3 new Intrada releases

Music by Friedhofer, North and Baxter

Intrada has released 3 new soundtracks this week. Hugo Friedhofer's score to Die Sister, Die!, Alex North's scores to Decision of Chemistry and Sounder and a re-issue of Les Baxter's House of Usher.

Delicious treat for Hugo Friedhofer fans! World premiere release of original soundtrack from Die Sister, Die!. At tail end of legendary career, Friedhofer scored this independent 1976 Randall Hood horror tale (aka The Companion) starring Jack Ging, Edith Atwater, Kent Smith, tightly written by Theodore Strauss (credited as Tony Sawyer), classily shot by Michael Lonzo. Friedhofer created complex, often frightening score, recorded it in London with members of National Philharmonic Orchestra under orchestrator Carl Brandt. Complete multi-track stereo session masters have been long lost - until now. Surviving in pristine condition after more than four decades, we can all finally enjoy the rewards, intact, presented in dynamic stereo! Though often erroneously credited as a 1972 project, film in fact was shot in 1975, scored in September of 1976 at The Music Centre with veteran John Richards as engineer. Academy Award-winning composer (The Best Years Of Our Lives in 1946) rarely made foray into horror movies but took assignment at personal request of director Hood and cinematographer Lonzo. This gem shows he had natural instinct for genre just the same. Highlights abound but two intense back-to-back cues ('Visitors Of The Mind', 'First Nell, Then Father') are worthy of additional spotlight. Friedhofer moves between suspense, terror in both lengthy sequences with equal aplomb. 'Knife For Jethro', 'Rooftop Struggle' bring excitement into the shudders. Cool extra: For early scene in cocktail bar, Friedhofer invited his dear friend Jeri Southern to write source cue for piano. Southern, an accomplished torch-singer, jazz pianist, teacher and composer (1940's through 1960's) wrote terrific source piece for London session pianist, then opted to record it herself back here in her home literally with her own equipment. Incredibly, the master for that cue also survived. A rare treat for her own fans! Highly personalized notes by cameraman Lonzo plus graphic design by Joe Sikoryak wrap up this chilling package. Sad footnotes: Director Hood died during post-production in August 1976 at the young age of 48, just before Friedhofer had finished his score. The news shocked the composer, who was slated to record his music literally just a few days later. Friedhofer continued a period of self doubt, depression, then sadly passed away himself in May of 1981. This CD presents a rare opportunity to hear the work of a master composer nearing the end of a magnificent career. Carl Brandt conducts members of National Philharmonic Orchestra. Intrada Special Collection CD available while quantities and interest remain!

Track list

01. Main Title (4:55)
02. Find A Companion (1:29)
03. A Taste Of Ivory (Jeri Southern) (1:55)
04. Esther's Arrival (2:53)
05. Locked Cupboard (1:19)
06. The Word Is Murder (4:29)
07. Visitors Of The Mind (7:01)
08. First Nell, Then Father (6:24)
09. Amanda Is Gone (2:49)
10. The Confessional (2:25)
11. The Ring (2:08)
12. Knife For Jethro (4:43)
13. Rooftop Struggle (3:27)
14. Corpse In The Cellar (2:16)
15. End Title (2:05)

A treat for Alex North fans! Two previously unreleased gems, one, in fact, never-before-heard! First on CD is rare early documentary soundtrack for Decision For Chemistry, scored by North in 1953. Industrial film from Monsanto Chemical Company was designed to illustrate wonders of chemistry and science to college-age youth contemplating career paths. North gets incredible opportunity to write full symphonic score, rich with animated ideas, colorful nuances, complex material underscoring numerous chemical discoveries. Moments of brisk activity meld with reflective music, then segue into excitement. Terrific film score! Second work on CD is never-used score for critically acclaimed 1972 drama Sounder, helmed by Martin Ritt, starring Paul Winfield, Cicely Tyson, Kevin Hooks. Score was ultimately dropped in favor of authentic blues-style music from Taj Mahal. North anchors his work with specific colors representing weary life of sharecropping family and 'Sounder' the dog. Harmonica over strings, lazy trumpet, rich harmonies from brass, jazzy solos of all manner, heartfelt orchestral passages… and always that Southern flavor North excelled at in music for numerous films with similar locales: A Streetcar Named Desire, Sound And The Fury, Long Hot Summer, many others. Striking idea worthy of mention: though much of score plays to burdens of family in tale, including incarceration of father, North often uses major keys, not minor, to underscore drama! Combination of mournful ideas underscoring impoverished family set against optimistic educational aspirations of young David Lee make for emotional listening indeed! Both scores presented in excellent mono sound from composer's personal master tapes, courtesy the Margaret Herrick Library of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the North Music Group. Two decidedly different voices from one magnificent composer! Alex North conducts. Intrada Special Collection release available while quantities and interest remain!

Track list

Decision for Chemistry/b>
01. Main Title/A Boy’s Choice/Places to See/Back in the Twenties (4:01)
02. Odd Jobs/Frontier Science/Chemists of the Future 2:20)
03. Zero Minus Thirty/Stirring With Life/Industrial Skyline/Research (3:33)
04. Phosphorus Plant/Scientific Supermarket (3:35)
05. Wood Pulp Mill/Vanillin (1:29)
06. Dirty Clothes (3:36)
07. The Silkworm/Spin Dope/Synthetic Fibers (5:36)
08. The Soil Demonstration/Decision for Chemistry (6:10)
Total Time: 30:34

Sounder
09. Main Title (1:33)
10. Father and Son (3:40)
11. Rebecca/David to School (1:46)
12. To the Ball Game (0:49)
13. Sounder/Goodbye, Mama (3:40)
14. Work in the Cane Field/Family Work (2:49)
15. Sounder Returns/Act Like One (2:42)
16. Thanks/Disclosure (2:12)
17. Dream (1:01)
18. Odyssey, Version A (3:27)
19. Odyssey, Version B (3:40)
20. Dejected (1:19)
21. Where’s Daddy (2:46)
22. Work (1:08)
23. Nathan Returns, Version A (1:42)
24. Nathan Returns, Version B (1:46)
25. Home (1:25)
26. Search for David (2:06)
27. Departure (2:36)
28. Source Music (2:24)
Total Time: 45:15

The third release is a reissue of original Lex Baxter soundtrack from landmark 1960 debut of American International Pictures cycle of highly successful Edgar Allen Poe-themed horror movies featuring Vincent Price. (Contents identical to Intrada 2011 release). Also known as The Fall Of The House Of Usher, Roger Corman directs, Richard Matheson scripts. Intrada presents entire score from only surviving music elements available through MGM - the music-only dubbing masters used in final production of film. Happily these include no dialog or effects, albeit assemblies and edits of many cues were, of course, already locked in. For early screenings of movie, Baxter supplied an 'Overture' to get audience into proper mood. Cue was dropped from subsequent re-releases of film and initial home video presentations but happily was present on scoring elements and also appears on our CD. Baxter scores for full orchestra plus chorus, writes music both soothingly tonal, frighteningly dissonant. Score is lengthy, covering some three-fourths of the picture! Informative notes by Tim Greiving, handsome graphic design by Joe Sikoryak. Score recorded at Samuel Goldwyn Studios in May 1960, Les Baxter conducts. Intrada CD, an integral part of any Les Baxter collection, now available in Intrada's MAF series!

Track list

01. Overture (3:03)
02. Main Title (2:00)
03. Roderick Usher (4:02)
04. Madeline Usher (2:50)
05. Tormented (2:24)
06. Lute Song (1:00)
07. Reluctance (3:58)
08. The Sleepwalker (4:12)
09. The Vault (2:36)
10. The Ancestors (2:58)
11. House Of Evil (4:53)
12. Catalepsy (4:13)
13. Pallbearers (2:03)
14. Buried Alive (8:14)
15. Fall Of The House Of Usher (13:50)