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THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH
MUSIC COMPOSED AND CONDUCTED BY DAVID LEE
World Premiere Release of the iconic Roger Corman film based on Edgar Allan Poe's immortal classic. Filmed in 1964, this timeless masterpiece is part of the series of adaptations of works by Poe that Corman directed between 1960 and 1964, including the beloved films House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, Premature Burial, Tales of Terror, The Raven and The Tomb of Ligeia (all of them except Premature Burial starring Vincent Price).
Filmed in England (with wonderful production design by Daniel Haller and cinematography by Nicolas Roeg), The Masque of the Red Death was scored by British composer David Lee instead of Corman’s usual musical collaborator, Les Baxter.
Lee, a renowned jazz musician and songwriter for London’s West End, had already written music for a few British films, but The Masque of the Red Death was his most ambitious assignment. He wrote 50 minutes of score in less than three weeks, recording with a symphony orchestra at Pinewood Studios in London. The result was one of the most fascinatingly gothic and original scores ever composed for a horror film. It includes a lovely, lengthy waltz, perfectly synchronized with the film, in the crucial masquerade scene.
The masters containing the music recorded at Pinewood in 1964 were either lost or destroyed; thus, the score of The Masque of the Red Death, long demanded by fans, could not see the light of day – until now. This CD has been mastered from the film’s well-preserved music stem, courtesy of MGM. Unfortunately, of the 10 DME reels, only 9 have survived, so about eight minutes of music could not be included. Our sound engineer, José Luis Crespo, has done an amazing job of restoration, subjecting tracks to the most advanced CEDAR technique, and carefully adjusting the ups and downs in volume, now virtually undetectable. The final master was supervised and approved by Mr. David Lee, who is happy to see his work finally published – 48 years after it was composed!
The package includes a lavish 28-page full color booklet, with liner notes by the always-amazing Daniel Schweiger – including an exclusive interview with Roger Corman and David Lee.
Prelude / The Old Woman and the Red Death (1:49)
Prince Prospero (2:30)
The Red Death / The Fire (2:26)
Francesca (1:09)
Prospero's Court (3:44)
Affront to Alfredo (0:43)
The Forbidden Room (0:49)
Night Castle (0:40)
The Falcon Training / Scarlatti / Francesca and Gino (2:33)
The Satan Mark / The Prison (5:44)
The Black Wood (0:46)
The Ape and the Dwarf (0:35)
Witchcraft (3:03)
Juliana's Death (0:53)
Gino and the Red Death (1:19)
The Masque Ball (2:33)
Prospero and the Red Death (6:45)
Epilogue and End Titles (3:07)
Limited Collector's Edition of 1000 units.
If you have doubts about the sound quality of our release, please listen to audio samples available at www.quartetrecords.com
This item is in pre-order now and will be sent the next 02/27/12
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Good grief. I love this score and this movie. More thoughts later after I recombobulate myself...
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Ordered both of today's new titles directly from Quartet and had a confirmation email.
You never can tell how quickly these will go but I'm taking no chances!
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Oh! I knew this was coming (we had a short thread about it a few months back when Quartet spilled the beans) but it's great to see that it's finally really "out".
Splendid music for an absolutely great film - this is one of my favourite Cormans, in fact it's one of my favourite films of any genre. The music is so integral to the entire ambience of the movie - it almost works like the soundtrack to a musical. Wonderful stuff.
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Wonderful film!
Great score!
Ordered!
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Fabulous score! Thanks, Quartet!
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I'm not a great enthusiast for horror scores but didn't hesitate on this one.
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So sales are slow, Quartet? That surprises me too. I imagine that David Lee has very little "cult following", unlike Baxter, but I thought that a familiarity with the film itself would have been enough to get things going. It really is a marvelous movie, and the score is so integral to it. Absolutely compelling.
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