The Film Music of Arthur Benhamin & Leighton Lucas

by Rumon Gamba, BBC National Orchestra of Wales

Overview

Arthur Benjamin (1893-1960) is by far the better known of the two composers represented on this CD, a beautifully recorded body of mostly premiere recordings. Benjamin's most well-known piece of music was "The Storm Clouds Cantata" from Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much -- the piece was used in both the 1934 and (with expanded scoring and dimensions) the 1956 versions by the director, and it is the latter that has been recorded here. This is the performance that we and the concert audience in the movie would have heard had we not, as viewers of the film, been "distracted" by the assassination attempt taking place around the performance -- the music served its purpose in the two movies, and stands well on its own as a fine example of sturdy, early 20th century choral writing in the mode of Elgar and Vaughan Williams. And while it is a pleasure to finally have a fully realized performance of that piece, which overlays the most suspenseful moments of each movie, the composer's finest piece of music here is the suite from The Conquest of Everest, a richly melodic yet modernistic orchestral work, which contains hauntingly beautiful writing for the strings throughout -- this is a piece that could, under the right cultural conditions, earn a place in the concert repertory. There are some less substantial but equally enjoyable orchestral "lollipops" in this collection, such as the composer's waltz and "Hyde Park Galop" from An Ideal Husband, and then we yield to the music of Leighton Lucas (1903-1982). A self-taught musician (and former dancer) whose performance work was mostly centered on the ballet, Lucas was a less imposing creator than Benjamin, much more in a light music vein, but he could deliver memorable and weighty pieces for the proper cinematic occasion, as demonstrated by his music for The Dam Busters represented here, and his piano rhapsody from Hitchcock's Stage Fright (1950) -- the latter is his shining moment here, a moodily elegant, post-romantic piece that is a fine showcase for the soloist and the orchestra alike. Lucas' work for such less-well-remembered movies as Target for Tonight, This Is York, and Ice Cold in Alex (part of the latter borrowing a little too much from Holst's The Planets, every bit as shamelessly as John Williams would do 20 years later on Star Wars) is also on hand -- all of it is presented with dignity and a good deal of energy by Ruman Gamba and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	03/27/2012
Label:	Chandos
UPC:	0095115171325
Rank:	166550

Tracks

1. The Conquest of Everest~Suite. 1. Title Music
2. The Conquest of Everest~Suite. 2. Walls that Surpass the Imagination
3. The Conquest of Everest~Suite. 3. The Great Lift
4. The Conquest of Everest~Suite. 4. Top of the World and Final Bars
5. The Storm Clouds Cantata (from The Man Who Knew Too Much)
6. An Ideal Husband~Waltz
7. An Ideal Husband~Hyde Park Galop
8. Yangtse Incident~Portrait of the Amethyst. 1. Theme
9. Yangtse Incident~Portrait of the Amethyst. 2. Hornpipe
10. Yangtse Incident~Portrait of the Amethyst. 3. The Amethyst March
11. Portrait of Clare~Dedication (after Schumann's "Widmung")
12. The Dam Busters~Prelude and Dam Blast
13. Stage Fright~Stage Fright Rhapsody
14. Ice Cold in Alex~Suite. 1. Prelude
15. Ice Cold in Alex~Suite. 2. Love Scene
16. Ice Cold in Alex~Suite. 3. March
17. This Is York~Opening Titles
18. This Is York~Setting the Path - Diagram Lights
19. This Is York~Thornton-le-Dale
20. This Is York~Smoking Engine - Pan across York - Committee Room - Portraits - Railway Museum
21. Target for Tonight~March-Prelude

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Rumon Gamba   Primary Artist,Conductor
BBC National Orchestra of Wales   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Lesley Hatfield   Orchestra Leader
Cor Caerdydd   Choir/Chorus
Robert Court   Organ
Gwawr Owen   Choir Director
Sarah-Jane Porsmoguer   Cor Anglais
Abigail Sara   Mezzo-Soprano (Vocal)
Catherine Roe-Williams   Piano

Technical Credits

Philip Lane   Liner Notes,Reconstruction,Editing,Arranger
Leighton Lucas   Composer
Chris Stock   Photography
Robert Schumann   Original Material
Jonathan Cooper   Editing,Engineer
Stephanie Wollny   Text Translation,Liner Note Translation
Arthur Benjamin   Composer
Finn S. Gundersen   Booklet Editor
Ralph Couzens   Producer
Malcolm Riley   Editing
Marie-Stella Paris   Text Translation,Liner Note Translation
Sue Shortridge   A&R
Sussie Ahlburg   Photography
Simon Smith   Assistant Engineer
Christoph Schuermann   Orchestration
Marcus A. Caratelli   Orchestration,Reconstruction