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Ah, the old story: serious discussion ends once people have actually heard the music! It's the universal message board pattern:
1. I want _____
2. When is _____ coming out?
3. _____ is coming out on _____.
4. I got my copy on ____.
5. When am I going to get my copy?
5. I got my copy and now I want _____.
Harmless stuff, but of little enduring interest.
Well, we've got nobody but ourselves to blame. Here's one note of possible interest. People may wonder at the brassy outburst at the end of the main titles. A bit of apple polishing for "Produced by HAL B. WALLIS"? Actually, if memory serves, this music accompanies the bursting fireworks at Glorious Hill's July 4th celebration. I think Alma's very first, overwrought line refers to them. This is the sort of musical detail that should ideally be explicated in the track notes. In the present case we'll have to look elsewhere for commentary.
Why don't you make a few more posts to say that you wish that the notes broke the tracks down one by one and told you exactly what you're hearing? We get the point, really. It's not the kinds of notes I like and therefore you will never ever get them from Kritzerland, whether I'm writing or anyone else is writing. And yes, the burst of music accompanies fireworks. I don't really need to know that to appreciate the music, but that's just me. It's fine to make your point - once. We don't need to hear it twice, really 
Better yet, why don't you do it - you seem to love that sort of thing, so just do it and post it here. Then everyone can know exactly what they're supposed to be listening for in the music as used in the film.
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That's not a bad idea, actually.
It would break up the usual "I haven't got it," "I haven't got it, damn post office," "I got it -- What's next?" routine around here, you have to admit.
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Posted: |
Oct 22, 2011 - 2:36 AM
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By: |
Joe Caps
(Member)
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The plays are really two entirely different works, and both deserve to be seen. Eccentricities is a more intimate piece. It dispenses with the melodrama: there's no shooting, no father-son hatred. In fact, the characters played by Tiffin, Moreno, McIntire, and Gomez have entirely disappeared. Doctor John's mother, however, is memorably added to the mix. Also gone is the rather didactic body-soul argument. Eccentricities strips the action down to its emotional core. Miss Alma is the constant. I do prefer Danner in the role, but Page is also extraordinary. Was it this performance that inspired the "Page Cook's" famous pseudonym?
Not theperformance but the actress. Page Cooks name is fromGeraldine Page and Barbara Cook.
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Posted: |
Oct 22, 2011 - 6:39 AM
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By: |
Rozsaphile
(Member)
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Better yet, why don't you do it - you seem to love that sort of thing, so just do it and post it here. Then everyone can know exactly what they're supposed to be listening for in the music as used in the film.
Because I know my limitations. I'm not deeply familiar with this film. What knowledge I have (e.g., regarding variants of the play) I have offered here and will continue to do so. One of my proudest achievements (as an editor, not a writer) concerned a similar situation where the Rhino KING OF KINGS came out without much documentation. I wasn't keen on that particular score but I wanted to know more about it. After some editorial prodding, I managed to persuade somebody (George Komar) to write a detailed track-by-track account for the Rozsa Society journal, Pro Musica Sana (PMS 60 [2002]). George initially doubted whether he was up to the task, but in the end he produced a long and informative account that has lasting value. Let's hope that somebody, somewhere will do the same for S&S. If repeating such requests from time to time helps to elicit pieces like George's, I won't mind being seen as somewhat tiresome on the subject.
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Posted: |
Nov 5, 2011 - 7:59 AM
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By: |
Rozsaphile
(Member)
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The strings of the main theme of SUMMER AND SMOKE carry the character of an old Southern folk ballad, while gyrating woodwinds accompany it with swirls of bird-like chirpings as if in a question & answer love duet between flutes and clarinets, with cascading harp arpeggios in tow. If Bernstein had composed nothing else for this film, just this main theme alone speaks volumes with respect to locale, color, spiritual essence, sensuality, and fleeting grasps at eternity.
But there's more! Bernstein writes subordinate themes, like a ditsy violin passage for the senile mother of Alma (Geraldine Page) and Latin guitar & accordion pieces for the exotic beauty and dancing of Rosa (Rita Moreno).
Good observations from ToneRow and worth repeating. I agree that the subordinate themes don't function much like leitmotivs, except perhaps for the scratchy violin business (Bartok influence again?) that accompanies Mrs. Winemiller's erratic behavior. Still curious about Haines's assertion that all the characters are reflected in the music.
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Posted: |
Dec 1, 2011 - 11:31 PM
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By: |
Josh
(Member)
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Like the film, Bernstein's score for SUMMER AND SMOKE is a slow burner that ultimately roars, and it continues to smolder long after the curtains are drawn. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I've already listened to this CD more times this year than any other title in our collection, and it was just released in October!
I recently watched the film for the first time, too, inspired by this Kritzerland release, and it's a gorgeously photographed, wonderfully acted, expertly scored, heart-wrenching, timeless story of love, lust, shame, deceit, murder, redemption, and good ol' Southern hospitality ( ).
I cannot recommend this score and film highly enough.
NP: S&S
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Thanks, Josh! I was surprised to see that there are less than 175 of these left. Should I do the new-fangled thing and say going oop in two weeks?
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Should I do the new-fangled thing and say going oop in two weeks?
Don't resort to the Intrada "oop" thing yet.
First try La-La Land's:
"It's sellin' like hotcakes. If you are on the fence about it I would make a decision soon."
(--It worked for "Die Hard.")
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