Jerry Goldsmith - The Secret of NIMH (new Intrada Expanded)

[Yavar Moradi 2,599]

1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

Definitely a wide range of music, but somehow it all fits together really well - probably tempting fate to suggest that James Horner used it as a template for how he (very successfully) approached his animated scores which mix a similar set of classical composers and range of styles (albeit a lot less Ravel - seriously, everyone who likes this score should listen to Daphnis et Chloe, not in a "it's all borrowed" kinda way, but more in a "if you like NIMH, you'll love this" kinda way - one one of my favourite pieces of classical music).

I second this. I’m actually not that big of a Ravel fan in general (he’s fine, his orchestrations just feel overly surface level show-off to me a lot of the time) but the complete Daphnis et Chloe ballet is easily my favorite work of his, and is a perfect gateway work for a film music fan to get into classical music. It sounds very much like a (really excellent) film score.

 

Yavar

[1977 1,743]

Ok you guys have done it now.

 

Which version of Daphnis et Chloe do I need to seek out?

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

2 minutes ago, JTWfan77 said:

Ok you guys have done it now.

 

Which version of Daphnis et Chloe do I need to seek out?

My go-to recording is the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Pierre Boulez. The performance is terrific and Boulez always gets a lot of clarity, which is ideal in such a lustrously orchestrated score; the orchestration and orchestra itself makes sure that it still sounds gorgeous so you get the best of both worlds in terms of clarity and lustre. I also have the LSO conducted by Claudio Abbado which is very fine too.

[ThePenitentMan1 744]

I forgot there was one more little missing snippet of music!  About thirty seconds or so of rather static tense strings and woodwind interjections were cut from The Sentry Reel on the OST:

Not an unreasonable edit for an OST, sure, but I'd still say it'd be worthy of a "contains previously unreleased music" tag.

 

Here's how I handle it in my newest fanedit:

 

Also, while it's not "missing" music, I'd have to say one of the things I'd look forward to the most on a NIMH expansion is being able to hear Flying Dreams Lullaby completely discrete without the Cable music at the end:

 

To be able to bask in its cozy loveliness without then being forced to listen to this shady sneaking-around music in the same track that spoils the mood of the wonderful song you just heard.

[Yavar Moradi 2,599]

1 hour ago, Tom Guernsey said:

My go-to recording is the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Pierre Boulez. The performance is terrific and Boulez always gets a lot of clarity, which is ideal in such a lustrously orchestrated score; the orchestration and orchestra itself makes sure that it still sounds gorgeous so you get the best of both worlds in terms of clarity and lustre. I also have the LSO conducted by Claudio Abbado which is very fine too.

 

I don't think I know the Boulez. My go-to is Charles Dutoit.

 

Yavar

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

1 minute ago, Yavar Moradi said:

 

I don't think I know the Boulez. My go-to is Charles Dutoit.

 

Yavar

Ah cool, I might have to check it out. I also have the recording by the Boston Symphony under Charles Munch which is often regarded as a benchmark recording and, for a 1955 vintage, sounds excellent. However, think it might be a bit tricky to find these days.

[Yavar Moradi 2,599]

Just now, Tom Guernsey said:

Ah cool, I might have to check it out. I also have the recording by the Boston Symphony under Charles Munch which is often regarded as a benchmark recording and, for a 1955 vintage, sounds excellent. However, think it might be a bit tricky to find these days.

 

That one is excellent and does have great sound...for 1955. Another I'd highly recommend is Yannick Nezet-Seguin, which is the most recent great recording of the work, and was released on hybrid SACD by BIS Records, for those who really want an immersive multi-channel experience. Amazing to realize that more time has passed in between that recording and Dutoit's 80s recording (an early digital one), than has passed between Dutoit's and Munch's.

 

Yavar

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

Just now, Yavar Moradi said:

 

That one is excellent and does have great sound...for 1955. Another I'd highly recommend is Yannick Nezet-Seguin, which is the most recent great recording of the work, and was released on hybrid SACD by BIS Records, for those who really want an immersive multi-channel experience. Amazing to realize that more time has passed in between that recording and Dutoit's 80s recording (an early digital one), than has passed between Dutoit's and Munch's.

 

Yavar

Hah, well yes, even with that caveat it does pretty great sound - classical music of the period got much better recording quality than most film music! Funnily enough, I was just about to update my post to note the BIS version which I don't have but as BIS is one of my favourite classical labels who rarely disappoint and whose albums feature some of the best engineering in the business. Looks like the Dutoit album is highly recommended too (his Planets is my go-to) out of far too many versions lol.

 

As a note, I would also dissuade anyone from bothering with the suites as the full thing is only 55 minutes or so and isn't repetitive in the way that some longer ballet scores are (i.e. those by Tchaikovsky or Prokofiev where the full thing can run to 2 hours and have quite a lot of repetition).

[Yavar Moradi 2,599]

The (two) orchestral suites also dispense with the original ballet score’s choral element, which sucks. Obviously they were designed as easier-to-perform works for common concert performance (choirs are expensive for orchestras to add to performances!) but on album, there really is no reason to listen to the suites.

 

That said I’m also not a fan of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker suite, lol… it left off most of the ballet’s best music!! (And long as they are, I’ll also stick with my complete Sleeping Beauty and Romeo & Juliet, thankyouverymuch…)

 

Yavar

[1977 1,743]

[Tom Guernsey 2,286]

I've taken the liberty of moving the ballet chat to the Classical Music Recommendations Thread... hope that's OK with everyone!