THE FILM MUSIC OF

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Queensland Symphony Orchestra conducted by the composer

Fourteen of George Dreyfus’ bestloved film themes on one CD conducted by the composer

ove Records is proud to make available this reissue of Mfourteen of George Dreyfus’s best loved film music scores. In the work of a man who knows his craft well. been specially recorded, with George hey day of the Australian film and From the stirring theme from the ABC conducting. It gives us great pleasure television industry of the 1960s and 70s television series Rush, which achieved to present it for your enjoyment. As Dreyfus composed this music which hit-parade status, to the sensitive you listen, picture in your mind an has touched the heart strings of a wide accompaniment for Pat Lovells’ feature energetic, alert man, full of animation, cross-section of Australian music lovers. film Break of Day, George has come up opinions, ideas and music, with a Dreyfus is a successful composer. with the right music. You will probably bassoon clutched in his hands and a Over the past years he has produced immediately recognise the music from mischievous smile. the musical scores for countless films— the other successful TV series Power features, documentaries and television Wlthout Glory, also produced by the dramas. This activity provides a ABC, and be delighted by the score for subsistence which has allowed him to the children’s film Let The Balloon Go turn his talents to the creation of two and the evocative documentary A Steam symphonies, and several operas. Train Passes. The music of this album is the All of the music presented here has 1 RUSH (1974) 2 BREAK OF DAY (1976) the country and the conclusion the splendour of the magnificent balloon in Rush was a television series that dealt Starring Sara Kestelman and Andrew flight. with life on the Victorian goldfields McFarlane this feature film is a love in the 1850s. Script writer Cliff Green story, set in a small Australian country suggested to Dreyfus that he use the town in 1920 and played out in idyllic traditional gold mining song “The early morning meetings in the misty, Old Palmer Song” as the basis for his sunshot landscape. The music is theme. This song is one of the few arranged in the form of a suite in theme Australian songs which has a compass and variation form, with the theme outside the octave, but is characteristic being only touched on at the beginning in its even note values. By elongating and having to wait till the end for its and condensing these note values and full blown splendour. making full use of the extended range of the melody, Dreyfus came up with a 3 LET THE BALLOON GO (1976) piece of music which in its excitement characterised the drama of those days This charming children’s feature and in itself has become a much loved film, starring , was Australian classic evergreen. John set in a small Australian country Waters headed the cast of the first series, town. It counterpoints the struggle 4 LAWSON’S MATES (1979) made in black and white by the ABC for independence of a small boy, Studios, a cast that included handicapped with a leg deformity, In this television series, three or four many local identities. The second against the large balloon that has short stories by Australia’s great series, made in colour by the ABC arrived in town and finally becomes national author, Henry Lawson, were studios tended to have a more airborne, to the delight of all the town- compressed into single episodes. To international flavour. folk. The opening music reflects the encompass the varying moods, Dreyfus joy and innocence of childhood in wrote a theme, full of warmth and depression through sixty years of friendly compassion. It is in the style of Australian history. West’s world was an Australian folk-song without being one of gambling, sport, the underworld derived or based on one, this being and Tammary Hall politics. The theme what the Israeli composer Alexander music reflects the obsessive turbulence Boscovich once aptly called “imaginary of the time. folk-lore”. Actors Max Gillies and Graeme Blundell, now both household 6 NELLIE’S THEME from ‘Power Without names, acted in the series. Glory’ (1976)

Nellie West was thirty-seven years of age, had brought four children into has a bitter-sweet quality about it, the world, yet she looked younger than one never knew if she was laughing her years, and emotionally she was or crying and this is aptly reflected in still a girl. She had retired into a secret Dreyfus’s tender old-time waltz melody. world within herself, a world in which the romantic dreams of her youth still awaited fulfilment. John West had killed every tender, loyal feeling she had tried to cultivate for him. She knew just enough of his affairs to conjure up pictures of corruption, ruthlessness and terror. Nellie had a brief relationship 5 – main with a bricklayer, but paid dearly for it theme (1976) when John isolated her from the world outside. The twenty-six episode television series from the original novel by Frank Hardy, 7 MARION (1973) now considered to be a great Australian 8 A STEAM TRAIN PASSES (1974) classic, tells of a young factory hand, Actress Helen Morse played the teacher John West, played by Martin Vaughan, at a one teacher school in Gippsland, This quasi-documentary film has who rose from a poverty-stricken up- a beautiful part of Victoria. Her story, delighted steam-engine buffs the world bringing in an inner Melbourne suburb Marion, set during the World War II over since its first release. It portrays a to become Australia’s biggest gambler forms the basis for this short television day in the life of engine 3801, the pride and powerful political manipulator. series, the first of Dreyfus’s successful of the Government It is set against the background of an collaborations with producer Oscar Railways in the forties. The whole film Australia struggling out of the 1890s Whitbread. Helen’s facial expression is without any commentary or dialogue, placing therefore special responsibility arranged the music into a suite, giving on the composer. In the opening it a more place and person specific title. sequence we can hear the “beautiful The music moves from the hopeful beast” getting up steam, then we travel optimism of the initial settlers to the with it through the gentle Australian calm resignation of the descendants countryside, follow it through a dream nearly a century later. sequence and finally see it disappear into distant nothingness.

10 MARY GILMORE GOES TO PARAGUAY – suite from ‘And their ghosts may be heard’ (1975)

Caroline Jones, Australian broadcaster and film maker, asked Dreyfus to compose the music for her documentary film named And their ghosts may be 9 SONS OF THE ANZACS – ‘Peace’ 11 WE BELONG (1979) heard about the descendants of those theme (1969) Australian working class idealists who We Belong was composed for the Special left their homeland after the failed James McCarthy at Film Australia Broadcasting Service, the radio and shearers strike of 1894 to settle in their asked Dreyfus to write a great amount television network which broadcasts new Utopia up the River Paraguay. of music for Sons of the Anzacs, a feature programs in many languages That highminded experiment also length documentary film depicting the throughout Australia. The music reflects failed. Ms Jone’s dream was that if involvement of the Australian fighting the spirit of optimism with which many Dreyfus could work musical magic forces in the second World War. After Australians, including the composer, with “The Old Palmer Song” (which all the to-ings and fro-ings of war, the view the new multiculturalism of lead to the Theme from Rush) he could defeat and victories, the advances and Australian society. do likewise with the settler’s stirring retreats, the “clean” war in North Africa anthem, Mason-Beatty’s “The Men of and the “dirty” war in the Pacific, there the New Australia”, because it too has came peace, a graceful melody played the unusual melodic span exceeding by the strings against a tear-drop an octave. Dreyfus treated the anthem accompaniment from the woodwinds. in various ways for the film, none of which hit the charts as its illustrious predecessor has done. He subsequently An Australian Broadcasting Corporation recording Producers: Robert Karbow, David Harvey, Lydia Warren Sound engineers: Robert Hobson, Gerry McKechnie Cut editor: Judy Kennedy A&R co-ordination: Michael Bowden, Peter Pocock Originally released on two vinyl LPs by World Record Club Prepared for CD release: Martin Wright, Move Records, 1990

13 – Water music and www.move.com.au Waltz (1978) 12 RUSH (1974) Jack Hibberd’s classic theatre-restaurant As a result of the unprecendented and piece was turned into a feature film sustained popularity of his theme from with a number of additions. One was Rush since 1974, Dreyfus has made a the creation of Shovel, the town of number of arrangements of this music. Dimboola’s band master, a musician of These include versions for flute and considerable conceit if not originality. orchestra for James Galway, for the Dreyfus selected a brief and incomplete twelve cellos of the Berlin Philharmonic, sketch of Mozart, ascribed it to Shovel for Wind Sextet, Brass Quintet, bassoon and then completed it in a most un- and piano or guitar (for the composer Mozartian fashion, the original film to play himself) and for clarinet, script calling for the local fire engine violin and piano (to go with Bartok’s to drive through the band while it was “Contrasts”). Others have arranged on parade. Although this significant the music for Concert Band and Brass moment in Australian film history Band. The present version was arranged never quite materialised, the mood by the composer for the strings of the of the music in the suite that Dreyfus Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. arranged from the film is evocative of the varied moments in the life of a Victorian country town.