# What are your favourite Bernard Herrmann's scores ?



## Emmanuel Rousseau (Apr 9, 2018)

Hi everyone,

I would like to know more about Bernard Herrmann, as I realize I don't know very much of his work. Would like to pick one or two pieces for an in-depth study of his orchestrations, and I am very curious what would be your first choice ?

I would like to add that I recently ordered the book "Scoring the Screen" by Andy Hill (hope to get it at the end of week !), and it features a study on _Vertigo_. So this one doesn't count 

Thank you very much.

Emmanuel


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## MisteR (Apr 9, 2018)

All of them. But if you're looking at a few, I would start with Vertigo and North by Northwest. Then maybe Taxi Driver. Hard to pick. Love them all. Going to go listen to the Day the Earth Stood Still right now.


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## FredericBernard (Apr 9, 2018)

Psycho - without a doubt. Even only those simple, strong string downbow strokes right at the start define the quality and dimension of that masterpiece!

Cheers!
Frederic

fredericbernardmusic.com


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## Brendon Williams (Apr 9, 2018)

Aside from his more well known ones (which are great) one of my absolute favorites is Cape Fear.


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## HeliaVox (Apr 9, 2018)

I love The Day the Earth Stood Still. Or Sinbads 7th Voyage


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## dcoscina (Apr 9, 2018)

F451, Vertigo, Mysterious Island

His Moby Dick Cantata while note a film score is one of my faves


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## Emmanuel Rousseau (Apr 9, 2018)

Thanks everyone for the suggestions !

Really love what I'm hearing so far. And being a huge fan of Danny Elfman (can't help it, he remains THE composer from my childhood), I'm astonished by how much similarities I find in Herrmann's scores.


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## Guido Negraszus (Apr 9, 2018)

Vertigo, Psycho and Cape Fear!


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## tmhuud (Apr 9, 2018)

For some odd reason “Obsession” keeps getting played around here. I love it.


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## Saxer (Apr 9, 2018)

Vertigo, North by Northwest and Psycho


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## Parsifal666 (Apr 9, 2018)

If you folks haven't heard the supernaturally brilliant Fahrenheit 451, I highly recommend you grab the rerecorded CD featuring Stromberg conducting. Fahrenheit is the one that, whenever I'm actually listening to it, is my favorite Herrmann score (and I'm a HUGE fan of BH...he might be the greatest film composer, period imo). The sound on that CD has a mystical quality to it at times, really well produced and engineered. I highly recommend that recording if you're looking for inspiration.



Saxer said:


> Vertigo, North by Northwest and Psycho



It's hard to beat those. Let's not forget Herrmann's fantasy stuff as well: Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts...


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## Parsifal666 (Apr 9, 2018)

Almost forgot, if you like Vertigo you've GOT to hear Obsession!


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## Craig Duke (Apr 9, 2018)

A fun movie with some pastoral (because the dead guy is buried in the country) and comedic (because they keep digging him up) Herrmann is The Trouble With Harry. The first film appearance of Sheryl MacLain.

**


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## Parsifal666 (Apr 9, 2018)

Craig Duke said:


> A fun movie with some pastoral (because the dead guy is buried in the country) and comedic (because they keep digging him up) Herrmann is *The Trouble With Harry*. The first film appearance of Sheryl MacLain.
> 
> **




Plus a seriously gorgeous Vermont backdrop. Not the world's best movie, but more than worth watching with the usual great score.


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## MikeH (Apr 9, 2018)

F451 for sure. But I always end up returning to the excellent scores he wrote for Twilight Zone, namely: _Walking Distance, The Lonely, Eye of the Beholder, _and _Little Girl Lost_. Beautiful, simple, haunting scores.


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## robgb (Apr 10, 2018)

Too many favorites. But this is a great one:


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## Erick - BVA (Apr 10, 2018)

Love all of his work, but I would go with 
Vertigo
Citizen Kane
Taxi Driver

Those 3 pieces are at a different phases in his career so I think they are all good as a case study. Psycho is also great. Really hard to choose just one.


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## Erick - BVA (Apr 10, 2018)

MikeH said:


> F451 for sure. But I always end up returning to the excellent scores he wrote for Twilight Zone, namely: _Walking Distance, The Lonely, Eye of the Beholder, _and _Little Girl Lost_. Beautiful, simple, haunting scores.


Awesome, I should check those out. Always love discovering a composer's more "obscure" work.


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## Emmanuel Rousseau (Apr 11, 2018)

Once again, thanks everyone !

I guess my April Spotify playlist is ready.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Apr 11, 2018)

Simply the greatest.


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## Brendon Williams (Apr 11, 2018)

Anyone here a fan of his score for Hangover Square? It’s a wonderful hidden gem. The film is a noir about a composer who’s been having gaps in his memory and is slowly going mad, while preparing for the debut of his piano concerto. The film culminates in a super memorable performance of the concerto - which Herrmann composed for the film - as all hell breaks loose. The film is worth seeing, especially for the score!


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## Dr Belasco (Apr 11, 2018)

Herrmann wasn't all death and destruction. This is one of his best cues.



Spot the influences.

Herrmann could go really low. He was great when you were a kid in the cinema. Frighten the shit out of you.



Or when Gort appears.


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## Henu (Apr 11, 2018)

The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad and Beneath the 12- mile Reef.


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## FriFlo (Apr 11, 2018)

Although there are indeed to many favorites for me as well, it must be Vertigo, although it does not count for you.  I did an in-depth analysis on the film and its music as my final home assignment 10 years back at my film music diploma. When you study a work in that much detail, it will stay with you forever.


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## Emmanuel Rousseau (Apr 11, 2018)

@FriFlo : I said it doesn't count just because there is an analysis of the score in the book I ordered... But I couldn't resist : I'm actually doing a mockup of Vertigo Prelude as we speak


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## Emmanuel Rousseau (Apr 11, 2018)

Looks familiar ?


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## jonnybutter (Apr 11, 2018)

As others have said, it's hard to pick one - one of the very best ever film composers. I was recently heard some of his last score - to Taxi Driver - and it was very inspiring. Particularly one part - not the sax main theme, but the big, long, thick crescendos i-IV. So evocative of both the mental illness of Travis, and of the smell of the city, the steam coming out of the manholes, etc. Just sticks with you the way a dream does. Great film and GREAT score


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## Parsifal666 (Apr 11, 2018)

jonnybutter said:


> As others have said, it's hard to pick one - one of the very best ever film composers. I was recently heard some of his last score - to Taxi Driver - and it was very inspiring. Particularly one part - not the sax main theme, but the big, long, thick crescendos i-IV. So evocative of both the mental illness of Travis, and of the smell of the city, the steam coming out of the manholes, etc. Just sticks with you the way a dream does. Great film and GREAT score



For something that was more experimental, you might try Sisters, which features some freeked out Moog that you have to hear...it's hard to describe it in words. Just a psychopathic main theme that contends with Psycho on different terms.

Also, the score to It's Alive (the original, and it might be better than you remember it) features some skin crawling electric bass lines and general atmospheres. Sick creepy, almost greezy. Bernard didn't work with electrified instruments often, so the bass on here, Taxi Driver, and the aforementioned Sisters showed that he was willing to break new ground in his writing right up to the time of his death.

Paucis verbis, whenever I hear people arguing that Bernard Herrmann was the greatest film composer who ever lived I always nod. But I've nodded for Jerry Goldsmith, Alfred Newman, Williams, Rozsa, and Morricone as well. Williams and Rozsa were great more in an engaging way, whereas the others were total trailblazers, trendsetters. You could say the former were Mozart to the others' Beethoven.


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## jonnybutter (Apr 11, 2018)

Parsifal666 said:


> I've nodded for Jerry Goldsmith



Yes.


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## Parsifal666 (Apr 11, 2018)

jonnybutter said:


> Yes.



He's a Giant, Goldsmith. The quality of his work is evident throughout his repertoire. And he had a very distinctive voice in his compositions, he was unmistakably Jerry Goldsmith. Rare in the past century.


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## X-Bassist (Apr 11, 2018)

Dr Belasco said:


> Herrmann wasn't all death and destruction. This is one of his best cues.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Some great clips, thanks!

Wondering how many here have used Spitfire’s BH library to mockup a Hermann cue? I’ve held off purchasing only because I think I can get close with what I have, which also has legatos and seperate instruments. But perhaps someone can change my mind for the next sale.


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## FriFlo (Apr 11, 2018)

Dr Belasco said:


>



Here, starting at 1:20, he actually stole from himself later in Vertigo. 



Later, this theme reappears in the dream sequence. 

Its the rhythm of a Habanera, a Spanish dace.


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## Parsifal666 (Apr 11, 2018)

All those composers doing dozens of pieces a year self-cannibalize. Mozart did it left and right, and he died young.


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## Erick - BVA (Apr 11, 2018)

FriFlo said:


> Here, starting at 1:20, he actually stole from himself later in Vertigo.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



It all makes sense given the spanish themes in the movie plot. 
And I guess I would assume he was deliberately stealing from himself if it's in the same score 
A bit of a recapitulation, recurring theme, or would you even call that a leitmotif? I don't know....I'm not great with the termonology.


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## FriFlo (Apr 11, 2018)

Sibelius19 said:


> It all makes sense given the spanish themes in the movie plot.
> And I guess I would assume he was deliberately stealing from himself if it's in the same score
> A bit of a recapitulation, recurring theme, or would you even call that a leitmotif? I don't know....I'm not great with the termonology.


You didn't quite get it ... I included the quoted link from Jason and the Argonauts from a couple of posts before!  Different movie ...
Also, I consider stealing from oneself (or even from the past, as any composer does it more or less) no felony unless there is only stealing. I love Bernard Herrmann ...


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## tmhuud (Apr 11, 2018)

If you have a chance to find this (its relatively rare) I've seen it at Discogs, i would grab it. They are very well recorded. The art by Bob Peak is awesome and the booklet is well done.


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## BlackDorito (Apr 11, 2018)

X-Bassist said:


> Some great clips, thanks!
> 
> Wondering how many here have used Spitfire’s BH library to mockup a Hermann cue? I’ve held off purchasing only because I think I can get close with what I have, which also has legatos and seperate instruments. But perhaps someone can change my mind for the next sale.



The library is very generous in the amount of sample material you get ... just remember that it has instrumental combinations that are idiosyncratic and therefore not general-purpose. All the same, the Andy Blaney demo shows what amazing results you can get. It's a good question whether the library alone could be used to mock up many Herrmann cues, or perhaps when used with the Spitfire Symph Orchestra, these judiciously-chosen instrumental combination voices would make things go faster or increase the 'playability' of the cue.


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Apr 12, 2018)

Parsifal666 said:


> All those composers doing dozens of pieces a year self-cannibalize. Mozart did it left and right, and he died young.


 So do composers doing a weekly television drama...


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## Ned Bouhalassa (Apr 13, 2018)




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## Ned Bouhalassa (Apr 13, 2018)

I jist realized the Mad House cue in Psycho has hints of Wagner, Schoenberg.


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## Craig Duke (Apr 13, 2018)

Ned Bouhalassa said:


> What a crazy thread. I thought this was supposed to be about a great film composer’s work?


If you listen to some Herrmann as an underscore to the posts, the bludgeoning and strangling seem appropriate. The Day The Thread Stood Still.


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## Parsifal666 (Apr 13, 2018)

Anyone into fascinating, out there, somehow both hollow and beautiful landscapes should definitely give Bernard's score to "Little Girl Lost" (Twilight Zone) a try. His creativity with smaller ensembles might be unmatched (outside of Alfred Newman) in film music.


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## Patrick de Caumette (Apr 13, 2018)

douggibson said:


> I agree, and hear you. I'll let this be my final post on this thread.
> 
> The thread of course is on Hermann and his wonderful oeuvre. I posted my thoughts on what I personally have been influenced by. All normal thus far.
> 
> ...




Doug, Dr Belasco has been issued a warning.
I understand your frustration, but you could have expressed your points without blatant insults.
Please refrain in the future...
Thanks


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## Mike Greene (Apr 13, 2018)

I've deleted all Dr Belasco's posts, as well as related and followup posts, in this thread. I've also banned him.


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## Parsifal666 (Apr 13, 2018)

douggibson said:


> My hope is the thread continues with the sole focus on the music of Mr. Hermann



I'd love to see that too, though my Miklos Rozsa thread died off pretty quick (hard to get more epic than Ben Hur and Sodom and Gomorrah).


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## Emmanuel Rousseau (Apr 28, 2018)

Hi everyone,

After starting this thread about the music of Bernard Herrmann, I realized one of the best ways to dive into his work was to transcribe one of his pieces.

Might be an obvious choice but I gave a try to the famous "Vertigo Prelude" 

For those interested, here is the result :

https://www.vi-control.net/community/threads/bernard-herrmann-vertigo-prelude-mockup.71081/

Thanks ! 

Emmanuel


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