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Warriors of the Silver Screen (Compilation)
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Average: 3.7 Stars
***** 131 5 Stars
**** 91 4 Stars
*** 52 3 Stars
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Conducted by:
Paul Bateman
Nic Raine
Kenneth Alwyn

Performed by:
The City of Prague Philharmonic
Total Time: 136:67
CD 1: (63:11)

Taras Bulba: Franz Waxman (11:54)
• 1. Overture/Sleigh Ride (2:46)
• 2. Torchlight Parade (2:05)
• 3. The Birth of Andrei (Pastorale) (2:08)
• 4. The Ride to Dubno (4:53)

Anthony and Cleopatra: John Scott
• 5. Main Titles/Give Me to Drink Mandragora/Eternal Rest (6:40)

The 300 Spartans: Manos Hadjidakis
• 6. March (3:58)

First Knight: Jerry Goldsmith (14:10)
• 7. Arthur's Fanfare (0:44)
• 8. No Surrender (5:25)
• 9. Arthur's Farewell (5:00)

Rob Roy: Carter Burwell
• 10. Rob and Mary (3:32)

The War Lord: Jerome Moross
• 11. Prelude & Main Title (4:19)

El Cid: Miklós Rózsa (7:45)
• 12. Overture (3:32)
• 13. Love Theme (4:13)

Henry V: Patrick Doyle (13:28)
• 14. Prelude/O for a Muse of Fire (4:29)
• 15. St. Crispin's Day (5:14)
• 16. Non Nobis Domine (3:44)


CD 2: (73:56)

Prince Valiant: Franz Waxman
• 1. Prelude/King Aguar's Escape/The Fens/The First Chase/The Tournament/Sir Brack's Death/Finale (10:00)

Spartacus: Alex North (6:26)
• 2. Main Title (3:38)
• 3. Love Theme (2:47)

The Last Valley: John Barry
• 4. Theme (3:36)

Braveheart: James Horner
• 5. End Credits (7:03)

The Thief of Bagdad: Miklós Rózsa (11:46)
• 6. Overture (2:19)
• 7. The Love of the Princess (4:50)
• 8. Flying Horse Gallop (1:36)
• 9. The Market of Basra (3:00)

Conan the Barbarian: Basil Poledouris
• 10. Prologue/Anvil of Crom (4:33)

Ben-Hur: Miklós Rózsa (10:16)
• 11. Prelude (3:40)
• 12. Love Theme (2:57)
• 13. Parade of the Charioteers (3:36)

Jason and the Argonauts: Bernard Herrmann
• 14. Prelude (1:57)

The Vikings: Mario Nascimbene (17:52)
• 15. Rape and Pillage (1:33)
• 16. Rangar Returns (2:33)
• 17. Dancing on the Oars (The Viking Drinking Song) (1:31)
• 18. Love Scene (2:30)
• 19. Voyage and Landing in Britain (2:40)
• 20. Attack on the Castle (3:31)
• 21. Funeral & Finale (3:32)


Album Cover Art
Silva Screen Records
(May 20th, 1997)
Regular U.S. release.
The insert notes by David Wishart are extensive. There's also the regular info (now badly dated) about CD-ROM capabilities.
Filmtracks Traffic Rank: #1,047
Written 7/6/97, Revised 6/17/07
Buy it... if you want to fill an entire afternoon with some of the most heroic music ever written for the big screen, all of which presented in outstanding sound quality.

Avoid it... if you are deterred by the significant emphasis on Golden Age representation on this and similar sets from Silva Screen.

Warriors of the Silver Screen: (Compilation) One of the highlights of Silva Screen Records' impressive summer 1997 lineup, "Warriors of the Silver Screen" offers selections of swordfighting and epic historical scores not featured on the label's "The Mark of Zorro" and "The Crimson Pirate" albums released a few months later. The performances of classic film music by The City of Prague Philharmonic and Crouch End Festival Chorus were reaching the level of outstanding precision that would be expected from the groups in the years to come. For Silva, "Warriors of the Silver Screen" was following the ambitious and fantastic "Space and Beyond" and "Cinema Choral Classics" albums. This compilation has a particularly healthy dose of music by Miklós Rózsa, including three multi-track performances from Ben-Hur, The Thief of Bagdad, El Cid, the last of which is particularly effective in the performance of its melodic love theme. Two heroic Franz Waxman suites appropriately begin each CD, each at least ten minutes in length. Otherwise, the selection of music is spread between the works of many great composers, classic and modern. The choral incorporation mixed at the end of John Scott's classically elegant suite for Anthony and Cleopatra is momentous, and the ensemble handles the composer's usual, layered brass counterpoint well. The march from Manos Hadjidakis' lesser known The 300 Spartans is quite light-footed and bit flighty compared to its surrounding representatives. The City of Prague Philharmonic has always performed Jerry Goldsmith's First Knight with great enthusiasm and power, with eleven minutes from the score presented here in grand fashion. While the "No Surrender" cue has been re-recorded before (appearing on the "Cinema Choral Classics" album), the "Arthur's Farewell" cue is beautifully performed and a highlight of the first CD in the set.

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