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New copies at sale price direct from Colosseum :
http://www.colosseum.de/product_info.php/info/p361_Forever-Amber--David-Raskin-.html
Could this mean there's a complete edition coming soon? Even if that's not the case and you still don't have a copy, don't miss this gem which is one of the heights in not-only-golden-age-film music.
Doubtful - Varese owns that one in perpetuity.
That's what i don't understand, that perpetual "perpetuity" stuff : couldn't Varèse be working on a complete edition and trying to get rid of copies from the former edition? Sorry if my question sounds stupid but keep in mind i'm not a film music producer. 
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I just found the RCA re-recording for cheap. Now I'm doubly-regretting not getting that Varese from the used bin long ago.
Argh!
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Some of my favorite themes in the score aren't even on Raksin's recording. The Varese release is a must if you like this score.
Is there a cue breakdown in order to see whether it's possible to separate out the individual cues from the Varese suites? It might not be possible to do this though as the individual cues seem to be edited to create continuous music within each track on the Varese CD.
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I'm getting some cabbage back from state taxes, so I just bought this for $25 including shipping.
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I'm getting some cabbage back from state taxes, so I just bought this for $25 including shipping.
Got it in a flash.
Is this really, truly stereo? from 1947????
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If only they'd commissioned Raksin to write liner notes. I like his writing. It's like his music: it makes me think a little more, and I get more about of it.
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Thanks for the interesting low-down on the stereo; I'd never heard of "front-back" before.
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I notice one thing odd about the liner notes.
It says DR was inspired by Purcell for part of the score. It doesn't mention how he began writing the score in the style of Purcell, found it wasn't working, abandoned the approach, and started over.
So, he lost some time to finish the score, which I thought was why he relied heavily on repeating certain passages (which is unlike him).
At least that's my recollection of the film. Might be time to see it again.
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I just requested the 1947 edition of the book from the library, AND IT'S SIX HUNDRED FIFTY TWO PAGES.
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Posted: |
May 13, 2016 - 2:04 PM
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By: |
RR
(Member)
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I bought this score the week it came out, from my local brick-and-mortar record store. I'd never heard of it, but I took a chance, what with it being David Raksin and all, and I'm glad I did.
I liked the score so much I rented a VHS copy (remember those?) from Blockbuster (remember them?), and I liked the movie quite a bit, so I tracked down the novel on interlibrary loan (does anybody do that anymore?). Boring. So boring...
It annoyed me that the tracks were arranged into suites, instead of individual cues, but once I heard the CD a few times, I didn't care anymore. The music is that good. The sound quality reminds me very much of the Varese Club CD of "Magic Fire". I'm wondering if that was recorded in a similar manner...
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Posted: |
May 13, 2016 - 2:28 PM
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By: |
Graham Watt
(Member)
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I notice one thing odd about the liner notes.
It says DR was inspired by Purcell for part of the score. It doesn't mention how he began writing the score in the style of Purcell, found it wasn't working, abandoned the approach, and started over.
So, he lost some time to finish the score, which I thought was why he relied heavily on repeating certain passages (which is unlike him).
At least that's my recollection of the film. Might be time to see it again.
Not quite sure what you mean there, David. DID Raksin actually begin writing the score in the style of Purcell and then abandon the idea? The Varese notes do mention that some of the inspiration for the score was Purcell, but then there's a quote from Raksin himself in which he says that the film called for certain musical mannerisms generally thought of as "English" (although he leans a lot on Handel and even Scarlatti - moving the time period forward too, to the late Baroque, for dramatic purposes). All of that's in the liner notes, so what are we missing? An explanation as to why he abandoned the Purcell approach? I didn't even know that his original intention was to predominantly "do" Purcell, but I'm no expert (as you can see) and I like it when people enlighten me.
In the notes for the RCA Victor suite, Raksin expands on all that (I love how he brings Frank Zappa into it), but he only mentions Purcell in relation to the passacaglia which backs the sequences of the Great Fire.
I've probably made a nutmeg out of myself by "not researching" this properly (I didn't even consult the Raksin interviews), but it was all really an excuse for me to repeat that THIS IS ONE OF THE GREATEST SCORES OF ALL TIME!!!
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I particularly enjoy the finale of FOREVER AMBER, as it was originally meant to be heard.
I was first introduced to this score by the Charles Gerhardt lp: "'Laura': the Classic Film Scores of David Raksin," which also contains a lengthy suite from FOREVER AMBER. In the notes, Gerhardt explains that the film was considered racy at the time, and the ending was altered to suit the censor's taste. The actual ending is that Amber sees her son go off with his father, bound for the New World. Meanwhile, she has lost the King's favor, but is coping by having made a date with another courtier, to become his mistress. The film ends as she is getting ready, sorrowful, but coping well with getting on with her life. The music reflects this, with an almost triumphal upturn.
In the cut version, which seems to be the only one shown anywhere now, the ending is literally chopped up, without the orchestral upturn, but accompanied instead by an inserted title that Amber had to pay for her transgressions. Such crap.
If you can, get the Gerhardt too, which is available on CD. Very worthwhile. Better sound.
Great score.
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