ELOQUENCE COLLECTION FROM UNIVERSAL
The Eloquence collection comprises heavily promoted budget titles
(£4.50), a collaborative attempt to capture a large corner
of the bargain reissue market by Deutsche Grammophon, Decca and Philips.
All bear the AMSI (Ambient Surround Imagine) logo, though whether this means
the original tracks have been remixed into true multi-channel sound or simply
had digital processing added, the effect is more convincing than on some
other surround CDs. Overall though I still prefer listening in stereo, creating
the impression of being in front of the orchestra, rather than in the midst
of it.
Gary goes on to review three of these Eloquence
titles:-
(1)
Various
American Classics
Leonard BERNSTEIN -
Candide, On the Town, West Side Story, America Medley, Wonderful Town,
Divertimento for Orchestra (selection) * Aaron COPLAND -
Fanfare for the Common Man * John KANDER - New York, New
York * Henry MANCINI - The Pink Panther * Stephen
SONDHEIM - A Little Night Music * Max STEINER -
Gone With the Wind, A Summer Place * John WILLIAMS - America,
The Dream Goes On
John Williams conducting the
Boston Pops Orchestra
Eloquence (Philips) 468 156-2
[78:18]
Crotchet
(2)
Various
Movie Classics
2001: A Space
Odyssey - Also Sprach Zarathustra - Richard Strauss *
Last Action Hero - The Marriage of Figaro overture
- Mozart * Wall Street - Rigoletto - Verdi *
Out of Africa - Clarinet concerto in A major -
Mozart * Shine - Polonaise No.6 - Chopin * A Room with a
View - Gianni Schicchi - Puccini *
Kolya - Serenade for Strings & Humoreske -
Dvorak * Anna Karenina - Swan Lake - Tchaikovsky
* The Untouchables - I Pagliacci - Leoncavallo
* The Godfather Part III - Cavalleria Rusticana
- Mascagni * Punchline - Sabre Dance - Khachaturian
* Amadeus - Requiem - Mozart * The
Ladykillers - String Quartet - Boccherini *
Platoon - Adagio - Barber * JFK - Horn Concert
No. 2 - Mozart * Shine - Gloria in D major, RV
589 - Vivaldi * A Clockwork Orange - Pomp and
Circumstance March No. 1 - Elgar * Excalibur -
Carmina Burana - Orff
various conductors, soloists
and orchestras
Eloquence (Philips) 468157-2
[75:48]
Crotchet
(3) Franz LEHAR
Die Lustige Witwe (highlights)
Hilde Gueden, Per Grunden, Emmy Loose, Waldemar
Kmentt
Robert Stoltz conducting the
Vienna State Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Eloquence (Decca) 467 430-2
[70:35]
Crotchet
Of most interest here for film music fans is American
Classics, a programme drawn from various albums John Williams
made between 1981-86 as conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra. The title
is misleading, for this is not a collection American classical music, but
of full orchestral arrangements of show and movie tunes; around 47 of the
78 minutes of the music being by one composer; Leonard Bernstein. With the
10th anniversary of Bernstein's death coming up in December these selections
from Candide, West Side Story, On the Town, etc. make a good
commemoration, and one can easily argue that Williams as a conductor is more
in sympathy with the spirit of this music than many a through-and-through
'classical' conductor.
Film music is confined to the stalwarts of many a compilation album; Max
Steiner's Gone With the Wind and A Summer Place themes
given a typically lush Williams reading, and a spot on version of Henry Mancini's
Pink Panther, delivered with just the right lightness of touch and
rather more of a jazz sensibility than is often the case. Williams fans may
be rather more interested in the one Williams piece here. America, The
Dream Goes On sounds like a big, rousing production number from a Broadway
musical. It's not a piece I've heard before, and it is as flag-wavingly patriotic
as the title suggests. It's not the sort of thing to make the album an essential
purchase for anyone other than Williams completists. The album is good value,
but even at budget price there is no excuse of a total absence of liner notes,
even to the extent that we are not told who is singing or where the song
comes from.
Movie Classics is much more of a ragbag, offering
19 classical pieces and extracts from longer works which have at some time
or other made it onto the soundtrack of a film. Of course quite a lot of
these pieces have been featured in more than one movie, and some notes on
the various ways these pieces have been employed would go a long way to making
this more than just another cheap CD of 'famous-bits'. One good thing is
that, being on the Philips label, one can been assured that the tracks here
have all been taken from recordings by major conductors with leading orchestras.
It's hard to know whether to recommend something like this or not. I suppose
it depends on whether you want just the pieces used in the movies, or whether
you want to the complete works. Whatever, this is a cheap way of rounding
up a lot of music heard in such diverse films as 2001: A Space Odyssey,
Out of Africa, Platoon and Excalibur.
Finally, and of least interest to film music collectors but of most interest
to readers of Classical Music on the Web, we have a disc of highlights from
Franz Lehár's operetta Die Lustige Witwe (The Merry
Widow), taken from a 1958 recording with the Vienna State Opera
Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Robert Stolz. This is almost complete,
as the entire work can be fitted into 80 minutes, but is missing the ballroom
music and the later additional music Lehár composed; three numbers
in 1907 and the overture penned in 1940. Anyone interested in the development
of the Hollywood musical could do much worse than add this enthusiastic,
vibrant recording to their collection. Of course here the absence of any
text really is a major drawback, especially as the singing is in German.
Gary S. Dalkin
American Classics -
Movie Classics -
Die Lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) -
Mark Hockley reviews two others:-
(4) Collection:
Star Wars -The Sound of Hollywood
John WILLIAMS:
Star Wars - 'Throne Room' and 'Finale';
E.T.- Flying Theme; The Witches of
Eastwick - Devil's Dance; Jurassic
Park Main Title; Dracula - Night
Journeys;
Bernard HERMANN: The Day the Earth Stood
Still - 'Outer Space';
Jerry GOLDSMITH: Star Trek V:
The Final Frontier - Main Theme & March of the Klingons; The
Omen - Main Title
Louis and Bebe BARRON: Forbidden
Planet - 'Once Around Altair'
John CORIGLIANO: Altered States
- Love Theme'
Alex NORTH: 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Fanfare
Ennio MORRICONE: (Arr. T. Hattori) Cinema
Paradiso Theme
Max STEINER: Now, Voyager
Theme; King Kong - Overture
Erich Wolfgang KORNGOLD: Adventures of Robin
Hood-Battle, Victory & Epilogue'
Richard RODGERS: The Sound of
Music -Entr'acte
John BARRY: Dances with Wolves
- John Dunbar Theme; Body Heat - Main Title
Various
ELOQUENCE/PHILLIPS CLASSICS
468 161-2 [76:04]
Crotchet
A vastly entertaining collection of classic film cues superbly performed
by the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra under the more than able direction of John
Mauceri. While there are a few somewhat obvious choices like Williams' Star
Wars and Goldsmith's Star Trek, there are still quite a number
of more imaginative selections such as John Corigliano's 'Love Theme' from
Altered States, a rather touching, emotional piece with a slight
sixties feel (the film was released in 1980). Elsewhere, Herrmann's 'Outer
Space' from The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) gets a very credible
reading of what is a difficult piece to recreate. It's quite simply a stunning
piece of masterful, supremely intelligent film music.
But this is a CD of many pleasures, from the striking fanfare taken from
Alex North's rejected score for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) to Max Steiner's
fine 'Overture' from King Kong (1933) (which has stood the test
of time rather well). In fact so much of what's on offer here is praiseworthy
that it's difficult to find anything to complain about. The one glaring error
of judgement must be the inclusion of the brief, droning electronics of 'Once
Around Altair' taken from Forbidden Planet (1956), as sadly this
amounts to no more than just a sound effect. But this is a very minor quibble
and there are numerous highlights, concluding with the extraordinary 'Main
Title' from The Omen (1976) by Jerry Goldsmith. A fine rendition
of a work of unquestionable genius!
With its strong selections and excellent performances and sound, this new
compilation is a delight. Add to that the fact that this is a budget range
CD designed to go easy on your pocket and we have a definite recipe for success.
Bravo!
Mark Hockley
Collection:
Tonight - Hits from the Musicals Various
artists (see below)
ELOQUENCE/PHILLIPS CLASSICS
468 139-2 [61:43]
Crotchet
1) 'Tonight' from West Side Story
2) 'I Got Rhythm' from Girl Crazy
3)'Ol' Man River' from Show Boat
4) 'Oklahoma' from Oklahoma!
5) 'All the Things you are' from Very Warm for May
6) 'Over the Rainbow' from The Wizard of Oz
7) 'Memory' from Cats
8) 'I Could have Danced all Night' from My Fair Lady
9) 'On the Street where you Live' from My Fair Lady
10) 'September Song' from Knickerbocker Holiday
11) 'The Man I Love' from Lady, Be Good
12) 'Stormy Weather' from Cotton Club Paradise
13) 'The Impossible Dream' from Man of La Mancha
14) 'So in Love' from Kiss me Kate
15) 'You'll Never Walk Alone' from Carousel
José Carreras/Robert Farnon and his Orchestra 1, 7, 13
Barbara Hendricks/Katia & Marielle Labèque, piano 2, 11
Simon Estes/Munich Radio Orchestra-Willie Anthony Waters 3, 4, 10, 15
Sylvia McNair/André Previn, piano/David Finck, double bass 5, 6, 12
Kiri Te Kanawa/Jerry Hadley/London Symphony Orchestra-John Mauceri 8, 9
Kiri te Kanawa/Nelson Riddle and his Orchestra 14
Fans of movie and stage musicals will probably enjoy this, especially with
its 'Ambient Surround Imaging' to give 'greater presence, brilliance and
a stereophonically refined panorama of sound'(as the blurb on the CD states).
But I'm less enthusiastic. Despite the fact that many popular songs have
been included, all too often I found the interpretations unsatisfying. Great
songs like 'Over the Rainbow' don't seem to have the emotional power they
should and I was uneasy about José Carreras' rendering of both 'Memory'
and the truly wonderful 'The Impossible Dream'.
At the risk of setting myself up for criticism (but isn't that what I'm here
for!), my feeling is that the vocal performances in general leave something
to be desired, not from a technical point of view but from a stylistic one.
I would concede however that Kiri Te Kanawa gives a restrained, likeable
rendition of 'So in Love', but there are several cases where a particular
voice doesn't appear to do best justice to the song.
To be fair, if you like this kind of thing and enjoy the work of this group
of vocalists, no doubt you'll get more out of it than I did.
Mark Hockley
Ian Lace adds:-
Lehar's The Merry Widow has been filmed at least
twice: in 1934 with Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald, and less
successfully with Lana Turner and Fernando Lamas in 1952. The 1958 Stolz
Merry Widow recording starring Hilde Guerden is somewhat uneven.
The orchestra although sounding a little thin, provides plenty of exuberance
if not the extra sparkle and insight that Matacic brought to his classic
EMI set featuring Elizabeth Schwarzkopf as a truly memorable Hanna. Gueden's
'Vilja', if a little insecure, is beautifully expressive you really feel
the lovelorn huntsman's anguish. Emmy Loose and Waldemar Kmentt are memorable
as Valencienne and Camille.
I understand Mark's trepidation about the
Tonight album. Too often opera singers are not
successful in cross-over material. I have observed elsewhere that their singing
is usually 'big'. While this is acceptable on the operatic stage, in the
more intimate atmosphere of musical comedy it is inappropriate and in fact
it sounds pompous and insincere.
John Mercauri's Star Wars - The Sound of Hollywood
is, as Mark says, an album of many pleasures; but the Eloquence CD that impressed
me most was the American Classics album. I agree
with everything Gary has said and one cannot but admire the sheer exuberance
of John Williams's reading of the Leonard Bernstein pieces - rarely have
I heard Candide and On the Town sounding so colourful and
exuberant.
Ian Lace
The Merry Widow:
Tonight
Star Wars - The Sound of Hollywood:
American Classics:
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