BARGAIN OF THE MONTH
Miklos ROZSA (1907-1995)
Ben Hur (1959) (Fanfare to Prelude; Star of Bethlehem and Adoration
of the Magi; Friendship; The burning desert; Arrius's Party; Rowing of the
galley slaves; Parade of the charioteers; The mother's love; Return to Judea;
Ring for freedom; Lepers' search for the Christ; Procession to Calvary; Miracle
and Finale) [47:10]
National Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus/Miklos Rozsa
Quo Vadis (1951) (Prelude; Marcus and Lygia; Fertility hymn;
The burning of Rome; Petronius’s Banquet, Meditation and Death; Ave Caesar;
Chariot chase; Assyrian dance; Aftermath (Death of Peter – Death of Poppaea
– Nero’s suicide); Hail Galba; Finale; Epilogue) [40:09]
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus/Miklos Rozsa
Julius Caesar (1953) (The Ides of March; Caesar’s ghost; Approach
of Octavian’s army and death of Brutus) [12:24]
National Philharmonic Orchestra/Bernard Herrmann
rec. London, 1974-77. ADD
DECCA ELOQUENCE 480 3790 [47:10 + 52:47]
These re-recordings of extended sequences from three Rozsa-scored
epics of the 1950s were landmarks of the LP era. They
rode a little to the rear of the vanguard of film re-recordings
established by RCA's and Charles Gerhardt’s Classic Film Score
series. They did however, in the case of Ben Hur, use
the same orchestra as Gerhardt. They have a special cachet because
they were conducted by the composer in two cases.
As for Julius
Caesar I recall seeing that film while attending Homelands
Technical High School in Torquay in the 1960s – it was notable
for its Hollywood accents. That play was part of the then O
Level syllabus at a time when recalling great speeches was part and parcel of taking the exam. Truth to tell
I don’t recall much about the music. That came to mean more
a decade later when my interest in classical and film music
began to burgeon.
Here at last we can enjoy again these three recordings without
the anxiety of LP ticks and scratches. They still sound voluptuous
and affluent. The brass work is gloriously clear and whoopingly
golden in tone. This is accentuated by the harp slashes and
parries for example at Friendship in the Ben Hur
score. The lightly erotic dances for Arrius’s Party
recall the music for Basil Poledouris’s Conan satyricon
orgy and Herrmann’s Sinbad dance music. The timpani reflect
the hortator’s relentless trireme oar-beat tempo and are capped
with ragged brass fanfares. Parade of the charioteers is
suitably brash and vainglorious. Return to Judaea carries
all the burden of a lifelong quest, hope borne down with despair
and a skirl that cannot help but be Hungarian. Ring for Freedom
has that trademark sighing sway and poignant high-probing
violin glow that eloquently bespeaks love and melancholy. We’ll
draw a veil over the fact that the booklet refers to the Procession
to Cavalry when it means Calvary. The final track
is Miracle and Finale and here Hollywood style meets
Cathedral choral vocalise and alleluias. It’s tremendous
as the brass and bells ring out.
Quo Vadis is another epic with more abrasive barbarity
and less heavenly saccharin than in Ben Hur. There
are, on the other hand, more idyllically pastoral references
and some gentle easy-going melodies as in Petronius’s Banquet
which continues with a shade more exoticism in Assyrian
Dance even if it does drift into Iberian regions.
Rozsa’s researches in Italy are said to have assisted with the
scoring. Interesting that Rozsa’s string quartet (presumably
the First of the two) was dedicated to his friend Peter Ustinov
who played Nero. The Finale is very delicately scored
with the choir magically poised and distant. The Epilogue
is vintage Rozsa – having the great unhurried stride of
his best epic scores – still so fresh. For this project Rozsa
and Universal switched to the Royal Philharmonic.
Rozsa stands down as conductor and we next hear Herrmann’s tribute
to Rozsa in three scenes from Julius Caesar, a
film starring James Mason and Marlon Brando. Here the sound
seems somewhat stressed when loud but the portentous atmosphere
can be cut with a knife. Predictably Herrmann chose the Caesar’s
Ghost music and this does indeed come across with lustrous
creepiness. We return to epic heartland with the Approach
of Octavian’s army and the death of Brutus. This is music
relentlessly freighted with tragedy.
Magnificent performances and recordings complemented by really
good notes by Raymond Tuttle who evidently takes time to enhance
the listening experience with the right words.
Rob Barnett
Magnificent performances and recordings.