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Film Composers and Soundtracks
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Editor's Choice - 2009
Best of the Month for January
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON --
music by Alexandre Desplat
Best of the Month for February
THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE --
music by Max Steiner
Best of the Month for MarchTIME AFTER TIME --
music by Miklos Rozsa
Best of the Month for April
A JOHNNY MANDEL TRIO
(3 CD Box Set)
Best of the Month for May
HOW TO STEAL A MILLION and
BACHELOR FLAT --
music by Johnny Williams
Best of the Month for June
TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE
music by Jerry Goldsmith
Best of the Month for July
THE PRINCE AND THE PAUPER --
music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Best of the Month for August
GOD'S LITTLE ACRE --
music by Elmer Bernstein
Best of the Month for September
EXODUS --
music by Ernest Gold
Best of the Month for October
THE BLACK STALLION -- music by Carmine Coppola
additional music by Shirley Walker
Best of the Month for November
TARAS BULBA -- music by Franz Waxman
Best of the Month for December
CAPTAIN ABU RAED --
music by Austin Wintory
Dimitri Tiomkin’s HIGH NOON: Score and Song
Dimitri Tiomkin was born in Ukraine on 10 May 1894; and died in London on 11 November 1979, at the age of eighty-five.
During his long film music career he received many accolades, including Oscar nominees for
LOST HORIZON (1937), MR. SMITH GOES
TO WASHINGTON (1940); Oscar-winning scores to THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY (1954) and THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA (1958); and the Grammy nominated GUNS OF NAVARONE (1961). Yet among his great film scores, there is one that Tiomkin will be especially remembered for: HIGH NOON (1952).
He was the first composer to be awarded two Oscars for the same dramatic film.Tiomkin received one Oscar for his film score and the other for the film’s song, “High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darlin’),” with lyrics by Ned Washington.
The song began a trend that continues today – a hit record used to promote or "sell the film."
In the case of "High Noon," there were two major hit records -- one by Frankie Laine and the other by Tex Ritter, who sang the song in the film.
Here is an excerpt from a book discussing this song and score:
The song is used throughout the film as a folk ballad about Marshall Will Kane (Gary Cooper) who asks his bride (Grace Kelly) to 'do not forsake me.' Instead of an instrumental theme for the Main Title, the song is heard in the complete version...The accompaniment is very simple, mainly guitar and drums. To illustrate how concise the film really is, the lyrics tell the whole story of the film - in under 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
Besides being used as Main Title music, the song theme is heard at other stragetic scenes in the film. Perhaps the most effective of them all is the scene called - 'The Clock.' This is where Marshall Will Kane writes his Last Will and Testament just before the train arrives at noontime. The music starts with harp and pizzicato strings imitating the clock pendulum moving steadily back and forth. Then above that constant pendulum ticking are the brass and woodwinds playing portions of the song, as the music builds with an overpowering intensity until it stops suddenly before the train whistle is heard and Kane looks up from his writing.
-- from A Guide to Film Music: Songs and Scores by Roger L. Hall
Both the Frankie Laine and Tex Ritter (with 3 different recordings from 1952) are featured on this fascinating CD with different artists (including German and Danish) performing the movie song, such as: Robert Horton, Chet Atkins, Bill Hayes, Faron Young, Henry Mancini, and many more...
HIGH NOON - 25 Artists, One Song
Left to right: Dimitri Tiomkin at the piano, Tex Ritter and Ned Washington looking on
[Photo courtesy of Marc Wanamaker/
Bison Archives]
There is an excellent new CD of the complete soundtrack with the title song sung by Tex Ritter now available:
Tiomkin conducts the main theme from HIGH NOON on this enjoyable compilation:
MUSIC IN FILM: National Public Radio Milestones of the Millennium
Read about Dimitri Tiomkin's "wonderful" score at
Also these CD reviews for other recommended Tiomkin soundtracks:
THE ALAMO: Dimitri Tiomkin - The Essential Film Music Collection
(Silva Screen - 4 CD Set)
LAND OF THE PHARAOHS (Film Score Monthly - 2CDs)
Also the DVD review of Dimitri Tionkin's monumental score for
"In Hollywood vernacular, I could write commercial." -- Dimitri Tiomkin
Read Roger Hall's tribute to Hollywood's highest paid film composer of the 1950s, reprinted with a new addendum of recordings at
Bernard Herrmann: The Early Years
"Film music must apply what an actor cannot say. The music must really convey what the word cannot do. If you're dealing with an emotional subject this is the complete purpose of a film score." -- Bernard Herrmann (1911-1975)
He is generally considered to be the most innovative
film composer from the past.Read Herrmann's comments about film music and also an analysis
of his first film score for CITIZEN KANE in
A GUIDE TO FILM MUSIC
Read about his score for one of the most popular episodes
from THE TWILIGHT ZONE television series atBernard Herrmann's "Walking Distance"
There is an article by Roger Hall about his early film scores,
with a new addendum of CDs at the website,
"It’s quite expensive to add music to a film. It would be a shame if nobody paid attention to it. The producers would have thrown their money out the window." (laughter) -- Aaron Copland
Read the interview by Roger Hall
with Aaron Copland (1900-1990) about his film scores
at this website:This interview with Aaron Copland is included in the eBook,
Copland was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Sammy Award
and a special commemorative CD-R has been prepared with the interview
and a rare television program from 1969
with Copland speaking and conducting the orchestra.To read about this Lifetime Achievement Award and
also the special CD-R titled, "Aaron Copland On Film Music," go to:
Read the review of Copland's last film score from 1961,
Ennio Morricone -- Honorary Oscar
100th Birthday Tribute to Miklos Rozsa and Web Poll
John Williams -- 75th birthday and Listener's Poll
Praise from distinguished film composers for the 2nd edition!
"Thank you for the copy of your film music book. Congratulations and best wishes for success in your future contributions to the film music literature"-- John Williams,
film composer and conductor"I do feel your book is done in a most interesting way. It affords a quick overview of what has not become a very, very broad field. Congratulations!" -- Elmer Bernstein, late film composer and conductor
"Your film music guide should be available to anyone interested in the Golden Age and beyond. I was so happy that KING KONG made your all-time list" --
John Morgan, film composer and score restorer.Previous editions of this guide (1997, 2002) have SOLD OUT.
There are a very few copies remaining of the 3rd edition (2007).To order from Amazon.com, click on this link: A Guide to Film Music (3rd edition)
New 4th Edition Available and More Extensive Than Ever!
The newly revised 4th edition (2009) contains corrections to the previous editions, as well as The Academy Awards (Oscars) for film music and The Sammy Awards. Also, there are letters and autographs from three film composers: Elmer Bernstein, Randy Newman, and John Williams.
The years covered in this 4th edition are from 1926 to 2008. It also includes the same material as previous editions...
Contents
- A timeline of film music highlights from 1926 to 2001
- A chapter on suggestions for listening to film music:
- Musical Songs (“Lullaby of Broadway”)
- Featured Songs (“As Time Goes By”)
- Title Songs (“High Noon”)
- Developmental Score (Citizen Kane)
- Leitmotif (King Kong)
- Monothematic (Laura)
- A complete list of Academy Award film music from 1934 to 2000
- A complete list of the Sammy Movie Music Awards from 1988 to 2001
- Top 100 Scores of the 20th Century
- Comments on Film Music:
- Exclusive interviews with two composers:
Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson.- The Composer as Commentator: Bernard Herrmann,
David Raksin, Dimitri Tiomkin.- The Composer as Critic: Elmer Bernstein.
- The Film Lyricist and Songwriter: Sammy Cahn and Henry Mancini.
- The Movie Critic and Historian: David Thomson and Tony Thomas.
- An extensive bibliography and discography.
In addition, there are many illustrations of composer autographs, including:
The title page (shown at left) with music from the end credits of E.T., is boldly signed by John Williams.
Other autograph illustrations include:
Bernard Herrmann, Alex North, Miklos Rozsa, Max Steiner, Dimitri Tiomkin.
There are also songwriter autographs by Sammy Cahn, George Gershwin, Henry Mancini, Johnny Mercer, and Jay Livingston.
Bellamy's Musical Telephone
At the end of the book is a chapter on how songs might be used in a short film. The author describes his one act play with music, Bellamy's Musical Telephone, which was premiered at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts for the Edward Bellamy Centennial Conference in 1988.
The play was based on a chapter in Bellamy's famous 19th century utopian novel, Looking Backward. This novel was extremely popular during its time and one of the things predicted was a musical telephone, which later became radio and also Internet music.
Bellamy's Musical Telephone could be made into an interesting sci-fi or fantasy film if the right people are involved in its production.
This 4th edition is available only as an eBook on a DVD-R with these folders:
The complete book: A GUIDE TO FILM MUSIC - Songs and Scores (105 pages) --
available in PDF and Microsoft Word formats
Bonus material:
Essential Film Scores and Musicals
Film Music Review News (1998-2005)
Film Music Review: Best and Worst CDs of the Year
Film Music Review: Book & DVD Reviews
Film Music Review: CD Reviews (1998-2005)
Film Music Review: Songtrack Reviews
Listener's Guide To Film Music (25 audio clips from radio programs)
Film Music and The Sammy Awards (25 audio clips from radio programs)
Video: Memorable Movie Music - Songs and Scores
(cable TV program with guest, Roger Hall)
For a limited time this DVD-R with A GUIDE TO FILM MUSIC
and all the bonus files including 50 audio clips
is available at a Special Introductory Price at the
New!
Several years ago, film historian Roger Hall was a guest on several cable television programs. Included are discussions of vintage film scores and songs and also The Sammy Awards. Three of them are from a program titled "Preview" and the fourth program is "At The Library" and includes several film clips from vintage film classics.
All four programs are available on a non-commercial DVD-R titled:
"Hooray For Hollywood" --
Memorable Music Of The MoviesThis DVD-R lasting over one hour is available for a donation to help support
Film Music Review.If you donate $20 or more, you will receive a copy of this special DVD-R at no extra cost and it also includes shipping.
To donate by credit card, payable to the website owner, PineTree Productions,
Just click on this button to:
After you have made your donation, send your mailing address to:
Also available are three supplemental CDs from the American Music Recordings Archive with music by these distinguished film composers:
AMRA 18: "Bernard Herrmann On Radio" (22 tracks - 74:28)
Birthday tribute with excerpts from CITIZEN KANE, THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, VERTIGO, THE TWILIGHT ZONE; 50th anniversary tribute to CITIZEN KANE; and a tribute to his Oscar-winning score, THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER.
AMRA 19: "Henry Mancini On Radio" (15 tracks - 67:11)
Includes a special radio tribute from 1989 with some of his early music from television and movies, such as PETER GUNN and THE PINK PANTHER, plus a call-in radio program with Henry Mancini as the guest with some of his film music included.
AMRA 20: "John Williams On Radio" (22 tracks - 78:59)
Featuring a birthday tribute to John Williams with rare examples from a few of his first film scores; also from "A Night at the Movies,"which includes a lengthy interview with John Williams at Tanglewood in Massachusetts.
Are you a filmmaker or music professional looking for vintage source music to
evoke an era for your feature film, documentary, or short film?Would you like to discuss what vintage songs or other music would best fit your film or documentary?
Write for more details and fees to:
Look here for...
Click on these links for the index for all reviews from
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Best Film Music CDs of the Decade (2000-2009)
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See the surveys which include many
film songs and scores atNational Carry A Tune Week 2009
National Carry A Tune Week 2008
National Carry A Tune Week 2007
National Carry A Tune Week 2006
National Carry A Tune Week 2005
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Read what web readers have picked as their
Favorite Film Scores from the 1930s to 1970s
In Remembrance of Erich Kunzel
(1935 - 2009)
From FMR Editor, Roger Hall:
Erich Kunzel was the king of the current classical/crossover conductors. Like Arhtur Fiedler and John Williams with the Boston Pops, Kunzel was a master with a wide variety of music, especially film music.
He conducted the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops Orchestra for 44 years,
ith over 85 Telarc albums to his credit, many of them best-sellers.In his concerts and recordings, he made movie music more enjoyable to audiences everywhere.
He should be credited with helping to broaden the interest and appeal of movie music, both from the past and the present day.
R.I.P., maestro E.K.
Here are a few of his Telarc CDs reviewed at Film Music Review:
Three Choral Suites by Miklos Rozsa
The Ultimate Movie Music Collection (4 CD Set)
Thanks to the Cinannati Symphony for information and graphics.
More information about Erich Kunzel at:
Film music historian and FMR editor, Roger Hall, has chosen his list of the
100 Essential Film Scores of the 20th Century
For a list of recommended information,
see these
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