. YOUNG: The Call of the Faraway Hills. NORTH: Cleopatra (Love
Theme). BARRY: Born
Free. MANCINI: Charade. HAYASAKA: Rashomon. RîZSA:
El Cid. HADJIDAKIS: Topkapi STEINER: Gone With the
Wind (Suite) TT: 67:01
A splendid collection of film favorites starting off with a powerful performance of the "Sunrise" section of Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra, music used so effectively in 2001: A Space Odyssey, and ending with a 23-minute suite of Steiner's score for Gone With the Wind. Other highlights are the rousing Korngold March from Robin Hood, an extended suite of music from the same composer's Kings Row, an arrangement of Three Coins in the Fountain reminiscent of Respighi, and Born Free with the accent on brass, percussion -- and imagination. A terrific CD, beautifully transferred from the analog tapes (1968/1974).
VARESE SARABANDE VSD 5207 WILLIAMS: The Reivers (Suite). Jane Eyre (Carriage Ride to Thornfield). RîZSA: The Lost Weekend (Love Theme). NORTH: Cleopatra (Love Theme). Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf (Main Title). KORNGOLD: Between Two Worlds (Mother and Son; Piano Rhapsody). The Constant Nymph (Overture). The Prince and the Pauper (Flirtation). Escape Me Never (Love for Love) ANTHEIL: The Spectre of the Rose (Ballet Waltz). LEWIS: The Madwoman of Chaillot (End Title). PENNARIO: Julie (Midnight on the Cliffs). DELERUE: Anne Of The 1000 Days (Overture). WALTON: Suite from Henry V. (THIS CD HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED) These recordings, made over a period of years, were licensed from Reader's Digest and this compilation was issued on VS in 1989. It's strange that the CD is titled The Prince and the Pauper as it contains only one very brief excerpt from this film. There are many gems here, particularly the brief suite from The Reivers and one of Williams' finest scherzi, a 1:48 gossamer flight of fancy written for a 1971 BBC production of Jane Eyre. The Korngold excerpts are glorious, and George Antheil's haunting waltz for the 1946 film Spectre of the Rose is a welcome addition to the catalog. Superb analog sound, fine transfers. This CD was issued as a memorial to George Korngold (son of the composer), who died when it was being prepared.
VARESE SARABANDE VCD 47203 KORNGOLD: Kings Row (Main Title; The Children; Parris and Grandmother; Cassie's Party; Icehouse Operation; Cassie's Farewell; Parris Goes to Dr. Tower; Winter; Grandmother's Last Will; Seduction; All is Quiet; Grandmother Dies; Sunset; Parris Leaves King's Row; Flirtation; Vienna and Happy New year 1900; Randy and Drake; Letters Across the Ocean; Parris Comes Back; Kings Row; Elise; Parris's Decision; Finale. TT: 48:00 (THIS CD HAS BEEN DISCONTINUED)
This magnificent CD contains the complete score for the 1941 film Kings Row, recorded in 1979 in London's Walthamstow Town Hall and produced by George Korngold. Engineering was by Robert Auger. The CD is essential for any collection of film music.
VARESE
SARABANDE VSD 5353 WILLIAMS: The Empire Strikes Back Recorded in Walthamstow Town Hall in London May 2, 1980, this is the last Gerhardt recording of music from the Star Wars series. Apparently RCA elected not to continue the CFS series, and as VS was interested, they did it. The CD contains a note from John Williams in which he talks about how pleased he was with Gerhardt's recordings of his music, making the statement, "In recent years, Charles Gerhardt has done more than anyone else toward advancing the course of film music." In addition to Williams' suite of music from the film, Gerhardt selected other excerpts to form this suite. When originally issued on CD (VCD 47204), tracks and timing were only listed on the CD, rather difficult to read to say the least. The later issue, with the number above, provides this information where it should be. Empire was produced by George Korngold and engineered by Brian Culverhouse. The sound isn't as sumptuous as earlier Gerhardt recordings engineered by Kenneth Wilkinson, but it has plenty of impact and clarity.
THEMES & VARIATIONS T&V
0001 CELEBRATING THE CLASSICS This CD, issued in collaboration with the U. S. Postal Service to commemorate their issue of six first-class postage stamps of Hollywood composers, is discussed in detail on this site. It is important as it contains music from The Fountainhead not available elsewhere. The U.S. Post Office charged $9 plus $1 shipping. The item number was 440 898. Unfortunately, it no longer is available—look for it in yard sales! R.E.B. (October 2000) |
