Tom Guernsey

I'm definitely not hoping for John Powell ;-)

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker album on vinyl. As frustrating as this presentation might be, it does make some sense on this format the way it is divided into four parts.

 
Karol
 
 

Had to give it a listen and yes, blimey, what a fine work - a few passages remind me of Shore's Lord of the Rings. Bruckner really went all out with his choral music, it's a lot more bracing and epic (to use a slightly naff but apt description!) than one expects from religious music of the period. I'm sure you're familiar with his three masses. I think quite a few people round here who've never heard of Bruckner would probably quite enjoy some of his choral music (and symphonies).
 
Oh yeah, Patrick Doyle... Eragon has a great theme, but it's repeated a bit too often from what I recall.
A few honourable mentions for more recent Doyle scores... Secondhand Lions and Nanny McPhee, both of which are terrific. The final cue from the latter in particular is outstanding.

Received my copy yesterday, listened to it on a regular CD player, loved both scores very much. I only heard the great music, but I’m old and don’t have a spectogram. Anyway, thanks to Intrada for releasing these wonderful Bernard Herrmann scores.

It's been ages since I listened to it (I keep forgetting that I have it!), but from what I remember, the soloist is disappointing.

The whole thing was a fucking joke, except that no-one was laughing.

Can't say I've noticed any issues with the sound which seems pretty great to me, capturing excellent performances by the RSNO. Is it me or does The Chase & The Knife from The Man Who Knew Too Much give off Jaws vibes - I know a piano ostinato does not make something the theme from Jaws, but with the low end piano over the same interval, the overall tone of the track is quite similar. Elsewhere, I was surprised by some of the earlier cues - the lilting violins and flutes in Nocturne in particular I'm not sure I'd have recognised as Herrmann out of context. Really lovely though.
 
Need to give them a bit more of a listen before commenting further - so much new stuff!

I thought it was all shot on location on Amity... which, as you know, means friendship.

Not clear whether Herrmann re-orchestrated it or just lengthened it, although if the orchestra used was larger than that originally, there may have been some adjustments to the orchestration. As for the recordings, they both seem pretty decent to me... can't really say I have a preference (although I would say that I quite like the Chandos recording).

Bernard Herrmann fans might not be aware or might not remember that the overture to The Man Who Knew Too Much was actually played at the Royal Albert Hall in the BBC Proms back in 2011, a surreal case of life imitating art.  Keith Lockhart conducted the BBC Concert Orchestra.  I was lucky enough to be in among the Prommers in the arena that evening and couldn't help feeling that they had missed a trick by not having someone in the boxes fire a gun at the royal box during the climactic cymbal crash!
 
 

I thought it was all shot on location on Amity... which, as you know, means friendship.

Yeah it could be, I mean it should at least include the Prelude and Scene d'Amour.
 
Hah! I will have to see if I can find a man in a grey flannel suit to sell me a copy...

I thought it was all shot on location on Amity... which, as you know, means friendship.

The Chandos recording says as follows in the liner notes - important part highlighted:
 
Hitchcock made his first version of The Man Who Knew Too Much in 1934, with a complete score by Benjamin. ‘Complete’ might seem a little exaggerated as there is little music in the film apart from the ‘Storm Clouds’ cantata. When Hitchcock remade the film in 1956, in colour, the incidental score was composed by Bernard Herrmann. Herrmann, in an unusual outbreak of modesty, said that he could not better Benjamin’s cantata for the climax of the film, so it was reused, with a few amendments that actually lengthened it somewhat. (My new edition of the cantata, prepared for this recording, allows for the performance of either version. However, it is the more extended version of 1956 that has been recorded here.) The text of the cantata was written by one of the screenwriters, Wyndham-Lewis, and in the film Herrmann is seen conducting the performance of it in the Royal Albert Hall.

I agree. The cue ' The Hunts End 'didnt needed to be joined with the 'Death Hunt'. I just love grunting basoons there - one of my favorite tracks here. Thankfully the FSM track isnt bad either and its seperate. I havent compared the NERETEVA version of 'Death Hunt'  ( here called Hunt Scherzo) but its a little different in tempo.  Interestingly the next cue 'Danica's Death' which is again a variation of the same piece but seperate.

Neretva is mostly a collection of tracks from previous Herrmann scores.

Not entirely but yes. Fahrenheit 451, Torn Curtain, ODG etc. Dont you dare remind Mr. Herrmann though.

I expect it's quite involved unless there's a full set of clean instrumental parts. Assuming not, they would likely need to prepare them based on whatever material is available (which may just be the conductor's score) and there's probably lots of little adjustments that were made at the original recording sessions that would need to be reflected in the new orchestral parts (unless the decision is made to go with the composer's original intentions which is sometimes the case).
 
That is a real shame as I have to admit that The Ten Commandments isn't a full score I'm likely to listen to, well, ever, as the sound of the original tracks is rarely above passable and is often downright terrible so like many am likely to stick to the 1960 Dot soundtrack album which was the version most widely available previously on CD (and sounds pretty decent).
 
Given that the original Moonraker tracks aren't as lost as was thought and, unless they have been significantly damaged, could quite likely be remastered quite effectively (if the other Bond scores of the era are anything to go by) then I'm not sure I'd consider it a super high priority. Having said that, it does have the cache of Bond and Barry which would likely make it a good seller to support more niche recordings. Of course a key issue with recording a Bond score is what to do about the title song... I'm pretty sure Shirley would be out of their price range.

Your post reminded me a bit of a long ramble I went on over in a Rise of Skywalker thread. In short, you make light of something that I mentioned there that speaks now to your point that I found so especially interesting which is seeing composers spanning literal decades by getting to approach their music of old in the here of now and now adding new pieces to that musical tapestry. To me, I couldn't agree more. That journey that Williams is making, the human narrative that gets to find closure in Williams scoring an Indy 5 is, as you said so beautifully, fucking "fascinating."
 
It's even more interesting with Indy 5 for reasons the Star Wars films never encountered. One thing that fascinates me about the Williams Star Wars films is that to me it feels like Williams is approached in 3 different periods of his life (rising star - 70s, seasoned composer - 90s, and modern era - 2010s) and gives 3 different approaches to get at the same sound. It's like seeing an artist repeat the same painting and trying to improve each time with the skills he has picked up or improved upon in the lapse between attempts.
 
With Indy, even with 4 films under our belts, I'm still not quite sure what the Indy sound is. To me, the first 3 films have a "sound," something you just hear and go, oh, that's Indy music! Each film kinda builds on and stretches the mold on what can count as Indy music, but it still has a cohesion to it. The 4th film for me is a score that I'm still trying to understand, and have had a difficult journey in appreciating, but it's different enough for me to say that it does not sound like the first 3 films save for a few moments.
 
And that's where the Dial of Destiny score is gonna be so interesting.  If, for example, Dial of Destiny ends up sounding differently from 4 or 1-3, then we'll know that Williams didn't have a musical rulebook for Indy that he was overly beholden to, but rather changed the musical DNA of the films and adapted it to the adventures Indy had. Which would actually mean then that it's very possible the musical cohesion of the first 3 Indy films is entrenched more than anything in the fact that they all were films that Williams scored for a few years in the 80s.
 
In amending some of my previous post I mentioned earlier to get back on with my main point of agreement with you, with Indy 5 we are getting to see a composer who has already forever added to their indelible mark on society with a single film (Raiders) and throughout the course of multiple decades (that see both the franchise and the composer grow and change in ways not realized during the inception of the first installment) that same composer repeatedly comes back and somewhat literally has to confront the writing style of an older incarnation of themselves that no longer exists. How the composer chooses to deal with that confrontation of a previous musical identity, either through embracing it and trying to write in a style reminiscent of those years of old or by adapting and updating that identity to conform to the new musical norm for the composer, is a such an interesting puzzle to see someone tackle. One of the greatest benefits in being an observer to this unique relationship as a listener is being able to more directly than usual realize and appreciate the growth a composer has had. One thing that this film will bring that I can't wait are musical segues from Williams where he will no doubt have to jump between Indy's theme and Helena's theme. Getting too, in the space of a few seconds, hear a man span decades of life --all he has learned, all he has experienced, all he has felt, all that he is-- in those little seamless bridges between the music of new and the music of old is, well, you said it best...
 

 
And while there are many people who grew up with Star Wars, Star Wars has gone through so many different eras that the feel of Star Wars has not been a consistent one. But for people who have loved Indiana Jones, that has always looked the same. Most members here have spent most of their lives loving the Raiders March. It's firmly locked in the pantheon of great film scores. It has always taken on a singular shape: Harrison Ford and John Williams. And I think in that regard it's a more emotional milestone than Rise of Skywalker. Because they're both fucking back.
 
 
 
That's such a great point that I honestly keep forgetting. Suddenly makes me hope for Williams to end the credits by signing off with a Williams chord crescendo that evokes Shore's beautiful curtain call in ROTK. This is Williams giving it his all for something is shaping up to be a cinematic finale on multiple fronts: the Indy character, Williams scoring franchise blockbusters, Williams no longer doing film score, and the end of Harrison Ford led big blockbuster films, though I'm still holding out for a Air Force One 2.
 
Sorry for such a long response. You made a great point that I don't see talked about a ton, and I love that you added it to the discussion. I know that this is the Dial of Destiny discussion thread, but I think your point that this is, in a way, a film about Williams to be a very interesting point of discussion.

Walking down the high street, scaffolders listening to the radio and the DJ says something like "...and later we'll come face to face with John Williams...". Slight pause and wonder if I've misheard. The radio station sounded like Radio 1 (national UK pop music station for those not in the UK) or Island FM (local radio) so not like it was Radio 3 (classical station - I'd probably need to be smelling salts/CPR to be revived from the shock of finding scaffolders listening to Radio 3). DJ continues, after surprising pause "he does... you know, the music, for films... like Star Wars, Harry Potter...". I had to hurry on so that's all I heard. I have no idea what it was all about, but yeah, random. Clearly the guy had no idea who JW was though lol.

Not to mention all the Shakespeare/Branagh. That’s pretty fucking terrible of Variety frankly.  

Not to mention all the Shakespeare/Branagh. That’s pretty fucking terrible of Variety frankly.  

Not to mention all the Shakespeare/Branagh. That’s pretty fucking terrible of Variety frankly.