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One of the big discoveries for me on this set is Barry's beautiful short piano score for THE GLASS MENAGERIE. I was unfamiliar with that score and didn't even know Barry wrote a score for piano only.
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One of the big discoveries for me on this set is Barry's beautiful short piano score for THE GLASS MENAGERIE. I was unfamiliar with that score and didn't even know Barry wrote a score for piano only.
He even self-performed it in the original performance. I have a copy of the original performance tape. It's nice, but he wasn't a brilliant piano player, and the recording has foot shuffle noises and stuff like that.
What I really love about THE GLASS MENAGERIE is that, by being pared back to pure piano, it really demonstrates the delicacy of the composition.
Sometimes, I think that's the true test of a compostion: does it still grab you even when it's pared back?
I think it also tells the story of who John Barry was, musically:
Simple, delicate, and fuss free, but with a compelling emotional hook achieved with apparent, but not easily imitated, ease.
Cheers
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Much of the music I currently listen to is actually solo instrumental or chamber orchestral rather than large orchestral music. I am currently relishing the keyboard works by Bach and Mozart and listen to a lot of them. And there are some compositions, like Stravinsky's "Le Sacre Du Printemps" and Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition", where the piano versions offer a different dimension and insights into a work and are "stand alone" compositions.
Not sure if the true test of a composition is always how it sounds when it's pared back though, as I think there are compositions where sonority (which is tied to instruments) is in the forefront. I don't know if a composition like Penderecki's "Threnody to the Victims of Hiroshima" would work scaled down for piano(s).
There are some (not a lot) film scores written for solo piano, like Dave Grusin's THE FIRM and Basil Poledouris' IT'S MY PARTY. Not sure how many more. I didn't know Barry wrote a solo piano score, but it turns out THE GLASS MENAGERIE is a particularly fine entry into this "genre".
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Posted: |
Dec 29, 2023 - 8:57 AM
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By: |
MusicMad
(Member)
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All scores now played ... wonderful (an understatement).
I've had a DVDr rip of the Seance score for many years and know the music well. As Nic states: no two recordings will be identical and I can hear the difference which I think is more than that inherent in the comparison with the original's source (TV broadcast -> DVDr). But that difference is much less than, say, the re-recordings of scores we grew up on such as Goldsmith's Our Man Flint, Bernstein's Great Escape or Mancini's Charade.
The timings are spot-on (allowing for film projection speed) and - all important - the melodies, instrumentation and ambience are as good as I would want.
I also know Corn from a similar source (and many years ago I did a cassette recording from a VHS recording) and here I find the difference in sound even less. I've not similar exposure to the other three scores (I've not seen Menagerie or Doll's House - though do have this recorded from a recent broadcast), knowing the themes from Barry's and/or Nic Raine's recorded versions.
As for the music: each score is repetitive and I expect some will say that by the end of, say, Ruins they'd had enough of the waltz. But that's the downside of choosing short and/or TV scores to record: we can't expect a wealth of tunes. And, of course, it's the melodic aspect of Barry's work which brings this to the fore: his compositions are so strong in melody that they become readily identifiable.
I wanted this CD but held off ordering, concerned about the current status of potential additional charges re: VAT on imports to the UK. Happily none arose (I don't understand why not) and I'm very pleased I went for it. The scores fill a few gaps in the catalogue of Barry's works.
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Do we know when these re-recording sessions were done?
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Do we know when these re-recording sessions were done?
I think it was 10-11-12 October, last year
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Posted: |
Dec 31, 2023 - 4:56 AM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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I was afraid to say anything, but I'm with you, Graham. With my relatively newfound love of romantic Barry, I had hoped this was more up that alley, but alas, it was a little too heavy on his repetitive side, so it didn't engage me much. But I'll probably give it a few more gos. Beyond that, I'm also impressed by the project, and I will always support the importance of recording and releasing previously unreleased material for posterity.
As for Basil, hopefully he's just taking a break. He can come off as a bit angry sometimes, but I've met him and he's really a very nice fellow.
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Now that this is more widely available, I wonder if anyone but me will notice the marked similarity between Love Among the Ruins and the child’s theme from Poltergeist 
I'm hearing the secret of nimh, myself.
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Do we know when these re-recording sessions were done?
I think it was 10-11-12 October, last year
Thank you Leigh! I couldn’t find that information anywhere and it’s helpful for my music library.
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Graham, Thor, et al., have y’all seen the film the soundtrack of which y’all are dissing?
________________________________________________________________________________________
No dissing from me, Howard! Only constructive observations! And yes, I sought out the film after I'd placed my order. It's very good. Attenborough is terrific in it. Let us know what you think once you've seen it all. Anyway, seeking out films for the soundtracks I have is not something I actively do as a rule. Usually an idea of the synopsis is sufficient for me to create my own (better) images in my head. But I am glad I watched SEANCE. I don't think I ever saw the Katherine Hepburn TV Movies, although I have a vague recollection of a few of them being shown over the Christmas period in the 1970s. My "taping off the telly" days.
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Yes, let's tell the truth: The Hepburn scores are repetitive scores.
That's no criticism of the scoring. That's how scoring rightly plays out sometimes, and if Quartet had recorded only the themes, not the whole scores, some fans would have missed "this" variation, or "that" variation.
So, Quartet did the right thing of being all inclusive at the risk of it being repetitive.
People at least have the choice of ripping only a subset of tracks to their iTunes libraries.
But, do you know what?
I, personally, think the themes in these scores are so top-notch John Barry, that I, personally, love the repetition.
I could play The Corn Is Green on a loop all day. I can't get enough of that theme.
I also think that Seance on a Wet Afternoon is a fabulous and innovative score, precisely because it understates the deep, introspective, disturbing, personal drama of Myra's insanity, rather than overstates it.
In an art form that is constantly marred by overstatement, that it wonderful.
That makes us lean more into the film, as a film score should, rather than lean back from it.
This, to me, is still the release of the year for last year.
However, not everything is going to resonate with everyone, and that's simply a reality we must embrace.
Cheers
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I, personally, think the themes in these scores are so top-notch John Barry, that I, personally, love the repetition.
Agree, it's a wonderful album that doesn't have a dull moment in it. Very beautiful scores with transparent orchestration.
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Just bumping this to get it above the pages of spam.
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