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Compilation Produced by:
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Robert Townson
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Artwork and Photography by:
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Matthew Joseph Peak
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Release Date:
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March 27th, 2001
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Availability:
Regular U.S. release.
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Awards:
Several selections were nominated for (or won) Academy Awards.
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Filmtracks Editorial Review:
In Session: A Film Music Celebration: (Compilation) This double-CD set is
the ultimate souvenir from the Varèse Sarabande label's lengthy
collection of re-recordings of classic scores over the past several years.
Primarily with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra in Glasgow, Varèse's
executive producer Robert Townson has contracted for an endless stream of
re-recordings of complete scores from classic films and composers. The majority
of these efforts have yielded newly discovered life in scores of the 1960's,
with music from the 1940's through the 1990's represented in total. While many
of the original versions of these scores exist on other labels, these
re-recordings offer interpreations, often extremely close to the originals, by
top composers of today who conduct the performing groups. Continuing to this
very day, composers such as Jerry Goldsmith, John Debney, and Joel McNeely take
time off from their composing duties for current films to re-record these scores
for Varèse Sarabande in the U.K. and U.S. In some cases, with McNeely,
Cliff Eidelman, and Frederic Talgorn conducting, the Royal Scottish National
Orchestra and Seattle Symphony Orchestra have re-recorded the top yearly themes
of the 1990's, too, although none of these modern efforts appears on this
set.
The highlight of these re-recordings is the opportunity to hear classic themes
performed by large, digitally mixed orchestras in a sound quality that was never
realized with the originals. This is especially true of the scores on the first
CD of this set. The presentation of music on the In Session albums is
basically chronological, though the beginning and end have been specially
ordered. The set begins with Alex North's 2001, which is not the only
rejected selection on the album. The second disc finishes, basically, with
Georges Delerue's Platoon. The very end of the album is its weakness. For
some reason, Joel McNeely's original theme for the Star Wars: Shadows of the
Empire game was included, even though it is a difficult listen and certainly
no classic when compared to everything else on the set. Also of curiosity is the
choice of ending the set with Waxman's Taras Bulba, which can leave you
with hearburn depending on your opinion of that score. As for the choice of
tracks within the centerpiece of the set, producer Townson has done a pretty
good job of choosing the best selections of music from each score, perhaps with
the exception of Herrmann's Vertigo. With most selections ranging between
three and five minutes in length, the album flows well from piece to piece. The
only overly lengthy cues come from Goldsmith's Star Trek: The Motion
Picture and Platoon. Otherwise, the cue choice is strong.
The only other flaw of the album is perhaps a result of a larger circumstance of
the Varèse Sarabande re-recordings. If you are knowledgeable about the
series, you'll know that Townson prefers to tackle scores of the 1960's beyond
all others. And in addition to this concentration, there is also a heavy bias
towards the works of Alex North and especially Bernard Herrmann, both of whom
occupy a disproportionate amount of time on this album set. Therefore, the set
functions as a good overview of Varèse's classic film music
re-recordings, but not as good of a representation of the history of film
music as a whole. I can't be sure which was the further intent by Varèse,
but if they wanted to celebrate the whole of film music, more attention would
need to have paid to the classic Golden Age composers of Rózsa, Newman,
Korngold, etc, as well as more modern composers such as Horner, Zimmer,
Poledouris, and perhaps even Elfman. That may stand as a suggestion for the
series of re-recordings as a whole, for this In Session shows just how generous
Varèse has been to Herrmann and North. In great favor for this album is
its spectacular packaging, with impressive art and photography by Matthew Joseph
Peak, and lengthy notes by Robert Townson, who celebrates his 500th album
produced with this one. If you've been pondering purchasing one of
Varèse's recordings, but are still unsure, then this set is the perfect
starter kit for you at a reasonable price. ****
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Viewer Ratings and Comments:
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CD 1 (71:20)
• 1. 2001 - Main Title (Alex North) - 1968 (1:37)
Jerry Goldsmith - National Philharmonic Orchestra
• 2. Rebecca - Main Title, Foreword and Opening Scene (Franz Waxman) - 1940 (4:39)
Joel McNeely - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 3. Citizen Kane - Salaambo's Aria (Bernard Herrmann) - 1941 (4:11)
Joel McNeely - Royal Scottish National Orchestra / Janice Watson, soprano
• 4. That Hamilton Woman - Love Theme (Miklós Rózsa) - 1941 (4:26)
Joel McNeely - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 5. Anna and the King of Siam - Elegy (Bernard Herrmann) - 1947 (4:23)
Joel McNeely - Seattle Symphony Orchestra
• 6. Captain from Castile - Conquest (Alfred Newman) - 1947 (3:18)
Cliff Eidelman - Seattle Symphony Orchestra
• 7. A Streetcar Named Desire - Stan Meets Blanche (Alex North) - 1951 (3:03)
Jerry Goldsmith - National Philharmonic Orchestra
• 8. Viva Zapata! - Gathering Forces (Alex North) - 1952 (3:48)
Jerry Goldsmith - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 9. The Trouble With Harry - Overture and Autumn (Bernard Herrmann) - 1955 (2:16)
Joel McNeely - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 10. Peyton Place - Swimming Scene (Franz Waxman) - 1957 (5:37)
Frederic Talgorn - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 11. Vertigo - Prelude and Rooftop (Bernard Herrmann) - 1958 (4:54)
Joel McNeely - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 12. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad - Overture (Bernard Herrmann) - 1958 (2:05)
John Debney - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 13. The Twilight Zone - Walking Distance: Memories (Bernard Herrmann) 1960 - (2:50)
Conducted by Joel McNeely
• 14. Psycho - Prelude and The City (Bernard Herrmann) - 1960 (4:09)
Joel McNeely - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 15. The 3 Worlds of Gulliver - The Lilliputains and The Duel (Bernard Herrmann) - 1960 (2:48)
Joel McNeely - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 16. Breakfast at Tiffany's - Moon River (Henry Mancini) - 1961 (5:39)
Michael Lang, piano
• 17. To Kill a Mockingbird - End Title (Elmer Bernstein) - 1962 (3:25)
Elmer Bernstein - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 18. Marnie - The Hunt (Bernard Herrmann) - 1964 (4:18)
Joel McNeely - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 19. Hamlet - Ball at the Palace (Dmitri Shostakovich) - 1965 (2:59)
Cliff Eidelman - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
CD 2 (71:24)
• 1. The Agony and the Ecstacy - Main Title (Alex North) - 1965 (2:58)
Jerry Goldsmith - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 2. The Sand Pebbles - Overture (Jerry Goldsmith) - 1966 (2:28)
Jerry Goldsmith - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 3. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? - Moon and Main Title (Alex North) - 1966 (3:54)
Jerry Goldsmith - National Philharmonic Orchestra
• 4. Born Free - Playtime (John Barry) - 1966 (3:21)
Frederic Talgorn - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 5. Fahrenheit 451 - The Road (Bernard Herrmann) - 1967 (3:43)
Joel McNeely - Seattle Symphony Orchestra
• 6. Patton - Entr'acte (Jerry Goldsmith) - 1970 (2:16)
Jerry Goldsmith - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 7. Tora! Tora! Tora! - Main Title (Jerry Goldsmith) - 1970 (3:17)
Jerry Goldsmith - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 8. Jaws - Man Against Beast (John Williams) - 1975 (5:15)
Joel McNeely - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 9. Midway - Main Title and End Title (John Williams) - 1976 (5:15)
Rick Wentworth - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 10. Superman: The Movie - Love Theme (John Williams) - 1978 (5:01)
John Debney - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 11. Star Trek: The Motion Picture - The Enterprise (Jerry Goldsmith) - 1979 (6:07)
Jerry Goldsmith - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 12. Somewhere In Time - Theme (John Barry) - 1980 (3:37)
John Debney - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 13. Body Heat - Main Title (John Barry) - 1981 (3:52)
Joel McNeely - London Symphony Orchestra
• 14. Out of Africa - Main Title (John Barry) - 1985 (3:14)
Joel McNeely - Royal Scottish National Orchestra
• 15. Platoon - Theme (Georges Delerue) - 1986 (6:54)
Conducted by Georges Delerue, 1989
• 16. Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire - Xizor's Theme (Joel McNeely) - 1996 (4:36)
Joel McNeely- Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Chorus
• 17. Taras Bulba - Ride of the Cossacks (Franz Waxman) - 1962 (4:51)
Cliff Eidelman - Seattle Symphony Orchestra
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Insert includes lengthy commentary by
Robert Townson, with entries regarding each score.
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