Holko

(Posting this in a separate thread to hopefully give it more attention than if it were just in the Christopher Young thread)
 
Christopher Young's Nosferatu CD recording Kickstarter is up:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/nosferatu-music/christopher-youngs-nosferatu-a-symphony-of-horror-cd
 
The goal is a hefty $50k. So far (after just a few hours) it's approaching the 10% mark, so hopefully it'll meet its goal within the month.

I’d agree. It’s a lot more natural sounding in the expanded edition. The extra music also makes it a more balanced listening experience (same with Solo) and gives the music room to breathe.
 
One thing i especially love about the HTTYD scores (and other Powell scores of course) is how glorious the performance seems to be. Rich brass, especially the horns and absolutely gorgeous use of orchestral colour which is so vividly captured. I’ve mentioned it before but when the horns bring in the main theme in Test Drive about a minute in, I’ve rarely heard horn chords sounding so rich and resonant. Compare it to the (very well performed) Serebrier conducted compilation and the sound in that track isn’t nearly so gorgeous (and the Philharmonia is an excellent orchestra). Maybe he and Gavin Greenaway drive the orchestra harder for those sections but the results are wonderful. 

Yes that's the held string note lead-in that I mention

I think all I was was recreate the proper film Dragon Racing and put the album version after the song, and joined Off to Valhalla and Riding to Drago's, there are no other "annoying" cue separations where they were very obviously meant to be joined. The first score had a few small opening extensions in the movie/FYC that probably utilised the stems, a held string note lead-in here, an extended percussion overlay there, which weren't recreated for the DE. I don't think this score has anything like that, it should be all here, and even more (with the unused unreleased unleaked unFYCed Dragon's Lair).

Also he's the radio guy calling the Orca.

I finally started preparing for making an edit from the episode albums plus the OST... and then stopped a couple episodes in.
There would definitely be fat to trim, but there's also just way too much good and great stuff to keep, the edit would be at least 4-6 hours long, which I'd never listen to in one sitting. Also, the score is written to be very episodic, would get repetitive mushed together and wouldn't have that much of a satisfying arc for all the threads, and I came to the conclusion that it just works perfectly if I instead dedicate a week to listen to an episode a day, check in daily to get a big threatening Sauron ostinato and planted Galadriels, some mystery, some tension, some action material, get to see how the Khazad-Dum/Númenor/Harfoot (pick 2) -related themes are doing this episode, be reminded of the blandest theme (Bronwin/Arondir), then wrap up nicely at the end.
Or the other solution would be to edit it down very severely to the highest of highlights... which has also already been done with the OST.
 
 
It's really really nice to have the option for both officially and immediately. Thank fuck for Bear!

I finally started preparing for making an edit from the episode albums plus the OST... and then stopped a couple episodes in.
There would definitely be fat to trim, but there's also just way too much good and great stuff to keep, the edit would be at least 4-6 hours long, which I'd never listen to in one sitting. Also, the score is written to be very episodic, would get repetitive mushed together and wouldn't have that much of a satisfying arc for all the threads, and I came to the conclusion that it just works perfectly if I instead dedicate a week to listen to an episode a day, check in daily to get a big threatening Sauron ostinato and planted Galadriels, some mystery, some tension, some action material, get to see how the Khazad-Dum/Númenor/Harfoot (pick 2) -related themes are doing this episode, be reminded of the blandest theme (Bronwin/Arondir), then wrap up nicely at the end.
Or the other solution would be to edit it down very severely to the highest of highlights... which has also already been done with the OST.
 
 
It's really really nice to have the option for both officially and immediately. Thank fuck for Bear!

Also he's the radio guy calling the Orca.

Also he's the radio guy calling the Orca.

Since this post, the LLL came out and we of course got a lot better source for what are here only rips, and also stuff that aren't here, so I thought I'd have a go at redoing it (with @crumbs' approval). I broke the LLL down into a more simple C&C revised main program + original version bonus tracks with the help of @Jay's spreadsheet, sometimes having to fabricate endings/openings - it didn't work perfectly everywhere but mostly tracks end or begin on held notes so a loop and fadein/fadeout was enough.
 
 

Seeing the Plane (Revised) - Ghostly synth carries the Premonitions theme.
 
 

Pete at the Refrigerator - An eerie texture for the lighting (cold blue light of the fridge separating Pete from the warm orange glow of the natural fire) foreshadowing Pete's separation from the natural world.
 
 

Your Number is Up - The film reuses the previous cue here, I tried to match it up to logical beats, end it when the dry banter starts.
 
 

Saying Goodbye - Energetic renditions of the love theme, in its first appearance. The film dials out the (admittedly maybe overdramatic) ending in place of the noise of the plane that drowns out Pete's first explicit declarations of his love.
 
 

Explosion of Pete's Plane (Film version)
Pete in Heaven - This one's partially unused, replaced by Promise to Hap. I had to slow the footage for multiple times to bring the obvious sync points back to sync - the transition, the ending, the appearance of the love theme as Pete thinks of Dorinda.
 
 

Pete's Aura - The movie dials the ending out when Ted enters.
 
 

Dorinda's Flying Entrance - The premonitions and love themes play as Pete and Dorinda nearly miss each other.
 
 

The Old Timer's Shack (with insert and revised ending) - The cue is heavily cut down in the film, including the removal of a section featuring the love theme for I assume a Pete monologue, or a cutaway to Dorinda?
Follow Me (Revised)
 
 

Seeing Dorinda - Premonitions and the love theme return again.
 
 

Ted's Heroics
 
 

Remembering Pete - Premonitions and love theme again.
 
 

Dorinda and Pete (Revised) - A clearly formed piano rendition of the love theme. I had to fake an ending since it's combined with the original version on the LLL, it should have a longer fadeout into...
Promise to Hap
Intimate Conversation is a very clear simple love theme rendition that would have been for an unreleased deleted scene here, but it works great as the LLL's opener.
 
 

The Rescue Operation (Revised) - As Dorinda starts letting go of her resentment towards Pete's hotheaded heroics and jumps in a plane herself when there's a need for it, her theme starts coming in on synth, the love theme also joining in. Although this is already a revision, the film replaced the ending with tracked music.
 
 

Among the Clouds - The film shortens the triumphant/relieved opening and goes straight into the intimate material for the final "conversation", featuring the love theme.
Dorinda Survives (Third Version) - As Dorinda makes the choice to take Pete's hand, her theme gets a big orchestral rendition, flowing into the love theme.
End Credits (Revised) - JW recorded two versions of the credits in 3 parts, this is all the later ones. I guess he really liked his original approach to Dorinda Survives, because this revised first part is basically a rearranged version of it. The second part then covers Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, and the third part closes with Among the Clouds' french horn solo. On the OST (and thus it's the same way on the LLL), he replaced the last 2 segments with the original versions, presumably to remove traces of Smoke Gets In Your Eyes? On the LLL, the pieces are combined in a different way, presumably to collect all the Smoke Gets In Your Eyes variations out of the main program and into the bonus section?
 
 

Seeing the Plane (Original) - A clearer statement of the Premonitions theme.
 
 

Explosion of Pete's Plane (Album take) - the same composition for strings only, without celeste.
 
 

The Old Timer's Shack (Original) - The more playful inserts replaced material that is much more mock-dramatic.
Follow Me (Original) - This original version is much less grand than the revision, more lowkey comedic, with the only memorable melody being the ostinato.
 
 

Dorinda and Pete (Original) - A much more rich sounding version with a flute rendition of the love theme.
 
 

The Rescue Operation (Original) - Before JW wrote Dorinda's theme, he scored those moments with Smoke Gets In Your Eyes renditions here.
 
 

Dorinda Survives (First Version) - A much longer cut than the final film, emphasising some pretty different emotions.
 
 

Dorinda Survives (Second Version) - Same cut as the first one, this time the approach was to make it much more quiet and subtle until Pete releases Dorinda - this was of course thrown out for the big third and final version with the new Dorinda theme.
 
 

End Credits (Original) - I started this assembly with the Platters' Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, JW then takes over with a unique rendition of the love theme, then a piano then full orchestra rendition of the song, which leads into a reprise of the love theme rendition at the end of Dorinda Survives, more love theme and a reference to the Garry Owen March.

I don't think Viggo is approaching this the same way your typical Hollywood actor is (i.e. it's all about me). If that were the case, he'd probably name Return of the King as his favourite. The guy is a thoughtful artist, and I think his comments reflect that. And I'd submit that he's more (not less) qualified to comment on this subject than any of us here.
 
 
While I love the second two films dearly, I pretty much agree with him (especially with regard to The Hobbit). And he's not slamming TTT & ROTK...he's just saying the subtlety and organic quality of the first film was gradually lost. I don't think this is an unfair assessment. 
 
 
I actually detect it less with Dune. I don't see as significant a shift in sensibility between Part I & Part II as FOTR and its sequels, despite the latter being mostly filmed simultaneously (films are made in the edit). 

Taken me far too long to realise what a masterpiece of suspense writing this score is - this analysis is just brilliant, thank you so much for posting!

Oh, I am afraid they fooled you. This looks like a cheap handwritten Imitation.

1. Yes this is it for March. I think that's enough, don't you? Lol

2. This was supposed to come out for Black Friday, but we didn't get final art approval on time.

Original 2023 slate we wanted

HOOK
TOP GUN
MASK OF ZORRO
TOPAZ
OCTOPUSSY
LALD
SILENT NIGHT

3. Lots of hoops, approvals and delays to make this a reality

4. The whole Bond nonsense delayed things. This was gonna be a Valentine's Day gift to y'all, but because of Octopussy shipments being delayed we had to delay Top Gun. Shipping would have been a logistical nightmare, so we sat there for the last few weeks like Mel Gibson in Braveheart shouting out Hoooold! Hoooold!

5. All Bond orders have been shipped out by now. Top Gun will most likely start shipping later next week(and no it won't be delayed... we're sure of that)

6. Next comes the nightmare of Scarface LPs and getting those in and shipping out...that will happen after Bond. By April things will have settled down and gone back to normal with 2 new releases dropping on April 2

Thanks for all your patience and continued support.

MV
 
https://filmscoremonthly.com/board/posts.cfm?threadID=156310&forumID=1&archive=0

Here's some more pics!
 
 

I wish Quartet remaster that score, it's one of the best Morricone score and there The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is such a perfect set

Then wouldn't it be more professional to say that?
 
And I will never believe that anything can't sound any better until Mike and/or Chris say so.

Yeah I looked into it and this seems to be just a straight reissue of a 2018 release I didn't know about where most of it still sounds like ass. I can't believe these people have the audacity to say they fixed stereo field issues when the voice and orchestra are all wandering around the middle left right in the first goddamn track. Those "expectations" must be pretty low.
Would 3 hours have been enough to record the entire score? What was the methodology in those days? Maybe those are just the harmonica sessions. But I guess I'm thinking of the scores we know where every final take assembly has an hour of rehearsals/takes behind it, whereas here many of these "cues" are just those different takes/variations of the same music?

http://www.beatrecords.it/shop.asp?lingua=i&idprodotto=CDX1033&uscita=prox


 
55 years ago, the fourth Western movie directed by Sergio Leone, C’ERA UNA VOLTA IL WEST, was screened for the first time, and in the plans of the director, should have closed the circle of his engagement with this cinematic genre. Compared to the Dollars Trilogy, the movie marks an important stylistic change; it’s an epic full of allegories, with an immensely powerful script. Considered by many to be Ennio Morricone’s masterpiece, it marks an evolution in his music, which often takes over for the images. Exceptional collaborators such as Edda Dell’Orso, Alessandro Alessandroni and Franco De Gemini are the main actors of this score, the director of which is the Maestro. It is to one of them, Franco De Gemini, whom Beat Records in collaboration with Universal Music Publishing wish to dedicate this 50th anniversary edition, in a guise you’ve never experienced before.
 
An accurate remastering by Claudio Fuiano and Daniel Winkler corrected a few formal imprecisions of the wonderful previous editions as well as some minor stereophonic flaws, and now we can finally say we have an album that meets our expectations for such a milestone edition of this score, even correcting some small flaws of the previous edition.
 
But the surprises don’t stop there. Five years after the death of the popular Ferraran harmonica player, the entire recording sessions of the score were discovered, over three hours long, including studio chatter from which we extracted a small recording of Franco’s voice while he is conducting sound tests to find the best sound for his harmonica in a particular scene. We present this gift to you at the end of the album as a memorial to this great harmonica artisan, a sonic cameo as a little witness to his industriousness.
 
The CD comes in a jewel case with a richly-illustrated, 24-page booklet featuring liner notes by Daniele De Gemini, along with 4 collector’s plasticized cards, all gathered in a hard box external case.
 
Limited to only 500 copies, it’s a meeting with cinema and music history that can’t be missed.
 
 
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
 
EDIT: nevermind, not interesting, just annoying

http://www.beatrecords.it/shop.asp?lingua=i&idprodotto=CDX1033&uscita=prox


 
55 years ago, the fourth Western movie directed by Sergio Leone, C’ERA UNA VOLTA IL WEST, was screened for the first time, and in the plans of the director, should have closed the circle of his engagement with this cinematic genre. Compared to the Dollars Trilogy, the movie marks an important stylistic change; it’s an epic full of allegories, with an immensely powerful script. Considered by many to be Ennio Morricone’s masterpiece, it marks an evolution in his music, which often takes over for the images. Exceptional collaborators such as Edda Dell’Orso, Alessandro Alessandroni and Franco De Gemini are the main actors of this score, the director of which is the Maestro. It is to one of them, Franco De Gemini, whom Beat Records in collaboration with Universal Music Publishing wish to dedicate this 50th anniversary edition, in a guise you’ve never experienced before.
 
An accurate remastering by Claudio Fuiano and Daniel Winkler corrected a few formal imprecisions of the wonderful previous editions as well as some minor stereophonic flaws, and now we can finally say we have an album that meets our expectations for such a milestone edition of this score, even correcting some small flaws of the previous edition.
 
But the surprises don’t stop there. Five years after the death of the popular Ferraran harmonica player, the entire recording sessions of the score were discovered, over three hours long, including studio chatter from which we extracted a small recording of Franco’s voice while he is conducting sound tests to find the best sound for his harmonica in a particular scene. We present this gift to you at the end of the album as a memorial to this great harmonica artisan, a sonic cameo as a little witness to his industriousness.
 
The CD comes in a jewel case with a richly-illustrated, 24-page booklet featuring liner notes by Daniele De Gemini, along with 4 collector’s plasticized cards, all gathered in a hard box external case.
 
Limited to only 500 copies, it’s a meeting with cinema and music history that can’t be missed.
 
 
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
 
EDIT: nevermind, not interesting, just annoying

In which case fuck the composer, they've had the OST

Went through most of the rerecordings I've bought physically that I haven't listened to in a while: King Kong, Adventures of Robin Hood, Sea Hawk, Thief of Bagdad, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, North by Northwest, Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia, Taras Bulba, Fall of the Roman Empire, 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, Born Free, Raise the Titanic, and of course Conan the Barbarian.
 
Some were exhausting (Sea Hawk can be a bit much, and goddammit Dimitri, you know you are allowed to take musical breaks, right?), some lovely to get to know (don't really know Born Free that well so always nice to "rediscover" that there's more to it than the theme), some just plain old fun, and Ben-Hur is of course just perfect in every way. Reading the booklet and listening, the level of commitment to the restoration on Taras Bulba and especially Thief of Bagdad always astonishes me. But I'm just overall insanely happy with and grateful for all of these, and everyone who worked hard to free these wonderful scores from their not great or downright awful sounding or even nonexistent original forms.

"Give me my glasses back!"

I want it to go to some third-tier RCP composer and their own bench of additionals so I have zero reason to think or care about Jurassic Park 7.

Adding "they don't even know which month it is" to my list...