Does anybody out there have a favorite "The Twilight Zone" score by Bernard Herrmann? Mine would have to be "Eye Of The Beholder", with that moaning brass which underscores when that female patient runs throughout the halls of the clinic.
Does anybody out there have a favorite "The Twilight Zone" score by Bernard Herrmann? Mine would have to be "Eye Of The Beholder", with that moaning brass which underscores when that female patient runs throughout the halls of the clinic.Oh my! Where to start ? I absolutely love "Where Is Everybody ? " For outstanding orchestration probably "Little Girl Lost". Have you checked out Herrmann's Hitchcock Hour scores? If you start a poll , my vote is for "Wally, The Beard "
Still to this day, I've never seen a single episode of TZ. Nor have I heard any of its scores, I think. Apparently, 156 episodes were produced across 5 seasons, so that would be quite an undertaking. But love the film version from the 80s.
Agreed. The sound of the vibraphone is otherworldly. I wish I knew how they achieved that effect. It's as if the impact of the mallets was removed, leaving only the tremolo. Haunting.
The muted trumpets too in service to the Alicia character are a poignant, wonderful touch. Oh, my. And “The Stars” is just plain astonishing composing for small ensemble within the small screen realm. That cue affected me deeply as a youngster, including its partial insertion into the conclusion of the chilling Long Distance Call.
Agreed. The sound of the vibraphone is otherworldly. I wish I knew how they achieved that effect. It's as if the impact of the mallets was removed, leaving only the tremolo. Haunting.
Following up on this, I'm recreating the score using really good sample libraries and I'm trying to figure this sound out. I tried running the vibraphone through a rotary (Leslie-style) speaker plug-in and it sounds pretty good, but I'm wondering if it might be some other similar electronic effect. What might Herrmann have used in 1959? Anyone have any ideas?
Would sure love an accurate stereo rerecording of "The Stars" even though I can't imagine anything beating the original. The back-and-forth between glock and vibraphone is so moving. And it's as if the CE3K "conversation" between ship and keyboard were a homage, in a goofy way.
Would sure love an accurate stereo rerecording of "The Stars" even though I can't imagine anything beating the original. The back-and-forth between glock and vibraphone is so moving. And it's as if the CE3K "conversation" between ship and keyboard were a homage, in a goofy way.
Once I'm happy with the sound of the vibes I'll upload my version to youtube. It's the first cue I tackled, for obvious reasons.
I don't have a single "favorite Herrmann" since the concept doesn't make sense, but I definitely prefer his main/end titles over the annoying Marius Constant titles, whose TWZ music I otherwise also enjoy. I'm sure pop culture fans will point out that the latter theme was so distinctive that it made the series that much more memorable. As if it needed that.
I also agree that the Herrmann Main and End Titles captured the very essence of the series perfectly.
That’s a solid compilation. While watching and listening I am reminded that these are sights and sounds that have never gone away over 60+ years. Recently it struck me that both TZ and The Andy Griffith Show have never gone away from television in one way or another. What Earle Hagen did for the latter and so many wonderful composers did for the former is an undeniable link. Sure, Hagen’s opening theme is an iconic ear grabber too, but catch his score for the ep “Prisoner of Love.” The b&w nighttime setting and mood stamps/evokes the era from which it and so much of TZ have become definitive touchstones over my television-viewing lifetime.
