Number 62

In celebration of the centennial of Bernard Herrmann’s birth on June 29, 2011, I wanted to pen a personal tribute to the man and his music instead of continuing along the lines of the series that ran over the past few months. Those blogs were mostly objective presentations of his concert and radio works, whereas this is my own personal and subjective look at what his music has meant to me over the years. I can think of no better way to honor the man on this landmark day.

Many can recall what movie(s) first drew their attention to film music or excited them enough to start their life long interest in it. In many cases it was the work of a single composer that began it all for them or perhaps a particular movie. In my case it was two films with music composed by Bernard Herrmann: Journey to the Center of the Earth and Mysterious Island. I must say though at the time, and even afterwards for a bit, I didn’t know what a film composer was nor did I know Herrmann’s name since I was just a young elementary school lad unaware of such things. All I knew at the time was that these were some of my favorite movies and the music was a great part of what made them so special to me. For years as a kid I called the easily identifiable sound Herrmann wrote for these movies “Jules Verne Music”.

Fast forward to my first year in college and music school….

Up until the time I went to college I had perhaps only bought a handful of soundtracks. I hadn't yet become a bona fide film music fan yet, more of an instrumental (Mancini, Bacharach), classical and jazz guy. I had always loved film and TV music though, but alas very little was available at the time for most of the music that I had heard in films and wanted recordings of. Then one day in 1975 I ran across an album at a record store, THE FANTASY FILM WORLD OF BERNARD HERRMANN, which contained music from Journey to the Center of the Earth and another favorite The Day the Earth Stood Still. I was ecstatic that I accidentally found this music that I loved from some of those favorite childhood films of mine.

Then, as I picked this album up from the stack, I noticed right behind it another album, THE MYSTERIOUS FILM WORLD OF BERNARD HERRMANN, which contained even more music from some of my favorite films: Mysterious Island and Jason and the Argonauts . These albums were like manna from heaven and boy did I really dig the cover on this second one!

I can definitely point to these 2 records as providing the flashpoints that ignited my interest in film music from that day forward. I played these albums to death, more than almost any other I’ve ever owned. After this find I began buying other Herrmann LPs which eventually lead to Williams, Goldsmith and beyond, but it all began here.

In the years since, I’ve discovered the music of many film composers and chosen different composers as my top favorite starting first with Herrmann, then Williams and finally ending with Goldsmith. Along the way I touched briefly on Horner and Elfman as well. Regardless of these changes in my favorites over the years, I’ve always held Herrmann in the highest regard and personally feel that he is probably the greatest film composer of all time. I do so not necessarily just because of my love for the sound of his music, but also as much because of how he changed the nature of film scoring with his superlative ability to use music to get at the psychological and emotional core of a film and its characters.

On a personal level, in listening to his music I have always been drawn to his use of harmony and instrumental color. His precisely chosen orchestrations when coupled with specific chord structures and chord changes is meant to elicit a psychological and emotional response in the listener that certainly resonates with me personally. It’s his mastery of that ability of music to convey an emotional and psychological depth that goes well beyond the visual that I believe is his hallmark as a composer and is one that fits the needs of film like a glove.

Still, beyond these important basics of his art and craft, he also created worlds all their own in his fantasy film scores, each a singular expression of the films they were written for. Through imaginative orchestral ensemble combinations and specific musical languages he was able to build from the ground up entire worlds that musically stood on their own, enticing viewers to step into them in a very immersive way. This is the Herrmann that first got my attention and has held it all of these years.  

So on this, the anniversary of his 100^th birthday, I must say a hearfelt thank you to the man whose music has meant so much to me in my lifetime. Certainly his fiery temperament and sometimes abrasive personality did not always serve him best in his dealings with others and it may have hurt his career at times, but like Beethoven before him (another highly difficult musical genius) it’s not the personality we are left to grapple with, but rather their great music to savor, and for that I’m eternally grateful.

Happy birthday Mr. Herrmann!