78 replies to this topic

[Omen II]

Wycliffe ain't too shabby either.

[Stefancos]

Wow, nice

[Incanus]

Yeah. I do remember it now that I hear it. True, it is not too bad either.

[karelm]

I was listening to the Chandos CD yesterday and the music is all excellent - it was thoroughly enjoyable and very well written. Especially good was the sci-fi music which caught me by surprise because it is both melodic and atmospheric showing a debt to Williams and Jerry Goldsmith in places. The CD I am referring to is here: http://www.amazon.co...35713763&sr=8-2

[fommes]

That CD is definitely a must-have

[Ren]

I absolutely adore the theme and the score for the shows and movies. It never struck me as Williams - but lovely all the same. My all time favorite character, own many DVDs!

[Incanus]

I absolutely adore the theme and the score for the shows and movies. It never struck me as Williams - but lovely all the same. My all time favorite character, own many DVDs!

I think the comparison with Goldsmith and Williams made above was for the Cold Lazarus, a sci-fi score by Gunning which is his largest production to date orchestra-wise and which also has a suite of music on the Chandos CD.

And yes Gunning's music for Poirot series needs serious multi CD release for episode and full feature length scores. Those are simply brilliant, elegant and inventive, making use of the small orchestra in countless ways. I would not mind the newer music either from recent seasons of the show by Christian Henson and Stephen MCKeon.

[Ren]

Thanks for clarifying!

[Maglorfin]

There's also this CD by our Slovenian violinist Anja Bukovec. It's full of film music, e.g. Williams (Witches of Eastwick, Schindler's List), Newton Howard (Hidalgo) and Gunning (Poirot Fantasy and Firelight). At the time of recording, Gunning was also in Slovenia as he also attended a film music concert on which the Poirot Fantasy was performed. Anja Bukovec was supposed to play but unfortunately she had to cancel her appearance because of some health problems; version with saxophone and orchestra was then performed.

All in all, it's a cool CD so you can't miss by buying it.

[fommes]

Yes! Excellent CD indeed.

[Jim Ware]

Cold Lazarus kicks a not insignificant amount of arse and is in need of an an expansion. If you can find it, the original album from Silva Screen includes 54 minutes of score. It's thematically rich and the performance from the LSO is superb.

Hess' Wycliffe boasts rather good underscore outside of the theme. Sadly it's entirely unreleased.

[Omen II]

Here's the second part of the interview with Nigel Hess and Christopher Gunning that I linked to earlier. Nigel Hess mentions his debt to John Williams at about the 1:00 mark.

[Ren]

Sweeeeeeeeeeet

[Incanus]

A nice interview from composers of who we do not hear enough about.

[fommes]

There's just been a new Poirot CD announced! From the looks of it, it's a slight expansion from the long out of print Virgin CD!

 

Best CD news this year yet
 

Please watch this trailer for the new Poirot CD, to be released on March 4th on the Discovery label. The new album contains the iconic theme, and 14 other tracks with a total running time of over 70 minutes. It includes music from "Death on the Nile" and "Five Little Pigs," which has never been available on CD before. We have been waiting for this release for years and it is happening at last!

[Incanus]

Fantastic news! Instant buy for me as I do not own the original CD!

 

I really hope some day they will produce a comprehensive Poirot collection featuring all the music Gunning composed for the show. His contributions are just the classiest stuff in the series.

[fommes]

From the look of it, the CD misses two track previously released:

Death in the Clouds

The Plymouth Express

 

And adds three new tracks:

The Innocence of Caroline Crale 5.30

Amyas’s Last Painting 4.22

Death on the Nile 13:45

Hopefully it's a new CD series, not just one CD

[Incanus]

Yes one can always hope for more Poirot music by Gunning!

[Jim Ware]

Hopefully it's a new CD series, not just one CD

 

It is indeed part of a new CD series of Christopher Gunning's music.  This is the third release.

 

http://www.christoph....co.uk/buy-cds/

[Incanus]

Here's to hoping for more Gunning CDs in the near future then!

[fommes]

 

Hopefully it's a new CD series, not just one CD

 

It is indeed part of a new CD series of Christopher Gunning's music.  This is the third release.

 

http://www.christoph....co.uk/buy-cds/

The guitar concerto is pretty recent if I'm not mistaken, but that Skyline CD he's been selling for ages. Hopefully there's more Poirot music around the corner

[Incanus]

I am glad they included music from the post 2000 Poirot scores on the album (even if they had to excise two older tracks from the album). I was watching the Death on the Nile just last week and noted how wonderful the music was, especially the oh so bitter sweet love theme. The Five Little Pigs contains some of the more inventive suspence scoring that deviates a bit from the previous Poirot scoring and two superb main themes. I wish The Hollow will be presented on some future release as well, although both The Five Little Pigs and The Hollow are featured on the Film and TV Music of Christopher Gunning album.

 

On another note the original album featured concertized versions of the music from the episodes. I wonder if these new tracks are suites specifically re-recorded for this album or actual cues taken form the original scores.

[fommes]

On another note the original album featured concertized versions of the music from the episodes.

Are you sure? I vaguely remember watching the entire series a couple of years ago, and hearing almost every cue in there somewhere. Some tracks are suites too I guess. But I can be mistaken, my recollection's not so good

[Incanus]

As a Poirot fanatic who has seen all the episodes recently (and multiple times) I am pretty certain that the original album's performances are at least in part more fleshed out variations on the themes presented in the individual episodes although they are naturally heard in one form or the other in the respective films/episodes, often in shorter snippets.

 

E.g. 2 tracks from Mysterious Affair at Styles (War and the Death of Mrs. Inglethorpe) are probably the original cues and the Country Retreat being an obvious concert version of the pastoral theme heard in the episode. Grey Cells again is a concert version of Poirot's "thinking theme" and Double Clue is a lengthier concert version of the love theme from the episode of the same name. How does your Garden Grow? suite contains perhaps original film cues but Height of Fashion from Wasps' Nest is a concert version of the stylish urban "driving theme" used in the episode.

 

One, Two Buckle My Shoe is probably an original episode cue, as are most likely Death in the Clouds and the Affair of the Victory Ball and ABC Murders.

[fommes]

Interesting!

 

On another note, I've always wanted to rip some of the end credits of the later episodes on DVD to have some more Gunning music, but this CD and that rerecording you mentioned might make this largely unnecessary now.

[gkgyver]

So you are a Poirot fanatic as well as a LotR fanatic, Mikko? You're becoming more sympathetic to me with each day!
I've read practically every Poirot novel in existence and have the old album as well.

Now, if they could release another edition of Patrick Gowers' Sherlock Holmes, that was even better.

[Koray Savas]

What is Poirot and why does everyone seem to love it?

[Jason LeBlanc]

You've never heard of Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgium Detective from Agathie Christie's many novels and short stories?

[gkgyver]

You have to remember he's a Zimmer fan. These people have no interest in finer art.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Incanus]

So you are a Poirot fanatic as well as a LotR fanatic, Mikko? You're becoming more sympathetic to me with each day!
I've read practically every Poirot novel in existence and have the old album as well.

Now, if they could release another edition of Patrick Gowers' Sherlock Holmes, that was even better.

Indeed Gowers' music is equally under presented on disc as Gunning's Poirot. His scores for Sherlock Holmes series (I am also a Sherlock Holmes fanatic of sorts) were fantastic. Not only do they communicate the mystery and Sherlock's wit and era, they also provide a brilliantly uncanny feel to many episodes, lending a curiously macabre and creepy yet entirely suitable edge to the stories.

[Koray Savas]

You've never heard of Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgium Detective from Agathie Christie's many novels and short stories?

Obviously not. Never read Agatha Christie though I know of her work.

[Jason LeBlanc]

I have no idea how that never penetrated your bubble. You've never even seen this?

[Koray Savas]

No; but like I said I know of her work. Family Guy's "And Then There Were Fewer" was a brilliant episode.

[Jason LeBlanc]

Surprised you've never even heard of "Murder On The Orient Express"

[Koray Savas]

I have.

[fommes]

I am glad they included music from the post 2000 Poirot scores on the album (even if they had to excise two older tracks from the album). I was watching the Death on the Nile just last week and noted how wonderful the music was, especially the oh so bitter sweet love theme. The Five Little Pigs contains some of the more inventive suspence scoring that deviates a bit from the previous Poirot scoring and two superb main themes. I wish The Hollow will be presented on some future release as well, although both The Five Little Pigs and The Hollow are featured on the Film and TV Music of Christopher Gunning album.

 

On another note the original album featured concertized versions of the music from the episodes. I wonder if these new tracks are suites specifically re-recorded for this album or actual cues taken form the original scores.

I got this CD in the mail last week. The three new tracks are all recent rerecordings. I guess this isn't good news considering this probably means there will be no other Poirot CD releases coming. Good news is that the new music is stunning.

This is a must-have CD in my opinion, and easily blows 95% of everything released this year out of the water

[Incanus]

I am sure to order it as soon as my finances will allow along with the Film and TV Music of Christopher Gunning album, which has been on my shopping list forever.

[fommes]

Oops, I didn't read carefully enough: they aren't rerecordings I think - but the original recordings from 2004 in Bratislava.

[Stefancos]

Ass...Fool!