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Posted: |
Nov 12, 2016 - 9:07 AM
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By: |
finder4545
(Member)
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In an old thread, focused on the Schumann's memorable NIGHT OF THE HUNTER, I mentioned tangentially another score having for my taste the same elements of distinction and individuality, and it was MOBY DICK, the one and only score composed by Philip Sainton.
Sainton wrote some other symphonic works reflecting his impressionistic vision of nature and aspects of life, but not many of these works were recorded on disc: some years ago I was able to get only a couple of Chandos, where Sainton had been paired with another composer, Patrick Hadley.
The discs contained the two tone poems of "The Island" and "Nadir", and the ballet in 5 movements "Dream of the Marionette", with Matthias Bamert conducting the L.Philharmonia Orch., for a total of about 50 minutes.
The listening of these three works repeated in me a sort of full immersion in the moods of Moby Dick, as the music appeared as a true extension of that score.
Moby Dick, we know, is one of the highest point of cinema, and every time I play it, I can see that not a single second of this film is less than perfect: acting, cinematography, color, dialogues. And at the same time, not a second of the musical score of Sainton is less than perfect.
I am extremely grateful to John Morgan & team for having restored in its entirety this work.
It has been an exhausting enterprise, and Morgan said to have encountered serious problems in "detecting" the misterious notes and marks put by Sainton on the enlarged written score, as well as to reestablish the continuity of the cut sections.
On another side, we know that not positive opinions accompanied for years the old mono release of the RCA album, regarded as a drastic abbreviation of a much longer score, moreover having problems of quality, and it never was released on CD.
At this point, given that no material of this score is believed existing, can we say that the new release of Morgan & Stromberg is the "final word" put on the question of that wonderful score? Something seems to suggest "no".
Twilight Time has just announced that a Blu Ray of MOBY DICK is on pre-order, and as usual with this label it will contain an isolated score added to the English DTS track. This will be not an ME-track but, as clearly stated in written words, will be THE "Isolated Score track by Philip Sainton"!
http://www.twilighttimemovies.com/moby-dick-blu-ray/
I am rather cautious, because time ago I remained heavily disappointed by a British release of NIGHT OF THE HUNTER that proclaimed a legitimate "ME track" and instead contained a different edit… But now if this is true (and there is no doubt that Twilight Time does things seriously), this would mean that another Holy Grail has been located and recovered!
Given that the original material had been given as lost and not available at the time of the Morgan reconstruction, I wonder: where this isolated track came from and what a kind of access/ability have the Twilight Time researchers to obtain such things believed lost? Joe Caps? Other experts of this board?
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Well, I like the Morgan/Stromberg recording of this score and have long been curious about the original recording, which I believe was partially released on LP but never CD. This Twilight Time isolated score bodes well for a new CD release for it, though if Intrada's new Blue Lagoon is anything to go by, it may still take a while to come out.
Sainton also wrote a handful of concert pieces, some of which were recorded on CD. If you like Moby Dick they're well worth seeking out.
Yavar
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Howard, is that ratio the one used by Twilight Time? More to the point, is it the one used by Warner Brothers in 1956?
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Howard, is that ratio the one used by Twilight Time? More to the point, is it the one used by Warner Brothers in 1956?
In 1956 it would have been 1.85, but MGM/UA does all its older titles at 1.66 - still better than full frame.
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I've ordered the BluRay. Am I missing any extra supplementals on the Kino?
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I've passed the inquiries about the materials used for the isolated score for Moby Dick over to the TT thread on Home Theater Forum to see if TT could possibly elucidate about the materials were used, so we could hopefully get an answer about this soon.
Edit: Here's TT's reply to the inquiry about the materials used. It doesn't look like a CD is possible:
All existing materials that were available to hand - collectors rummaging through their attics, the 35mm stems, the M&E tracks, the existing LP and CD releases - plus our resident music wizard Mike Matessino, who has created a brand-new listening experience from all the spare parts!
As to whether a record label would try to make a new CD out of it - that is probably unlikely. The Blu-ray remains your best bet.
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