Two scores in early Hollywood would be instrumental in shaping the importance of music in film.  The first of these is Max Steiner’s King Kong (1933).  The other is undoubtedly Franz Waxman’s stunning effort for James Whales’ The Bride of Frankenstein (1935).  Now, thanks to the loving work from La La Land’s Mike Matessino we have a chance to hear this music on its own in this new limited edition, part of the label’s Universal Heritage series.

Waxman was a recent arrival in Hollywood having played in bands and written scores for a host of German films as the decade began.  He had more recently completed Liliom (1934) which had gotten the attention of some, notably director Whale who wanted to employ him for his sequel to the successful Frankenstein (1931).  A lot had happened with music and film in that five year span.  The first film had stock main and end title music, but the new film would need a much more intricate score.  Waxman obliged and the result is a moment in film history when many things lined up to create one of the classics of early cinema.

It is hard to believe that this 84-year-old score still has the sort of power it has.  With thematic motives that run through the score and create connections to characters and a longer unity, the listener here can follow the storyline fairly well even with what has survived to be included here.  The music for the “bride” is a stunning, rich ultra-romantic approach then very much in vogue back in Europe (the likes of composers like Zemlinsky, Richard Strauss, and Korngold were all dabbling in).  With this score, Waxman charted a line of orchestral writing that would continue to impact Hollywood for decades to come.  The “Prologue-Minuet” sets us up with music that is delicate and casts back to an earlier genteel age while still staying mostly rooted in a later harmonic sensibility.  The comic touches and subtle sinister qualities of Pretorius also come across (“Introducing Pretorius”).  “Danse Macabre” gives us some equally fine off-kilter music that matches well what we are seeing and adds its own quirkiness.  But it really is in the extended eleven-minute sequence of “The Creation” where Waxman’s score really demonstrates the power of music and image.  Timpani heart beats run as a slow ostinato through the sequence that begin to add a sense of tension with such great simplicity.  The little motivic shimmers that begin to appear add to the intensity of the scene until, eventually, all will come crashing down.

Orchestrally, the use of organ helps add a rather macabre religious quality to the music which further connects with the themes of science as a new religion in the modern era.  Blending this with harp is a rather fascinating color as well.  As the score plays out here, one is also struck by the quality of the musicians sitting on that soundstage reading this new music.  Perhaps most were just glad to be employed, but you have to wonder if they did not still feel something unique and special was in their hands.  Of course, all of this means nothing without the sort of painstaking restoration that has been undertaken here to give us a truly crystal clear audio of the score that does not show its age.  As a remastering demonstration, this is really as good as one could hope.

Not all of the recorded score survives, but the half-hour that does is well worth every moment.  La-La Land includes four additional “bonuses” that were unearthed that give a slight glimpse into the alternate takes of key moments (“Pastorale-Village-Chase”, “Danse Macabre”, and some excerpts from “The Creation”).  It is certainly one of the label’s finest releases that is a gift to any serious lover of film music.  This is a limited release of 3000 units.

Toccata Classics has done the film music community a great service by bringing back John Mauceri to classic film music recordings.  Mauceri led the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra through many great film works during his 16 years as music director there with some 300 performances.  Some of his recordings with that orchestra were filled with a great variety of classical and film selections, as well as Broadway tunes, that often were unique and faithful to their originals.  The present release, with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, was recorded in concert in November 2013.  Many of the pieces on the program are the first recordings Mauceri has made of this repertoire.

There are a great many familiar selections on this release paying homage to the great Alfred Hitchcock and his films from the 1950s.  Many of them are in new editions by Mauceri and are making debut appearances here.  One of them, the concert overture from Herrmann’s The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) kicks the album off with great excitement.  This is a modified version of the oft-performed “Prelude”.  Stunning though is what can best be said of the exquisitely performed music from Waxman’s Rebecca (1940) in a suite of music from that classic score.  The orchestra is simply superb with perfect articulation and well-balanced as it enters into some of the great climactic music and subsequent mad waltz.  This is probably one of the best performances of this suite on record.  Of course, we are only ten minutes into this program.
The music changes style and course for a suite from Waxman’s brief score for Rear Window (1954) this Bernstein-esque music simply bubbles along here with great brass playing and delightfully-realized solo wind lines.  The suite is separated out into four tracks (Prelude; Lisa-Intermezzo; Ballet; Lisa-Finale).  The saxophone work here is certainly spot on noir recreation with perfect balance of romanticism and mystery.  Two new premiere suites of music by Tiomkin follow from Strangers on a Train (1951) and Dial M for Murder (1954).  The former features some of Tiomkin’s delightfully comic writing with a bit of jazz and engaging thematic material that make this one of the composer’s memorable works.  A beautiful waltz opens the latter score with great Romantic gestures and additional fine playing makes a great case for this wonderful score as well.  That waltz helps provide unity in this often gorgeous dramatic music that is superbly unique from the other styles on the disc.

A great more Herrmann follows, the composer having been Hitchcock’s most frequent collaborator until the falling out over Torn Curtain caused the two to part ways.  It would not be a Hitchcock disc with the inclusion of some music from Vertigo (1958) and Mauceri includes the “Prelude” and mesmerizing “Scene d’Amour” here.  The latter features some great dynamic shading as it shimmers before its Wagnerian swells.  Of additional interest is a newly restored concert work from Herrmann’s Psycho score, expanded into a work just under 16 minutes and given the subtitle: A Narrative for String Orchestra.  The composer recorded this himself.  Mauceri uses his own newly-edited version, and one of the first digital recordings of the piece.  The visceral attacks are quite effective in this performance.  Some might find the piece itself overlong, but it is an excellent example of Herrmann bringing together a more interesting musical narrative for concert use.  The “Main Titles” from North By Northwest (1959) precede the work.  It is followed by Herrmann’s arrangement of the Storm Clouds Cantata music by Arthur Benjamin that played an important role in The Man Who Knew Too Much in Hitchcock’s original version, and reedited for the 1956 remake.  This is simply wonderful music that is often quite striking with its Wagnerian references, but sumptuously recorded and played here makes it sound like a masterpiece all the same.  Klaudia Kidon’s performance is equally excellent, well balanced with the choir and orchestra.  Finally, the album closes off with “End Credits” music from Danny Elfman’s Hitchcock score—the film being set during the making of Psycho helps give the music some context.  It is also a mark of Mauceri’s continued support of new film music in the concert hall.  The result is a rather nice bonus for an already generous album.

Over the years there have been a number of Hitchcock-based compilations.  Some, like this one, tend to cover the basics, others delve into rarer territory.  None of them are as amazingly recorded as this new Mauceri disc.  The Psycho and Benjamin sections may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but you will not find better performances currently on disc.  Toccata Classics makes one wish for the days when a release like this was not such a rare occurrence, and perhaps we can hear more from Mauceri’s concert performances in the future.  The Danish orchestra really seems to relish this music and its many styles made possible by Mauceri’s own appreciation of the selections on this program.  The cover is a bit typical, the Hitchcock portrait silhouette, and a list of works, not unlike other label’s Hitchcock releases.  Sometimes releases like this can feel too pops like with a light feel, but here things are taken quite seriously with attention to detail, individual composer style, and dramatic flair.  The booklet notes are equally superb and intelligently written.  There are very few releases that have this much great synergy going for them and even fewer that can boast an 81 minute playing time!