Yeah there's some of Barber's Adagio sound, but I also hear a lot of Ralph Vaughan Williams (Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis) in common in both Williams's and Safan's scores. Not a bad place to draw inspiration!
The Tallis Fantasia was composed in 1910 and the Barber composed in the 30s. So in that sense there IS a Golden Age influence in both scores...it's just not the Viennese Korngold/Steiner Golden Age influence. Vaughan Williams of course composed a good deal of his own film scores during the Golden Age, but his music didn't have that Hollywood "Golden Age" sound then, either.
I've long wished that Samuel Barber had tried his hand at film composition, because many of his works put one in mind of film music (just listen to his opera Antony & Cleopatra!) and I think he might have been great at it.
This plays absolutely wonderfully in expanded form. I mean, the highlights were spectacular but this is even better! Good call to keep the smaller cues separate too. The whole thing just ebbs and flows perfectly.
Glorious sound too! One small question - I did notice some background clicking/ticking during some of the solo trumpet passages (only) - mostly on disc 1. Is that studio noise? (I haven't yet had a chance to do a comparison with the older release).
Thank you Intrada (and for your usual, mega fast shipping!)
I'm thinking of getting this release but am less than thrilled with the multitude of extremely short cues. Is there anyone that has both releases that can comment on whether it would be easy or even possible to recreate editorially the sequence of the initial album release from this expansion?
I'm gonna give you credit for not meaning to refer to the "bumper" cues in that comment.
You see, if a single one were to be omitted, there would be a hue and cry -- "Oh, my Gawd! They left out that 12 second transitional cue from the scene where Custer was squatting in the bushes! I've been waiting to own that music since before I was born!"
Since it must certainly include the squatting cue, I will have to go ahead and order this.
This is a magnificent score, one entirely unknown to me until this thread encouraged me to have a listen. Too many short cues occasionally bother me but not this time. Excellent CD.
