New edition remastered. 2-CD. More than 2 hours of music including 35 minutes unpublished. 12-page booklet, internal French/English notes by Sylvain Pfeffer.
In collaboration with TF1 Studio, Music Box Records presents, in a new remastered version, the soundtrack of the film La Révolution française (1989), an essential work by Georges Delerue, offering more than 2 hours of music.
The French Revolution, a historical fresco composed of two films collected under a single title and made in 1989 on the occasion of the bicentenary of the Revolution, focuses on the different stages of the conflict. The first part (The Light Years) by Robert Enrico (The Adventurers, The Old Gun), begins in 1774 and covers the period from the first signs of unrest to the abolition of the monarchy. A chronicle of eighteen years of turmoil, this first part focuses on Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. The second part (The Terrible Years) by Richard T. Heffron (Survivors of the Future), begins with the imprisonment of the king and ends at the end of the Terror in 1794. The two-part film brings together an international cast: Jean-François Balmer, Jane Seymour, Andrzej Seweryn, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Sam Neill, Claudia Cardinale, Peter Ustinov, François Cluzet and Christopher Lee.
Georges Delerue composed a grandiose score that celebrates both the glory and the darker sides of the Revolution, clearly underlining the dramatic tension of events. The soundtrack also offers a rich selection of pieces composed for the royal court and for the people celebrating their freedom. The patriotic song Hymn to Freedom, central theme of the Revolution, is performed by the American singer Jessye Norman. The music was recorded at CBS Studios with the British Symphony Orchestra of London. The rich score of The French Revolution can be considered one of Georges Delerue's finest works in his entire career.
In 2014, Music Box Records reissued this soundtrack in its full version which was sold out very quickly. For this latest edition of 2022, a new restoration and remastering have been carried out from the analog tapes of the two Polydor albums. The album also includes the many unreleased material from the composer's archives. Limited to 500 copies, this edition includes a 12-page booklet including a new text by Sylvain Pfeffer that looks back on the genesis of this historical fresco.
DISC 1 • FIRST EPOCH: LIGHT YEARS
1. Hymn to Freedom (orchestral version) (03:54)
2. The King's Rising (01:13)
3. Queen's Hamlet (01:05)
4. Opening of the Estates General (01:06)
5. First Revolutionary Call (01:30)
6. At the Bastille (01:24)
7. Storming of the Bastille (04:20)
8. Barricade Festival (01:47)
9. Abolition of privileges (02:05)
10. Declaration of Human Rights (04:46)
11. Women's March (03:47)
12. The Feast (02:31)
13. Appeals and Oath (01:42)
14. Death of Mirabeau (00:57)
15. Feast on the Champ de Mars (01:16)
16. Fersen and Marie Antoinette (01:07)
17. The Queen and Her Children (01:31)
18. The Shadow of War (01:13)
19. Defeat of the French regiments (02:27)
20. The Marseillaise (01:28)
21. End of royalty (03:07)
22. Hymn to Freedom (Performed by Jessye Norman) (03:52)
BONUS TRACKS:
23. Light Years (Credits) (00:35)
24. Death of Louis-Joseph (01:45)
25. People's Cheers (00:30)
26. The festivities (00:48)
27. The Trap (02:04)
28. Marat denounces the king (02:24)
29. The Jeu de Paume Oath (01:01)
30. The National Guard / Fall of the Monarchy (02:03)
31. Birth of a hymn (01:29)
32. Ode to Freedom (alternate orchestral version) (03:05)
Disk Duration 1 • 65:14
DISC 2 • SECOND ERA: THE TERRIBLE YEARS
1. Hymn to Freedom (orchestral version) (03:53)
2. Departure of the Royal Family (01:10)
3. Lafayette (01:34)
4. The Prussians (01:07)
5. French vs. Prussians (02:52)
6. Saint-Just (00:59)
7. The King's Sorrow (02:15)
8. The vote for the death of the King (02:00)
9. Gabrielle's Death (00:50)
10. Marat (02:20)
11. The Fate of Marie Antoinette (02:28)
12. Executions (01:49)
13. Madness and Massacres (04:02)
14. Danton is back (01:38)
15. The Conspiracy (02:18)
16. Desmoulins' recklessness (01:10)
17. Execution of Danton and Desmoulins (03:54)
18. Robespierre's Madness (01:10)
19. Execution of Robespierre (02:47)
20. Epilogue (01:04)
BONUS TRACKS:
21. Hymn to Freedom (variation) (Performed by Jessye Norman) (03:01)
22. Marie Antoinette in her prison (01:44)
23. Death sentences (01:54)
24. Danton is accused (02:13)
25. Robespierre and Saint-Just (01:23)
26. Separate Fates (01:32)
27. The Revolution devours its own children (01:29)
28. Robespierre injured (00:51)
29. Feast of the Supreme Being (00:37)
30. The Terrible Years (Hymn to Freedom) (01:48)
31. Hymn to Liberty (model) (Performed on the piano by Georges Delerue) (03:27)
Possibly my favorite Delerue. The music is alive and stirring.Maybe over the top to some,but to me it is grand. Just listening to Jessye Norman singing the title song is worth the whole shabang,but you will love it all.
"For this latest edition of 2022, a new restoration and remastering have been carried out from the analog tapes of the two Polydor albums."
The excellent 2014 release was newly "restored and mastered" by Christophe Hénault using the original master tapes of the Polydor albums, and corrected the switched stereo channels of earlier editions. An important upgrade for sure.
What further improvements are we to anticipate with this 2022 "new restoration" of the two Polydor albums?
You should all thank me, as I just bought a used version of the 2014 release for a bit more than what it's costing now, therefore ensuring this re-release would happen within a short period of time.
That being said...everyone (and their dog) should own this. It is just splendid stuff!
I had a 'highlights' tape of this - off FSMer Damian - many, many moons ago, but for some reason, I never got around to buying the many CD re-issues of it down the years. BUT!! I've finally remedied that situation and included it with my latest Intrada order. I'd say 'it better be good', but I kinda know it already is.
Possibly my favorite Delerue. The music is alive and stirring.Maybe over the top to some,but to me it is grand. Just listening to Jessye Norman singing the title song is worth the whole shabang,but you will love it all.
I second this. It's impossible to listen to this score without being stirred to some kind of patriotic fervor...and I'm not even French. Both parts of the film are available with English subtitles (at least in the US) on Prime Video for a reasonable rental. I've watched it and it is IMHO the most detailed and informative film of the revolution I've seen. It's a true epic in all senses. My other favorite is Jean Renoir's 1938 "La Marseillaise", but it concentrates on some fictionalized characters and only covers a shorter specific time period within the whole scope of the Revolution.
This has just turned up on Chris Soundtrack Corner (Germany) & I've just ordered it. It makes more sense that ordering a French release from the US to the UK, it came to 29.95 euro, not too bad. At least it's saved me from having a whole year without buying a soundtrack CD (unless La-La come up with something I'd like).
That is the revolutionary flag from the period (drapeau révolutionnaire pour l'Exécution de Louis XVI). The stripes were horizontal at the beginning.
Excellent score by the way, but not my favourite Delerue work.
I had the chance to see both parts of this epic in the theatre in the early 1990s. The film was a terrible box office bomb.
It's a shame that it flopped, because from what I know it's one of the more historically accurate representations of the French Revolution. The only other film I can think of that is about the French Revolution and is of comparable quality is Danton (1983). It's been years since I last saw it, so I forget if it's historically accurate, but it is very good nonetheless. (It was recommended by Kubrick!)
You should all thank me, as I just bought a used version of the 2014 release for a bit more than what it's costing now, therefore ensuring this re-release would happen within a short period of time.
That being said...everyone (and their dog) should own this. It is just splendid stuff!
Yes, when I bought the older release from Screen Archives recently, I knew this would ensure a re-release. Like washing your car when you crave rain! :-)
This is...MAGNIFIQUE!! Just absolutely wonderful music, from a Master composer. It had been years since I last played the tape Damian did for me, but the minute that Main Anthem belted forth, it was like I had listened to it yesterday. Such a Proud and Grand piece of music. And such a rich and varied score. They REALLY don't write 'em like this anymore.
This is Delerue in epic style. It is GLORIOUS ! Yes , they do not make this kind of music anymore, because the younger generation of soundtrack music fans are fixated on Goldsmith scores from TV and expansions of previous CD releases from film. Scores that are premieres are rarely requested. Please know that I have accepted this situation. The money that I once spent on soundtrack music is now paying for airplane flights and hotels around the world. I am happy and my wife is happy. Good luck to those who want the music from Gilligan’s Island.
