Polanski Passionata

By: Randall D. Larson
Date: Thursday, October 06, 2005

THIS WEEK'S RECOMMENDATIONS

Krzysztof Komeda (his name was Americanized by Christopher Komeda for his American LP releases) had a short but profound career in film music, beginning in his native Poland but sweeping into America due to his association with director Roman Polanski, for whom Komeda scored nine films between 1958 and 1968. His music for ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) remains one of horror's most haunting scores, drifting between a mesmerizing lullaby theme (la-la's sung by Mia Farrow, the film's star), strident keyboard raps and reverberated intonations, and other tonal disturbances both hushed and dissonant. The score is moody, its lullaby whispering with false innocence while brimming with hidden malice. Several disturbing vocalisms from the witches' coven featured in the film are included, along with several diabolical interpretations of the lullaby mixed with the chanting of the coven; the lullaby theme is interpreted in several other guises throughout the score ("Expectancy Part 1" gives it a neat jangly quality for violins over harpsichord.

The music for ROSEMARY'S BABY comprises one of the best horror scores of the 1960s; Komeda's background in jazz providing some truly unique frightening moments while the soft, soothing lyric of the main lullaby theme is also one of the decade's most poignant melodies. The first "Moment Musical" (track 4) is a thrilling suspense motif, turning the lullaby theme inside out and allowing all manner of vocal and instrumental motifs to come oozing out. A number of compelling piano-based jazz pieces also appear as source cues ("The Coven" track 5); there's even a bizarre bluegrass tune ("Dream") that could have come out of a '50s Western score.

The score was released on LP by Dot Records concurrent to the film's release, but did not see a CD release until 1998, when it was paired up with Komeda's score for Polanski's THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS on a Polish CD volume 19 in "The Complete Recordings of Kryzsztof Komeda" on Polonia Records (CD 160; reissued the following year as PO 160). The latter was never released on LP; and the recording

expanded ROSEMARY'S BABY by 9 hitherto unreleased cues. England's Harkit Records, which recently released Komeda's score for Polanski's thriller, CUL-DE-SAC (and will shortly that score, remastered, paired with KNIFE IN THE WATER, another Polanski thriller from 1962), has split the two scores and released ROSEMARY'S BABY (HRKCD8135) and FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS (HRKCD8120) as separate CDs. Content is the same as the combined Polish release, with the exception of three bonus tracks are added to the Harkit ROSEMARY'S BABY edition, including a terrific new arrangement of the lovely lullaby theme, played by an avant-garde jazz ensemble in 1989 with a stunning vocalization by Urszula Dudziakj and Walk Away, and two piano demo tracks Komeda recorded of various versions of the main theme, which are insightful into glimpsing Komeda's compositional process at the piano.

The music for THE FEARLESS VAMPIRE KILLERS, Polanski's uneven mixture of humor and horror, is a less accessible score, musically; comprised primarily of dissonant arrangements of harsh choral intonations, the music is fairly nonmelodic and more avant-garde, creating an effectively claustrophobic sensation of unease. Yet through the oppressive musical discord, Komeda's choice of instrumentation reveals his own nod to the film's more humorous aspects the score, despite its ominous sensibilities, is not to be taken seriously any more than the film is. The wavering vocalisms of the vampire coven become almost satirical in tonality, the plaintive, solo cries of "Shagal Leaving and "Vampires To Crypt," and the mournful chanting of "Vampire Comes" expand this tonality; pieces like "Krotock On Sledge," with its chamber ensemble of winds, harp, and strings, the harpsichord-driven "Sarah's Song," and the carefree scherzo, "Alfred Hears Singing," are mock-classical cues, while "To the Cellar," a neat action cue for quickly-piped flute over bass and bassoon, and "Both Over Rooftops," which takes the main motif's vocal riff gives it a bass- and xylophone-driven cadence, are jazz-based pieces. The tongue-in-cheek creativity of the score and its composer's instrumental choices give this score a charm above its more immediate gloominess. This becomes quite obvious in the score's final track ("Herbert's Song"), which takes on a clear and compelling Italian Western tonality, morphing the oppression of the previous vocals into a more adventurous, carefree arrangement.

Both releases include well-written and well-illustrated booklets with notes on the films and their scores. Komeda, by the way, who was also a noted jazz composer and musician in Poland, died from complications of an accident in 1969; ROSEMARY'S BABY and Buzz Kulik's RIOT were his final film scores.
www.harkitrecords.com

New Line has released Howard (LOTR) Shore's score for David Cronenberg's latest thriller, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (39051; Silva Screen is distributing the CD in Europe on SILCD1194). No, the film is not a documentary about human conflict, but rather a compelling thriller about a man (Viggo Mortensen) trying to defend himself against a killing done in self-defense, in view of his own

personal history of violence. Shore, who started out scoring for Cronenberg (THE BROOD, SCANNERS, VIDEODROME this is his 11th score for the director)), provides a moody and provocative score for this compelling drama. The music is somber and atmospheric, almost thoroughly orchestral, and maintains a severely apprehensive, almost ominous mood. Shore's music characterizes the conflict within Mortensen's character, evoking much of his internal struggle over good and evil. It becomes a visceral, passionate score, very understated but very profound in its commentary. The score's melody is dour and melancholy; almost hopeless until its final resolution shifts the perspective to something a bit more delicately positive.

Cronenberg, writing in the CD's booklet, describes Howard Shore as "an actor. He inhabits each film he works on the way an actor inhabits his character. He works from inside the film, never imposing a theory, a signature, or a structure from the outside. In this way, his music becomes the heart of the film, its emotional center, but also its intelligence, its understanding of itself. His music interacts with the actors and the camera as though it were another character, one who is wide, passionate, and profound." True words, beautifully said, and entirely apropos of Shore as a composer, and especially of his work for this film.
www.silvascreenmusic.com  

Also of note this week is Varese Sarabande's release of Stephen (SHAKESPEARE IN

LOVE, MYSTERY MEN) Warbeck's score from PROOF (302 066 678 2), John Madden's poignant thriller about a deluded mathematician, centered on the man's daughter as she seeks to come to terms with her father's madness. One wonders is PROOF was temp-tracked with Thomas Newman scores, since the main theme contains the same type of fastly-fingered rhythmic piano motif that is so characteristic of Newman's work. Nonetheless, Warbeck's score is very effective and very affecting; the slow-moving, rhythmically-based score is very tender and melodic, befitting an introspective film such as this.
www.varesesarabande.com  

Brian Tyler's equally poignant score for THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED, Disney's feel-good movie about a young man from the wrong side of the tracks winds

up winning the 1913 US Open golf tournament, has been released by Hollywood Records (2061-62541-2). The music is breathtakingly melodic and beautifully, capturing the spirit of believing-in-yourself and ultimate triumph that is so evidently portrayed in the film. The score unshackles Tyler from the action-oriented and horror-oriented scores he has often been associated with in the past (as wonderfully effective as they have been) and allows him to soar with unabashed orchestral melodies in a way he hasn't been permitted in the past. Even if you're not into feel-good dramas like this, the music is magnificent and beautifully expressive. If Tyler isn't yet on the top rung of the A-list composers yet, this score ought to do it.

FILM MUSIC NEWS

SoundtrackNet reports that James Horner has composed the music to a sequel of one of this best 1998 scores (THE MASK OF ZORRO) and the web site has even included some exclusive soundbytes from the new score for THE LEGEND OF ZORRO. The soundtrack to the film will come out on Sony Classical on October 25, 2005, but for now surf over to www.soundtrack.net and have a listen. (direct link:
http://www.soundtrack.net/features/article/?id=163) 

Silva Screen Records has released the soundtrack to THE CHRONICLES OF

NARNIA- but not the forthcoming big-budget Give-LOTR-A-Run-For-Its-Money version scored by Harry Gregson-Williams and due out from Disney this December, but the exceedingly talky and exceedingly boring 1988 BBC version, nicely composed by Geoffrey Burgon. The CD (SILCD1199) contains a 15-minute suite of themes from the miniseries, as well as suites from four other BBC series composed by Burgon, including BLEAK HOUSE, TESTAMENT OF YOUTH, BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, and TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY. The music is newly performed by The Philharmonia Orchestra. score.
www.silvascreenmusic.com  

Sony Classical will release John Debney's latest score this Fall. DREAMER: INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY tells of a horse trainer (Kurt Russell) and his daughter (Dakota Fanning) who nurse an injured horse back to health so he can race in the Breeder's Cup. Debney collaborated with virtuoso violinist Joshua Bell, who performs on the score.

Film Score Monthly reports that All Score, the German label that brought out the delightfully loungish Mondo Morricone releases, will release this November Franco De Gemini The Man With The Harmonica a premiere compilation of Italian composer and harmonica player Franco De Gemini (ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, etc.). www.allscore.de  

Brigham Young University's latest Golden Age film score release will be Max Steiner's 1935 score for THE THREE MUSKETEERS. Other new archival releases from the 1930s from Screen Archives (who also distributes the BYU releases) are Alfred Newman's swashbuckling SON OF FURY (1942) and Max Steiner's MARJORIE MORNINGSTAR (1958).
www.screenarchives.com  

Lalo Schifrin's Aleph Records has released Kaleidoscope, the latest release from the

Grammy nominated series Jazz Meets The Symphony. In his forthcoming autobiography, Lalo Schifrin reflects that the seeds of Jazz Meets The Symphony were unwittingly sown in his mid-60s projects New Fantasy and Schifrin/Sade. Those ground-breaking albums affected a harmonious and vibrant marriage between the form and idiom of classical composition and the rhythmic and extempore properties of jazz. Lalo Schifrin: "The classical musicians could hardly believe it when they found themselves actually swinging!" Included on this CD are two film music pieces given new arrangements, SLAUGHTER ON TENTH AVENUE and THE CINCINNATI KID.

Virtuoso musician Karen Han, whose splendid and unique performances on the Erhu (two-stringed Chinese violin) have enhanced such film scores as WE WERE

SOLDIERS, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, IRON MONKEY, JADE, THE JOY LUCK CLUB, and others, will perform in a unique concert in Los Angeles on November 5th. Karen Han and Friends invite all music lovers, to experience this very best, one-of-a-kind, world music combination concert where Asia meets the West. Karen will join world famous musicians from the renowned Jazz band Hiroshima and the well established composer, Missa Johnouchi, and her Asia Wind group members from Japan to bring together a collaboration concert, and a special mixture of beautiful and passionate east-meets-west. For more information please visit Karen's web site at www.karenhan.com  

Notable upcoming soundtrack release dates, courtesy of www.filmscoremonthly.com:

October 4
THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE - Christopher Young - Lakeshore
Keith Emerson at the Movies - Keith Emerson - Castle (import)
Legrand: The Essential Film Music Collection - Michel Legrand - Silva

October 11
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE - Howard Shore - New Line
A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (reissue) - Charles Bernstein - Varese Sarabande
THE OMEN TRILOGY (reissue) - Jerry Goldsmith - Varese Sarabande
PLANET OF THE APES [TV] - Lalo Schifrin, Earle Hagen - Intrada Special Collection
WALLACE AND GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT - Julian Nott - Varese Sarabande

October 18
THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY - Zbigniew Preisner - Mellowdrama
THE CHUMSCRUBBER - James Horner - Lakeshore
DREAMER: INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY - John Debney - Sony Classical
THE FLY/THE FLY II (reissue) - Howard Shore/Christopher Young - Varese Sarabande
THE PUNISHER - Dennis Dreith - Perseverance

October 25
ISLANDS IN THE STREAM (reissue) - Jerry Goldsmith - Intrada
LEGEND OF ZORRO - James Horner - Sony Classical
PRIME - Ryan Shore, songs - Varese Sarabande
THE PRIZE WINNER OF DEFIANCE, OHIO - John Frizzell - Milan
STAY - Asche & Spencer - Varese Sarabande

November 1
THE FOG - Graeme Revell - Varese Sarabande
WHERE THE TRUTH LIES - Mychael Danna - Varese Sarabande

November 8
DOOM - Clint Mansell - Varese Sarabande
DUMA - John Debney, George Acogny - Varese Sarabande
FIREFLY - Greg Edmonson - Varese Sarabande
HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE - Patrick Doyle - Warners
WATER - Mychael Danna - Varese Sarabande

November 15
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE - Dario Marianelli - Universal
STARGATE: ATLANTIS - Joel Goldsmith - Varese Sarabande

November 22
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING: The Complete Recordings - Howard Shore - Reprise
MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA - Johh Williams - Sony Classical

January 24
NANNY MCPHEE - Patrick Doyle - Varese Sarabande

Date Not Yet Announced:
THE BIG EMPTY - Brian Tyler - La-La Land
EFFECTS - John Harrison - La-La Land
FARSCAPE Classics Vol. 2 - Guy Gross - La-La Land
KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE - John Massari - Percepto
KISS KISS, BANG BANG - John Ottman - La-La Land
MARJORIE MORNINGSTAR - Max Steiner - Screen Archives
THE SEA WOLF - Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Chandos

And finally, also courtesy of Film Score Monthly, here are some notable upcoming scoring assignments to keep and eye and an ear out for:

Craig Armstrong: ASYLUM
David Arnold: GHOST RIDER
Klaus Badelt: ULTRAVIOLET
Nathan Barr: 2001 MANIACS
Tyler Bates: SLITHER
Christophe Beck: THE PINK PANTHER
Marco Beltrami: UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION, THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA
Bruce Broughton: BAMBI AND THE GREAT PRINCE OF THE FOREST
Chuck Cirino: SHOCKWAVE, SOLAR STRIKE, KOMODO VS. COBRA
George R. Clinton: BIG MAMA'S HOUSE 2
Jeff & Mychael Danna: TIDELAND
Don Davis: THE MARINE
Pino Donaggio: TOYER
Danny Elfman: CHARLOTTE'S WEB
Michael Giacchini: MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE 3
Scott Glassgow: ROBOTECH: THE SHADOW CHRONICLES
Nick Glennie-Smith: THE SOUND OF THUNDER
Harry Gregson-Williams: THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH & THE WARDROBE
Johnny Klimek/Reinhold Heil: AEON FLUX
Joseph LoDuca: DEVOUR
Clint Mansell: DOOM
Ennio Morricone: LENINGRAD
David Newman: I MARRIED A WITCH
James Newton Howard: FREEDOMLAND, LADY IN THE WATER (M. Night Shyamalan)
John Ottman: LOGAN'S RUN, SUPERMAN RETURNS
John Powell: THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, ICE AGE 2: THE MELTDOWN
Graeme Revell: THE FOG
Jeff Rona: URBAN LEGENDS 3: BLOODY MARY
Lalo Schifrin: RUSH HOUR 3
Howard Shore: THE DEPARTED (Martin Scorcese), KING KONG (Peter Jackson)
Alan Silvestri: BEOWULF
John Williams: MUNICH (Steven Spielberg)
Hans Zimmer: THE DA VINCI CODE

Former editor/publisher of CinemaScore magazine, Randall Larson was for many years senior editor for Soundtrack Magazine and a film music columnist for Cinefantastique magazine. He is the author of Musique Fantastique: A Survey of Film Music in the Fantastic Cinema (Scarecrow, 1984) and Music from the House of Hammer (Scarecrow, 1995). In addition to Soundtrax and Music News for Cinescape.com, Randall reviews soundtracks Music from the Movies, writes for Film Music Magazine, and in many other fields.

Recommended Soundtrack sources:
www.buysoundtrax.com  
www.intrada.com  
www.screenarchives.com  
www.footlight.com  
www.arksquare.com/index_main.html  (Japan)
www.intermezzomedia.com  (Italy)
www.moviegrooves.com  
www.moviemusic.com  

For questions or comments, contact the author at Soundtrax@cinescape.com