The Bride of Frankenstein
The Invisible Ray / Prince Valiant / Suspicion / Rebecca / Taras Bulba


(0738572072629)
Silva Screen Records (0738572072629)
Movie | Released: 2003 | Format: CD, Download
 

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# Track   Duration
1.Main Title1:24
2.Prologue/Menuetto and Storm/Monster Entrance6:05
3.Processional March2:16
4.A Strange Apparition2:55
5.Bottle Sequence2:13
6.Female Monster/Pastorale/Village Chase/Crucifixion7:40
7.Fire in the Hut/Graveyard2:07
8.Danse Marcabre2:09
9.The Creation/The Tower Explodes/Finale13:22
10.The Invisible Ray - Suite5:54
11.Prince Valiant - Suite10:00
12.Suspicion - Prelude/Sunday Morning4:40
13.Rebecca - Suite7:07
14.Taras Bulba - The Ride to Dubno4:55
 72:46
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The Bride of Frankenstein - 09/10 - Review of Tom Daish, submitted at (English)
While The Bride of Frankenstein is far from Franz Waxman's most mature work, it is one of his most famous and probably his most influential. Horror films have always been a fascination for cinema audiences and director James Whale was one of the pioneers. Today they seem tame, but still throw up subtexts that probably weren't noticed by audiences at the time, even if they scared the 1935 audience much more than the teenagers who go to see the latest sub-Scream fiasco in 2003. The most famous segment here is the creation sequence, where the Bride is brought to life; this cue was recorded by Charles Gerhardt on his exemplary Waxman album. This still remains the only decent Waxman compilation, but this disc features a re-recording of the complete score to The Bride of Frankenstein plus suites from a handful of Waxman's other scores makes for an excellent starting point.

One of my esteemed colleagues listed several styles of horror score, all of which seemed to emanate from Jerry Goldsmith, but I think it would be careless (to say the least) to rule out the dozens of horror scores around before Goldsmith, especially one rather famous string based score by Bernard Herrmann. However, before Psycho, shocks in horror were somewhat less graphic and more psychological, so by modern standards, The Bride of Frankenstein isn't frightening music, indeed some of it is quite light hearted. The Main Title introduces the famous three note motif for the Bride; it's one of those ideas that seems instantly recognisable, yet the reason why remains elusive. However, the ensuing tracks are more light hearted, particularly the charmingly lilting Menuetto and the lovely pastorale. Around these relatively light episodes, Waxman's musical atmosphere is more uneasy and occasionally breaks into more immediately threatening, notably the Village Chase and Crucifixion. The Creation sequence is where the three note motif comes to the fore. Curiously, the liner notes suggest that no electronic instrument was used (Ondes Martenot or Theremin), but a discreet, synthesised note is used to make the motif swoon that little bit more.

As the score is fairly modest in length, Silva have included selections from some other of Waxman's best known works. Having said that, The Invisible Ray isn't exactly a classic, but has some nice moments, particularly the low key love theme. Prince Valiant is a fan favourite, often cited as being a good score for younger fans to try out. I must admit it's never grabbed me in the way I thought it should, but the suite is great and features all the score's swashbuckling highlights. Suspicion and Rebecca represent some of Waxman's work for Hitchcock and the latter is often heralded as his finest score and Waxman's own favourite, the evidence here only enhances that view. The former maybe less famous, but it's just as pleasing, particularly the Korngoldian Prelude, with its shimmering woodwind runs, followed by the jaunty Sunday Morning. The Ride to Dubno from Taras Bulba seems a bit like an obligatory inclusion and is not one of my favourite pieces of Waxman, just a little too much old fashioned galloping for my taste.

This re-release is of the world premiere digital recording of The Bride of Frankenstein and Kenneth Alwyn and the Westminster Philharmonic do a fine job. There are a couple of minor errors and some of the faster moments are just a little ragged, but it does add a rugged rawness to the more propulsive passages, which almost works to the music's advantage. While the strings don't quite swoon as on the Gerhardt suite, the discrete synth does a good job of helping them along. The other selections receive fine performances, with only a couple of instances during Prince Valiant when the playing isn't entirely together. The recording ambiance is ideal, with none of the harsh, boominess that spoils some Silva albums. A fine album that should please Waxman fans and novices alike, well worth picking up.
The Bride of Frankenstein - 08/10 - Review of Arvid Fossen, submitted at (Dutch)
Dr. Frankenstein en zijn monster blijken, ondanks eerdere berichten, niet vermoord te zijn, maar in leven. Frankenstein wil stoppen met de experimenten, maar een geschifte wetenschapper, Dr. Pretorius, ontvoert zijn vrouw. Om zijn vrouw te bevrijden, stemt Frankenstein in om een nieuw wezen te creëren, als vrouwelijk gezelschap voor zijn monster ...
Deze filmklassieker dateert uit 1935 en is een van componist Franz Waxman bekendste en invloedrijkste werken. Deze cd is een nieuwe opname met The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. The Bride of Frankenstein is niet meteen angstaanjagende muziek, sommige muziek tracks zijn zelfs gezellig en ontspannend. De manier om horror in muziek uit te beelden is zeker veranderd, waar vandaag de muziek een textuur heeft die op zich al erg spannend en dreigend is, is de horror in deze film eerder psychologisch. Zo is de muziek van Psycho van Bernard Herrmann meer gelinkt met de hedendaags muziek van soundtrack compositie voor horror. Erg bekend is zeker het drie noot motief hoofdthema, eenvoudig en doeltreffend. Schitterend is de track 'The Creation' waar het orkest een schitterende spanningsopbouw brengt, en ook hier komt het drie noot motief terug naar voren. Op deze soundtrack staan ook nog enkele selecties uit ander erg bekend werk van Waxman zoals Rebecca en Suspicion van Hitchcock en de meest bekende is wellicht Prince Valiant.


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