Deadly Blessing
Intrada Special Collection Volume ISC 490

Intrada announces the premiere release of James Horner's 1981 score horror soundtrack!

Intrada announces the premiere release of James Horner's 1981 score horror soundtrack!

Wes Craven directs in 1981, Maren Jensen, Susan Buckner, (young) Sharon Stone, Jeff East, Lisa Hartman, Lois Nettleton, Ernest Borgnine star. Early James Horner score written for large string section plus woodwinds, percussion, piano and chorus.

Craven’s tale is about a former Hittite (a fictitious religious sect similar to the Amish) who left the faith to marry an outsider. Shunned, the man is mysteriously murdered and his young widow and her out-of-town girlfriends try to maintain the farm amidst a bizarre world of ancient practices, strange beliefs and a possible supernatural curse.

Composer Horner writes to this satanic world with suspenseful strings, now turning violent, now turning creepy, always unsettling. When the action explodes, chorus joins in the rhythmic excitement. Unusually, the film uses almost all of Horner’s music where it was originally intended. Intrada is presenting this score, courtesy of Universal, from the only surviving complete set of 1/4” stereo elements in largely good condition.

These precious ten rolls of stereo tape were originally dubbed at the slow tape speed of 7 1/2 i.p.s. and had seen better days, but they were complete, including all takes, pickups and choral overlays.

The result is a satisfying listen to one of Horner’s most important previously unreleased scores.
Tim Greiving supplies informative notes, Kay Marshall offers dramatic packaging.
Dan Wallin records and mixes, James Horner composes, conducts. Intrada Special Collection CD available while quantities and interest remain.

( - Intrada Records - )

Intrada ISC 490
Barcode: 7 20258 54900 6
Starts Shipping 6/27

Maren Jensen : Martha Schmidt
Sharon Stone : Lana Marcus
Susan Buckner : Vicky Anderson
Jeff East : John Schmidt
Ernest Borgnine : Isaiah Schmidt

More info at: Official Web Site Intrada Records

Intrada announces the premiere release of James Horner's 1981 score to the Universal Pictures film Deadly Blessing. In the early '80s, Horner's career was just starting to take off and he'd scored a series of horror films, including Humanoids From the Deep, The Hand and Wolfen.

Intrada announces the premiere release of James Horner's 1981 score to the Universal Pictures film Deadly Blessing. In the early '80s, Horner's career was just starting to take off and he'd scored a series of horror films, including Humanoids From the Deep, The Hand and Wolfen.

Even though it was early in his career, Horner had an undeniable gift for human emotion and the mechanics of film drama and it is on full display here.

Deadly Blessing presented an evocative, eccentric canvas and partnered him with the hot new master of suspense, Wes Craven.
Horner composed a score featuring both orchestra and chorus, featuring a large string section, augmented with solo woodwinds, piano, chimes and percussion. In what generally seems uncommon, almost every cue heard in the film
appears where Horner originally intended it to be!

The score is presented from the only surviving complete set of 1/4' stereo elements in largely good sound, although as producer Doug Fake mentions in his liner notes, 'These precious 10 rolls of tape were originally dubbed at the slower tape speed of 7 1/2 i.p.s. and had seen better days, but they were complete, including all takes and pickups as well as all chorus overlays.'
The result is a satisfying listen to one of Horner's most important previously unreleased scores.

Directed by Wes Craven, the film tells the tale of a former Hittite (a fictitious religious sect that live a lifestyle similar to the Amish), who left the faith to marry an outsider.
The shunned man, who remains a farmer in the midst of his people, is mysteriously murdered—and his young widow and her out-of-town girlfriends try to survive within this bizarre world of ancient practices, strange beliefs and a possible supernatural curse.

Intrada ISC 490
Barcode: 7 20258 54900 6
Starts Shipping 6/27

( - Intrada Records - )

More info at: Official Web Site Intrada Records

More info at: James Horner Film Music - Le site sur le compositeur