Received an email this morning saying that the album has gone to the plant and should start shipping in about three weeks. Really looking forward to getting this.
I presume that backers who backed with one of the options that includes aa digital copy will get their digital copies tomorrow too.
Hope so, at least!
Being a UK buyer, I'll get my physical CD two weeks after everyone in the US, which is why I went for CD plus digital. I don't want to wait any longer than necessary!
Fantastic and already one of the most important release of the year.Which ( only my opinion ) is a very weak one so far, regarding unreleased releases.
Roger and Doug’s respective press releases, plus the tracklist:
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH/ON DANGEROUS GROUND Composed by BERNARD HERRMANN Conducted by WILLIAM T. STROMBERG ROYAL SCOTTISH NATIONAL ORCHESTRA with HUW DANIEL, VIOLA D'AMORE Produced by DOUGLASS FAKE INTRADA INT 7176
Intrada announces the third release in its Kickstarter-funded recording series, this time featuring two striking works by composer Bernard Herrmann. Performed by the Royal Scottish National Orchestra under the baton of William T. Stromberg, the album features the complete scores to the the 1951 thriller On Dangerous Ground and an early Hitchcock/Herrmann collaboration, The Man Who Knew Too Much from 1956. Stromberg is no stranger to recording film scores, having recorded dozens of albums, including many Herrmann scores. His attention to detail is second to none, and his rapport with the players in the orchestra led to a warm, enthusiastic atmosphere under which both scores were passionately recorded.
Outside of the Prelude, The Man Who Knew Too Much remained the only Herrmann/Hitchcock collaboration not recorded in full form for commercial appreciation. Clocking in at just under 30 minutes, its brevity may have precluded it from being recorded previously. But from the dramatic and thundering Prelude (preceded by Nathan Van Cleave's soaring VistaVision logo), to the Arabic source music reminiscent of Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and numerous suspense and action cues, it's pure Herrmann/Hitchcock. As an added bonus, we have included an alternate finale that plays up the humor of the last scene with a wry quote of the song “Que Sera, Sera” (otherwise never referred to in the underscore). However, the filmmakers ultimately opted for a more dramatic approach to the musical ending: a shortened version of the Prelude.
On Dangerous Ground faired a bit better when it came to commercial releases. Chosen to rise from obscurity by Herrmann and Charles Gerhardt when recording the compilation, Citizen Kane, the Film Scores of Bernard Herrmann, the team decided to open the album with the aggressive, relentless "Death Hunt" sequence. Decades later, the Film Score Monthly label released the score from surviving acetates. The sound was sub-optimal, but it's all there was. Now listeners can enjoy the entire score in a state-of-the-art new recording, including the emotional viola d'amore performances by Huw Daniel and, in this case, the clanging of a steel pipe giving dramatic emphasis to the exciting music Herrmann composed.
Both scores are packaged on a single disc, engineered by Mike Ross-Trevor, with newly commissioned artwork by Stephane Coedel and liner notes by Herrmann biographer Steven Smith. Kickstarter contributors are also treated to an exclusive slip case not available on the retail CD release.
Newly-recorded world premiere pair of Bernard Herrmann masterpieces! Our third-in-a-row successful Kickstarter film score recording project yields two dynamic, powerful yet diverse 1950’s Bernard Herrmann scores, presented in their entirety! First up: Herrmann’s never-before-released score from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1956 suspense thriller, The Man Who Knew Too Much. James Stewart, Doris Day headline famed director’s own remake of his 1934 assassination tale, scripted by John Michael Hayes, filmed by Robert Burks in VistaVision and Technicolor. Married couple visiting Morocco with their young son in tow find intrigue, then witness murder followed by the kidnapping of their son as silencer in elaborate assassination plot that climaxes in Royal Albert Hall symphony concert, with Herrmann on screen as conductor. Nathan Van Cleave’s rousing “VistaVision Logo” leads directly into Herrmann’s massive “Prelude”, played by 3 flutes, 2 oboes, English horn, 4 clarinets, 3 bassoons, 8 French horns, 6 trumpets, 6 trombones, 2 tubas, 46 strings, piano, harp plus expanded percussion section including tympani, bass drum, suspended cymbals, tam tam, 2 vibraphones, 2 snare drums, 2 tenor drums, piatti, crash cymbals, glockenspiel and xylophone. Four quasi-source cues follow, featuring violin, clarinet and harp with signature Herrmann colors. Much of the subsequent score offers Herrmann’s highly unique woodwind writing. Several cues written for but not used in the finished film add contrast. Brief but terrific highlight is rousing, never-used “Finale” with coda drawn from famous Doris Day signature song that ends with fortissimo bravado! Also included here is film version which instead reprises final bars of the “Prelude”. Next up: Herrmann’s riveting score for Nicholas Ray’s 1951 snow-bound film noir, On Dangerous Ground, starring Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Ward Bond. Opening with one of the composer’s most exciting “Prelude” sequences, the cue is marked Allegro Feroce and features full orchestra with spine-chilling steel plate hammering within the percussion section. Subsequent cues offer incredibly varied display of Herrmann gems. Vivid “Hunt Scherzo” is a major highlight, with powerful brass writing presaging the tour-de-force triplets of “The Death Hunt” itself, highlighted by 9 ferocious French horns yelping and yowling like hunting dogs pursuing a killer in the climactic chase up snowy peaks. In complete balance are haunting cues for Ida Lupino’s blind girl, featuring the rare viola d’amore, a difficult-to-play baroque instrument that suggests her loneliness, living with her brother in the middle of the snow country. Both melodically and harmonically, these are Herrmann at his most sensitive and beautiful. Both scores were recorded in January 2023 with our dear friends William T. Stromberg on the podium, Mike Ross-Trevor in the booth and the augmented Royal Scottish National Orchestra bringing all to glorious life. Herrmann scholar Steven Smith writes booklet notes, artist Stephane Coedel creates striking cover art, Kay Marshall designs handsome package. Douglass Fake produces, Roger Feigelson executive produces, Joe Sikoryak contributes session photography. Anna Stromberg reconstructs from Herrmann’s manuscripts, William T. Stromberg conducts the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Kickstarter contributors treated to additional high-gloss slipcase not included with retail CD release.
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956) 01. VistaVision Logo & Prelude (From The Man Who Knew Too Much) (2:40) 02. Nocturne (2:27) 03. Arab Trio #1 (1:36) 04. Arab Trio #2 (2:13) 05. Arab Trio #3 (0:20) 06. The Chase & The Knife (1:59) 07. L. B. Death (0:31) 08. The Warning (0:29) 09. Loneliness (1:41) 10. The Alley (1:09) 11. A Close Call (0:43) 12. Ambrose Chapel & The Chapel (1:51) 13. Exit (1:01) 14. Postlude (1:14) 15. The Fight (1:08) 16. Arrival & Embassy (4:02) 17. Embassy Hall (0:41) 18. The Stairs (0:36) 19. The Gun (1:31) 20. Finale – Film Version (From The Man Who Knew Too Much) (0:20) 21. Finale – Original Version (From The Man Who Knew Too Much) (0:19) Total Score Time: 29:05
ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1951) 22. Prelude (From On Dangerous Ground) (1:42) 23. Solitude (1:17) 24. Violence (0:32) 25. Nocturne (2:12) 26. Pastorale (2:13) 27. Hunt Scherzo (2:51) 28. Snowstorm & The Silence (3:42) 29. The House (0:49) 30. Blindness (3:33) 31. Fright (2:02) 32. Faith (1:55) 33. The Searching Heart (1:30) 34. The Whispering (1:05) 35. Dawn, The Idiot, Fear & The Cabin (5:29) 36. The Death Hunt & The Hunt’s End (4:25) 37. Grief (0:58) 38. The Winter Walk (1:28) 39. The Parting (1:14) 40. The Return (1:07) 41. The City (0:38) 42. Finale (From On Dangerous Ground) (2:36) Total Score Time: 44:05
I presume that backers who backed with one of the options that includes aa digital copy will get their digital copies tomorrow too.
Hope so, at least!
Yes! I received an email tonight (US time) with a Dropbox link. Copied that to my own dropbox, and then imported into my Roon. (Note that the AIF files come without any metadata embedded, so you will need to update that if you want track title. It's easily done as the tracks are track number followed by the track name.)
Just through my first listen. What a great release! Their best one funded via Kickstarter. I think on the whole The Man Who Knew Too Much is the better one of the two scores (more compact and constantly interesting) but the best highlights are the romantic cues of On Dangerous Ground which luckily there are many. The viola d'amore solos are exquisite. Can't wait to listen to it more the following days.
