Semi-Lost Issue of CD Reviews: Cobra Records releases
By Steven A. Kennedy
With a slogan like "We'll dig out what others have buried," Cobra
Records enters the "classic" soundtrack market. This German label kicks
off with several unbelievably rare soundtracks from films most of us
will never see. All of them are excellently mastered and feature film
stills and cursory notes, albeit in German. It will be curious to see
how well Cobra does in the U.S. with releases such as these (there's
definitely some kind of market overseas).
Since I haven't seen these film, I must unfortunately form my opinions
based on the music alone. Of all the discs available for review, it's
the music of Rolf Wilhelm that suggests there's as least one unknown,
or underrated, film music master lurking in this batch. For information
on these and other releases you will need to e-mail Cobra directly at cobra_records@t-online.de.
Old Shatterhand *
RIZ ORTOLANI
Cobra CR 002
21 tracks - 61:11 (mono)
Though the promotional materials list a 1964 release date for this
German western, it appears that the film comes from 1963 and has
several titles used internationally. The film stars Lex Baxter and Guy
Madison and features a score by Riz Ortolani (of Mondo Cane fame -- the
pop-ish sound of that film enters in on occasion in Shatterhand).
The "Main Title" manages to mix together all that can be good about
Western film music including cliched, punctuated rhythms. In addition
to a full orchestra and chorus, Ortolani adds in an electric guitar
which hints at the period sound and lands itself firmly in
Morricone-land. The theme bares resemblance to the song "Red River
Valley."
Much of the dramatic underscore is in keeping with other music of the
time, but too often settles on banal dissonant string tremolos with
percussion. Even though the recording is monoaural, the sweeping
romantic strings that present a Mantovanni-style of pop writing still
manage to be well-captured in the recording. The main problem, though,
is that barely eight minutes into the score, Ortolani does nothing more
than repeat this theme with little changes in harmony or orchestration.
The "Hillbilly Theme" is far more European in sound (think German polka
music filtered through an Olive Garden muzak arrangement) than what an
American composer would write in this genre and is quite amusing as a
result. Other "source" music does not have this misplaced sound. Some
of the "Indian" vocal sounds are completely ridiculous, especially in
the "Apache Dance." The score is performed by the Berlin Symphony
Orchestra and the Berlin RIAS Chamber Choir. An English version of the
theme, "Nothing to Say" sounds like it was recorded in a cavern. The
voice is so recessed in the garage this was recorded in that it's
almost impossible to hear. And the drum beats that suddenly appear
don't help much either. Overall, this is nothing extraordinary, but
fans of other spaghetti western scores may revel in this, even though
it's a relatively one-trick score.
Im Reiche des Silbernen Lowen **
RAIMUND ROSENBERGER
Cobra CR 003
30 tracks - 59:08 (mono)
Im Reiche des Silbernen Lowen (Attack of the Kurds) is a Lex
Baxter adventure vehicle from 1965. The score receives its first ever
appearance in this release. Raimund Rosenberger (1917-1990) scored a
couple of dozen films in the 1960s and 1970s (and if titles are any
indication, these appear to be mostly B-pictures). The opening title
music is a wondrous admixture of Arabian (or perhaps faux-Kurdish)
music that is filtered through a sound that is a cross between Barry,
Jarre and '60s Morricone. That's some pretty good company. The
"Maiden's Dance' that follows is well-written ethnic music in keeping
with the film's locale, but unfortunately we are treated to this same
music for over six minutes. A lot of the dramatic music sounds much
like American television drama music of the 1960s as it goes about
setting up scenes or adding tension in particular. A very British march
for Sir David Linday appears as well. There is a heavy reliance on
diminished-seventh chord build ups alternating with dissonant string
tremolos. These three primary styles (music from the main title, Arabic
dance music, and the march) all reappear throughout to tie the score
together at times working together in the texture. "Ahmed Against Abu
Seif/Abu Sief's Death" is a kind of cool jazz genre reminiscent of
Barry Gray -- this repeats subsequently in different guises once it
appears towards the end of the CD. If all this sounds intriguing to
you, then you will enjoy this release immensely.
Rosenberger does what he can to come up with interesting
orchestrational combos, but this is not enough to sustain interest for
long. Part of the problem may lie in the generally short length of many
of the tracks. The second half of the CD provides a bit more variety.
Note additionally that in some places there are horrid ensemble
problems that include awful intonation. Occasional source deterioration
can also be detected. I suspect that Rosenberger's score serves the
film better than it deserved, but I'm not sure that it will hold up on
its own for any but the most diehard fan.
08/15 ****
ROLF WILHELM
Cobra CR 004
37 tracks - 71:36 (mono)
08/15 (1954, 1955) was the
first German war movie made after WWII and relates the story of a
German battalion from 1939 through the end of the conflict. The film is
presented in three main parts, each released separately. The music is
by Rolf Wilhelm (his first film score) and is performed here by the
Graunke Symphony Orchestra, with additional jazz set pieces in Part 3
performed by the Sudwestfunk Bigband conducted by Erwin Lehn The jazz
band enters playing a jazzed up version of the main title which is
quite something, falling along the lines of some of Adolph Deutsch's
jazz numbers for films in the 1950s.
The brief opening fanfare is composed by another great German film
composer, Franz Grothe. Wilhelm's own title music follows and is kin to
some of Shostakovich's film music, with a tonal center that mixes the
macabre with the normal. The following tracks reminded me a great deal
of Max Steiner's music for Gone With
the Wind, due mainly to Wilhelm's combination of popular song
and concert music in the midst of a highly romantic style. Not all of
the music is folk borrowing, though, as even Jessel's familiar "Parade
of the Tin Soldiers" makes an appearance. As the music progresses
through the selections from "Part One" I was reminded of Malcolm
Arnold's approach where he included marches and other familiar melodies
in his score for The Bridge on the
River Kwai. "Der Ruckzug" from "Part 2" is very similar to
Arnold's work in that film. (Realize that this film predates Bridge!) If you can imagine that
kind of combination of Steiner and Arnold, you will begin to come close
to the kind of music to be discovered on this intriguing film score.
There is a lot of beautiful music here that fans of Hollywood film
scores of the 1950s will enjoy, though in many cases the music could
just as easily have been written a decade earlier. "Asch and Elisabeth"
is a gorgeous love theme and an exemplary piece in the score.
The one thing you can say about the three parts of the score is that
there are musical styles a plenty for every taste in film music from
military music through romantic '50s-style scoring, through all the way
to '40s-style comedy scoring. As the CD plays all the way through,
however, it is Max Steiner, a real Wilhelm contemporary in many ways,
who is the true kindred spirit. As such one gets a chance to hear a
comparable master from Europe concurrently exploring a similar musical
response to film.
Some tracks have extraneous sound effects that could not be bled out of
the source and are somewhat annoying, if only in that they distract
from the wonderful music underneath. Another common production issue is
that tracks end very abruptly at times, which made me wonder exactly
what kind of source material was being used to extract the music. The
monoaural recording is fairly brash in places but still does a fairly
good job of capturing the sound. At any rate, of all the Cobra CDs,
this may be the one to start off your collection with, as it comes from
an important film at the time of an equally important international
transition in film music.
Und Ewig Singen Die Walder/Das Erbe
von Bjurndal ****
ROLF WILHELM
Cobra CR 005
58 tracks - 73:59; Ewig: 31 tracks - 37:49; Erbe: 27 tracks - 36:10)
mono
The two titles on this CD are Austrian films based on novels by the
Norwegian Trygve Gulbranson. Incidentally, the films include a
performance by Gert Frobe (i.e., Goldfinger).
Rolf Wilhelm conducts the Vienna Symphony in these premier releases of
this score, recorded monoaurally.
The "Main Title" that opens Und Ewig
Singen Die Wulder (1959) is truly beautiful. It comes out of
that "Golden Age" sound perfected by Korngold and it is obvious that
Wilhelm comes out of the same compositional traditions. The natural
surroundings of the film were obviously inspiring to Wilhelm, who wrote
some fine music to accompany the stunning visuals. As late a picture as
this is, the post-romantic sound is still omnipresent. However, as the
score progresses into some of its more folk-ish dances and other set
pieces, Wilhelm becomes a kindred spirit with the Alfred Newman of such
classics as How Green Was My Valley.
In 08/15 it becomes
increasingly obvious that Wilhelm is one of the premier composers of
German film music in his generation. The orchestrations are full-bodied
and classically shaped. The harmonic ideas are fresh and invigorating
never settling for the simple, often times going beyond lush. A series
of dance pieces are amazing pieces in their own right that sit firmly
in the tonal tradition of post-Strauss romanticism while hinting at the
folk dances of Kodaly. Wilhelm is not afraid of dissonance either as
portions of the score, such as the waterfall scene and the duel with
Margas show. "Winter Elegy" is a gorgeous piece that hints at Grieg,
but uses modern harmony to great effect. The main theme reappears to
root us in the surrounding texture and even in brief cues, Wilhelm
manages to shape things musically without real abrupt endings at every
turn. If this was the only score available here, it would still make
this CD recommendable but the inclusion of "Erbe" makes for further
icing.
At over seven minutes, the opening main titles and music for 1960's Das Erbe von Bjorndal prove once
again that Wilhelm was one of German cinema's finest composers. A
gypsy-like theme opens the score but has many deeper and menacing
sounds to work around its gorgeous melody. As in Und Ewig, Wilhelm likes to state
his main title themes early on with a sinuous english horn solo that is
then extended by strings. The music's ebb and flow drips with romantic
longing and will likely become a favorite of those who enjoy other
scores of this type. As in the previous scores, I was struck by the
large-scale concert orchestral sound that Wilhelm's orchestrations are
capable of bringing to film. The music is on an equal par with
contemporary classical music that continued the European Romantic
tradition post-Strauss. This score is more modal and has a deeper
quality that emphasizes brass in a way reminiscent of Sibelius. Many of
the tracks here are nature set-pieces which will remind you of some of
Korngold's music, especially the track "Summer Night." This is a
beautifully orchestrated and harmonized piece that is yet one of many
examples of Wilhelm's art.
Of the Wilhelm discs available from Cobra, this one would make a good
start for those interested in hearing scores that are fully in a
romantic idiom and less daring musically than say his score for 08/15. In either case, you can't
really go wrong.
The most maddening thing about this reissue is its sound. It is so
amazing that a country that produced the likes of Deutsche Grammophon
had inferior recording techniques when it came to their film music. The
recording still manages to capture the total sound very well, and it is
to Cobra's credit that they did not try to "enhance" the sound
stereophonically. The booklet for this CD is not as extensive as some
of Cobra's other releases.
Die Nibelungen ****
ROLF WILHELM
Cobra CR 006A/B
Disc one: 23 tracks - 69:52 Disc two: 15 tracks -
38:36
This 1966 film is a two-part adaptation of a popular German saga whose
stars included Herbert Lom. Here Wilhelm conducts the Graunke Symphony
Orchestra in this complete score presentation. To perhaps place this in
context of film music, one might say that Wilhelm's music for this epic
is kin to Mario Nascimbene's score for
The Vikings. This is not to imply the two are similar musically,
but they do inhabit the same romantic and atmospheric music.
Wilhelm continues to be a composer whose music is striking in its
originality. For an epic of this nature he focuses on a score filled
with motivic development and which relies heavy on brass. He never
lapses into derivative sounds but recreates a sound world that enhances
the nature of the film. Like Rosza does in his music for historical
epics, Wilhelm chooses to draw his materials carefully from everything
at his disposal in the common orchestra. As such then, there are pieces
that at times may seem to derive from B-picture matinee fare, but when
the music moves quickly to soar above its material the music is both
captivating and exhilarating. There are important themes and
developments of characters that one can explore more fully with
repetition as well. The first part focuses on Siegfried, allowing one
to hear that theme as it is shaped and molded by the events of the
action. There are also sections where a more Renaissance sound similar
to that used by Barry in The Lion in
Winter is employed.
For action sequences, Wilhelm likes to punctuate the drama with
dissonant chord structures before moving them out into more tonal
realms. This constant give and take of music firmly rooted in
ultra-romantic harmonies along with more atonal orchestrational writing
serves the music well. It is at times an eclectic blend of the Herrmann
of films like The Seventh Voyage of
Sinbad with the fantasy music of composers like Leonard Rosenman
and even Roy Budd. All of those suggestions are just to help you
realize that as many comparisons as I can create, nothing really can
come close to describing the uniqueness that Wilhelm gives to his
scores. Unlike his music for the Norwegian novel adaptations, Die Nibelungen is film music
developed out of those wonderful adventure scores shaped by the likes
of Korngold, Waxman and others to have their own unique sounds without
borrowing from the classical models available to them.
Having been blessed with hearing four of Wilhelm's scores, I find that
the music is continually appealing to hear and revel in as well as to
simply enjoy on its own merits. I am also struck at the variety that he
brings to each score and assignment in the films represented here on
Cobra's releases. It is truly a gift to be able to explore these scores
and I am glad I do not have to pick which one to choose first. As such,
this, along with the other Wilhelm scores in Cobra's recent releases,
are finding their way into my musical listening rotation and I find I
am the richer for it! Though this film comes from the 1960s, if you
enjoy epic film scores from the prior decade, this score will make a
welcome enhancement to your collection. This release is equally
recommended.
Der Scout/Prariejager in Mexico *** 1/2
KARL-ERNST SASSE
Cobra CR 007
31 tracks - 43:24 (Scout: 17 tracks - 22:40; Prariejage: 14 tracks -
20:44)
Here are two scores for an East German film and its TV adaptation by
Karl-Ernst Sasse. After an extended solo that sounds like a synthesized
flute a full orchestral treatment enters for the main title of The Scout. It is a well-constructed
main theme that moves between the solo and orchestral statements. In
addition Sasse has a guitar accompaniment to hint at the setting.
Sasse's style comes across in action cues the way Barry decided to
score some of the Bond pictures in the 60s with small repeating motifs
driven by percussion. I must admit that the more this score played the
more intrigued I became with it. There are times when the music
reminded of Jarre's electronic work too. The Western source music is
well done and obviously includes some electronically synthetic sounds.
The main theme helps to hold the whole score together in a way that
serves the additional material very well and making it more
interesting. One of the few discs so far in this series where more, if
it existed, would be a good thing.
The recording is unfortunately fairly dry and anachronistic in Der Scout. It is hard to believe
that this is a film from 1983 because some of the sound suggests 1960s
technology. The second incarnation of the film in 1988 fared with
better sound. Taken together this is a very good CD but bittersweet
when one realizes what was probable, or possible on the Eastern side of
the German wall. If you enjoy 1970s Western scores that mixed Americana
with unique sounds, this is well worth adding to your collection. It
would make fun for a film score guessing game of name-the-composer.
Coming on the spurs of FSM's
own release of The Man Who Loved Cat
Dancing, this makes an intriguing listening companion.
Comments regarding this article can be sent to this address: stev4uth@hotmail.com.
MailBag@filmscoremonthly.com
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