TARAS BULBA World

derful cue “The Ride To Dubno” is not only So, I asked for all the tapes that were in the perfection in the film itself, but the piece has MGM vaults. What we found were the orig - been performed in concert halls all over the inal two-track stereo album master (which I TARAS BULBA world. The great Bernard Herrmann called believe was used for the Ryko release), al - Waxman’s Taras Bulba “The score of a life - though according to its log, it seemed to be eleased a week after Lawrence Of time.” a copy made in the 1970s. There were no Arabia, Taras Bulba , a rousing ad - two-track stereo tapes dated 1962. We also Rventure yarn and not a thinking 1962 was, for me anyway, one of the great - had a 1630 digital copy, a mono version, man’s epic like Lawrence , didn’t really have est years in the history of film, and it pro - and this one other box. Yes, that’s right – a chance with critics or audiences. Epics of duced some of my all-time favorite scores, this one other box. And what was in this that era had been massively huge but in - and Taras Bulba stands high on that list. one other box was the original three-track telligent films like Ben-Hur, Spartacus, El Even though the competition that year was album master – the original chosen takes Cid , and King Of Kings . Taras Bulba must fierce, Waxman’s score for Taras Bulba re - from the session master – in other words, have seemed lightweight back then and it ceived an Academy Award nomination, and the first generation tape. Needless to say, was – painted on a colorful, larger-than-life a well-deserved one it was. I was over the moon. My transfer guy, John canvas, with Yul Brynner turning in a com - Davis, put up the tape and it was like hear - manding performance as Taras Bulba and Franz Waxman’s Hollywood legacy looms ing something that was recorded yesterday. Tony Curtis in a charming and energetic large, having written an extraordinary num - Yes, still shrill and still dry, but pristine and performance as his son, Andrei. Amus - ber of classic scores such as The Bride of clean as a whistle, and in perfect condition. ingly, Curtis and Brynner were only five Frankenstein , Rebecca, Sunset Blvd., A We transferred the entire thing and then it years apart, age-wise. The film was written Place In The Sun, Prince Valiant, went to my mastering engineer, James Nel - by Waldo Salt and Karl Tunberg (from the Demetrius and the Gladiators, Rear Win - son. I asked him to put a little subtle and novel by Nikolai Gogol), and directed by J. dow, Mr. Roberts, Crime In The Streets, very clean room ambience on the whole Lee Thompson, who’d just come off a The Spirit Of St. Louis, The Nun’s Story, thing, along with some very necessary low- smash hit, The Guns of Navarone . Unfor - Sayonara, Peyton Place , and many, many end. He sent me three tracks to sample tunately, reviews weren’t kind, and the film others. He could do anything – symphonic, with the new EQ and room ambience and I did little business, but some of those who jazz, tonal, atonal, whatever the film called was almost moved to tears. Suddenly the did see it (me being one of “those”) found for, Waxman was one of those composers instruments, instead of sounding shrill and the film a great deal of oversized fun, en - who just didn’t lay music on with a shovel, unpleasant, sounded like they had natural livened especially by the absolutely brilliant but knew how to get under the skin of the space around them, and hearing tight, fo - score of Franz Waxman. film and characters, and to enhance and il - cused low-end basically ended up alleviat - According to the composer’s son, John, luminate the images on the screen. ing what was way too shrill on the high end, Franz Waxman inherited the assignment without losing any of the incredible bite of from Bronislau Kaper, who was busy work - The soundtrack LP of Taras Bulba was, in the brass. It was all very subtle but, for me, ing on the remake of Mutiny On The fact, not the soundtrack, it was a re-record - the difference was astonishing, especially Bounty . It was fortuitous timing since Wax - ing done with a smaller orchestra. While I as we were using the first generation ma - man had been invited by the Soviet gov - don’t know where it was recorded, I can tell terials. ernment to conduct all the major orchestras you that the acoustic of the room was dry as of the USSR in six symphony concerts, and a bone and that dryness was exacerbated Also on the three-track tape was a version it was during that time that Waxman did his by the instruments being close-miked (which of “The Wishing Star” (called “Pastorale” on research for the score, studying the har - is the way I like my film music). Furthermore, the tape logs) for female chorus only (the monic structure and colors of Russian folk the dynamics of the original LP were limited album version is male and female), and the music. And what a score he came up with, because for an LP it had a longer-than-usual instrumental-only track that they sing to – filled with energy and passion and glori - running time. The sound was shrill and dry we’ve included both as bonus tracks. ously robust and beautiful themes. In and I always wished it could have sounded today’s film music world, when main title better. The LP release was issued on CD by So, here is Franz Waxman’s Taras Bulba , music has seemingly gone the way of the Ryko back in 1998. While the CD was well- sounding, I hope you’ll agree, better than dodo bird, Waxman’s main title music produced, it was basically, a cleaner version ever before, which is befitting one of the (called “Overture”) is a textbook lesson in of the LP sound, with its shrillness and dry - greatest action/adventure scores ever writ - how to grab an audience and get them in ness intact. I just assumed that was the way ten. The score of a lifetime indeed. the mood for what they’re about to see – it’s it was going to be. But when it was recom - — Bruce Kimmel an amazing showpiece for orchestra and mended to me that I might want to think as main title music it’s exhilarating and about reissuing it on Kritzerland, because it breathtaking. “The Wishing Star” (lyric cour - had been out of print for years, and because tesy of Mack David) is one of Waxman’s it was such a beloved score, I wondered if loveliest and most incandescent themes there was anything that could be done. and every time it makes an appearance in the score it’s completely magical. The won -.

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