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Film Music Classics - Herrmann & Newman: The Egyptian


Release Date: 02/22/2005 
Label:  Naxos   Catalog #: 8557702   Spars Code: n/a 
Composer:  Bernard Herrmann
Conductor:  William T. Stromberg
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Moscow Symphony Orchestra,  Moscow Symphony Choir
Number of Discs: 1 
Recorded in: Stereo 
In Stock: Usually ships in 24 hours.  

Notes and Editorial Reviews

This collaboration between Alfred Newman and Bernard Herrmann belongs in the collection of anyone who cares about classic film music. The original picture needed considerable musical help; it concerns a guy who wanders around looking for the meaning of life, and the exotic setting provided much of the interest in what was in reality a pretty tame, uneventful plot. To their credit, both Herrmann and Newman avoid many of the cliché-ridden exoticisms that often make film scores of this type so tacky--that is, once they get past the opening cue with its (in this case not very voluptuous-sounding) wordless women's choir. In fact, Herrmann's rougher-edged, wind-based cues contrast very effectively with Newman's typically Romantic writing Read more for strings, and the lack of stylistic incongruity throughout the whole 70-minute-plus score is a tribute to the professionalism of both men. They clearly did everything they could for this curious picture, and if the movie no longer merits much attention, the music certainly does. As usual in this series, William Stromberg's direction is highly competent and effective. A welcome curiosity, formerly on Marco Polo, and a better deal than ever on Naxos.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

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Works on This Recording

1. The Egyptian by Bernard Herrmann
Conductor:  William T. Stromberg
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Moscow Symphony Orchestra,  Moscow Symphony Choir
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1954; USA 
 Notes: The score used for this performance was restored and reconstructed by John Morgan.
This work was written in collaboration with Alfred Newman (1901 - 1970). 

Sound Samples

The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Prelude (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): The Ruins (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): The Red Sea and Childhood (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): The Nile and Temple (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Her Name Was Merit (A. Newman)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): The Chariot Ride (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Pursuit (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Akhnaton - One Deity (A. Newman)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Taia (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Party's End (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Nefer-Nefer-Nefer (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): The Rebuke (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): The Deed (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): The Harp and Couch (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): The Perfection of Love (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Violence (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Valley of the Kings (A. Newman)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): The Homecoming (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Hymn to Aton (A. Newman)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Sights, Sounds and Smells (A. Newman)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Live for Our Son (A. Newman)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Am I Mad? (A. Newman)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): The True Pharaoh (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): The Tomb (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): The Holy War (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Dance Macabre (B. Herrmann)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Death of Merit (A. Newman)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Death of Akhnaton (A. Newman)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): The New Pharaoh (A. Newman)
The Egyptian (restored J. Morgan): Exile and Death (A. Newman)

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