Marnie

One of Bernard Herrmann's lesser-known scores for Alfred Hitchcock -- mostly by virtue of the fact that the movie for which it was written was a box office failure -- Marnie deserves a fair hearing as music, either in the original movie score conducted by the composer on this CD, or in the 1990s re-recording issued by Varese. The sound on this CD is a bit more compressed than that of the modern re-recording, but the disc still reveals a rich tonal tapestry, glittering harps ornamenting pensive, unsettling string passages, and brass strings. One will also hear material that echoes both earlier and later Herrmann scores, including key elements of The Devil and Daniel Webster (specifically the "Miser's Waltz") and Obsession. The producers have done an excellent job with the four-decade-old source material, bringing out the finely nuanced playing and the most delicate elements of the score, and the result is a CD that is essential listening for any fan of the composer, the movie, or the director. ~ Bruce Eder|