Torn Curtain (Classic Film Music Of Bernard Herrmann)

This compilation of over an hour of Bernard Herrmann's film music is a handy way for novices to discover what they might like about his work, but it also won't offend veteran listeners, except perhaps in a couple of too predictable choices. On the plus side for the neophyte, it does include the alluring and, even at this late date, fascinating prelude material from The Man Who Knew Too Much (in which the score is very much superior to the film), Cape Fear, Citizen Kane, and Vertigo -- perhaps the producers could have done with one less of the most recognizable titles, substituting, say, the title music from The Devil and Daniel Webster or Journey to the Center of the Earth for the Citizen Kane overture, but nothing here is unwelcome. Herrmann's range is represented across a 35-year career in which he went from working with Orson Welles (Citizen Kane) to Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver) and Brian DePalma (Obsession), with a big acknowledgement of his work with filmmaker Ray Harryhausen in the form of the "Ray Harryhausen Fantasy Film Suite." On the positive side for all listeners, conductor Paul Bateman and the City of Prague Philharmonic play the music with a good deal of verve and spirit, while avoiding the tendency to treat the scores too delicately -- they excell throughout, but it's on the most unexpected work here, the suite from On Dangerous Ground, that they do their best and most subtle work, capturing the finest nuances of this most beautifully conceived of suspense scores written for an RKO thriller that isn't half as well known as it ought to be; along with a gorgeous reading of the "Valse Lente" from Obsession, those two tracks make the disc almost irresistable, even to longtime Herrmann fans. ~ Bruce Eder|