The Bernard Herrmann / Phase 4 connection was one of the most significant in the artistic and audio history of Decca. Collected here and are significant recordings of his film music he recorded for the company from films which remain classics of all time. This 2CD set is a timely reminder of the devastatingly effective music Herrmann wrote – and conducted – for the classic Hitchcock films. It is worth noting the remarks of Bernard Herrmann himself: ‘I feel that music on the screen can seek out and intensify the inner thoughts of the characters. It can invest a scene with terror, grandeur, gaiety or misery. It can propel narrative swiftly forward, or slow it down. It often lifts mere dialogue into the realm of poetry. Finally, it is the communicating link between the screen and the audience, reaching out and enveloping all into one single experience.’
BERNARD HERRMANN
Journey to the Centre of the Earth
The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Fahrenheit 451
Gulliver’s Travels
Mysterious Island
Jason and the Argonauts
Citizen Kane
Jane Eyre
The Devil and Daniel Webster
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
National Philharmonic Orchestra
London Philharmonic Orchestra (Citizen Kane, Jane Eyre, The Devil and Daniel Webster)
Bernard Herrmann
Recording Producers: Raymond Few (Journey to the Centre of the Earth, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Fahrenheit 451); Tim McDonald (Gulliver’s Travels, Mysterious Island, Jason and the Argonauts); Tony D’Amato, Gavin Barratt (Citizen Kane, Jane Eyre, The Devil and Daniel Webster, The Snows of Kilimanjaro)
Balance Engineers: Arthur Lilley (Journey to the Centre of the Earth, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Fahrenheit 451, Gulliver’s Travels, Mysterious Island, Jason and the Argonauts); Arthur Bannister (Citizen Kane, Jane Eyre, The Devil and Daniel Webster, The Snows of Kilimanjaro)
Recording Location: Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London, UK, February 1970 (Citizen Kane, Jane Eyre, The Devil and Daniel Webster, The Snows of Kilimanjaro), June 1974 (Journey to the Centre of the Earth, The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Fahrenheit 451); Kingsway Hall, London, UK, February 1975 (Gulliver’s Travels, Mysterious Island, Jason and the Argonauts)
‘the ever-polished NPO and the excellent digital remastering bring to life with stunning brilliance’ Gramophone