Jeanne Moreau The Immortal acmem156cd
Released 20/10/08. If there was a single actor who captured the very essence of the French New Wave, it was Jeanne Moreau. In Truffaut's groundbreaking Jules et Jim she achieved global recognition, giving a performance of spellbinding intensity as the mercurial Catherine, who becomes tragically entwined in the lives of two friends who both love her. During the film, she was required to perform the song, Tourbillon de La Vie (Whirlpool of Life), which Truffaut felt encapsulated the spirit of his masterpiece. Her recording went on to become a massive radio hit and prompted the idea of recording a full LP under the auspices of producer Jacques Canetti. The award-winning albums that transpired in 1963 and 1966 comprise this edition and feature songs written by Cyrus Bassiak (Serge Rezvani). The debut in collaboration with George Delerue and the legendary Ward Swingle, its elaborate orchestrations giving way on the sequel to more intimate and sensuous settings with guitar and bass. A Jules & Jim apart, cinematic highlight include Chimes at Midnight and The Immortal Story for Orson Welles; Diary of a Chambermaid (Luis Bunuel) and for Louis Malle The Lift to The Scaffold and Viva Maria in which she co-starred with Brigitte Bardot Jeanne Moreau is global in her appeal. Jamais Je Ne T'Ai Dit Que Je T'aimerai Toujours / Tout Morose J'Avais Un Ami / Les Mots De rien / Anonyme / Adieu Ma vie / Tu M'Agaces / Tantôt rouge, Tantôt bleu / Ou Vas-Tu Mathilde / Les Wagons Longs De Lit / Angora Rose / Les Mains Sur Les Tempes / J'Ai La Mémoire Qui Flanche / La Vie S'Envole / La Peau Léon / Rien N'Arrive Plus / Moi Je Préfère / Le Blues Indolent / La Vie De Cocagne / L'Homme D'Amour / L'Horloger / Ni Trop Tôt, Ni Trop Tard / Les Mensonges / L'Amour Flou
Edith Sitwell / William Walton / Lord Berners Follies & Facades acmem157cd
Released 20/10/08. Edith Sitwell and Lord Berners did more than most to dispel the nationalistic insularity that dominated so much English literature and music in the decade that followed the First World War. The work that brought the Sitwells their greatest fame - and notoriety - was Façade, an entertainment that combined Edith’s idiosyncratic verse with the music of the young William Walton. With Cocteau’s Parade the obvious precedent, the family delighted in creating “a first-class scandal in literature and music”. Here, the 1929 premiere recording with Constant Lambert appears alongside that made in 1954 with Peter Pears; by all accounts, the only performances of which Edith really approved. “Façade” owed its existence to the support and encouragement of, among others, Lord Berners. Considered by Stravinsky to be the most gifted composer of his generation, Berners was famously eccentric (A fine biography ‘Lord Berners-The Last Eccentric’ by Mark Amory was recently published), a diplomat, an accomplished writer, painter, composer and missionary of the arts. As with the Sitwell’s, his idealism, openness to new ideas and willingness to embrace humour made for a peculiarly British avant-garde. The Berners piece featured in this edition is one of his most widely regarded; the suite from the ballet The Triumph of Neptune which was commissioned by Serge Diagilev in 1926. Façade - An Entertainment: 1954 Recording Edith Sitwell and Peter Pears- Fanfare – Hornpipe / En Famille / Mariner Man / Long Steel Grass / Through Gilded Trellises / Tango-Pasadoble / Lullaby for Jumbo / Black Mrs Behemoth / Tarantella / A Man from a Far Countree / By the Lake / Country Dance / Polka / Four in the Morning / Something Lies Beyond the Scene / Valse / Jodelling Song / Scotch Rhapsody / Popular Song / Fox-Trot / Sir Beelzebub FAÇADE - 1929 Recording: Edith Sitwell and Constant Lambert - Black Mrs Behemoth / Jodelling Song / Scotch Rhapsody / Polka / Fox-Trot / Tango / Long Steel Grass / A Man from a Far Countree / Tarantella / Valse / Popular Song LORD BERNERS The Triumph of Neptune - Suite from the Ballet- Harlequinade / Dance of the Fairy Princess / Schottische / Cloudland / Sunday Morning (Intermezzo) / The Sailor's Return (Polka) / Hornpipe / The Frozen Forest / Apotheosis of Neptune
Vincent Price Master of the macabre acmem158cd
Released 20/10/08. Vincent Price, art historian and collector, gourmet cook, author and raconteur, perhaps best known for his blood-curdling acting roles in Roger Corman’s series of films based on Edgar Allan Poe stories for American International Pictures during the sixties; House of Usher, The Pit and the Pendulum, Tales of Terror, The Raven, The Masque of the Red Death and The Tomb of Ligeia. A horror legend, other notable Price performances include in Michael Reeves’ Witchfinder General, as ‘egghead’ in the Batman TV series, the English production Theatre of Blood with Diana Rigg and Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands. He did a voiceover on Alice Cooper’s “Welcome to My Nightmare” album and performed a sinister rap on the title track of Michael Jackson’s top-selling “Thriller”. Price’s greatest asset throughout his career was his voice and nowhere was it put to better use than in the medium of radio. This honeyed instrument, with which he was able to portray infinite permutations of charm, terror and sinister intent was a godsend to the writers and producers of such series as Escape and Suspense who offered listeners a world of adventure, romance and, increasingly, horror, and with the ingenious use of music and sound effects, conjured up scenarios that would have proved prohibitively expensive in film or television. At the same time they were able to explore their characters’ inner worlds in the same way as novels, and it was this kind of interior monologue at which Price excelled - the sound of a man grappling with his inner demons as much as the supernatural kind. The Pit And The Pendulum ,Vincent Price with Ellen Morgan,Director: William N. Robeson, Edgar Allan Poe, story adapted by John Dickson Carr / Fugue In C Minor- Vincent Price with Ida Lupino, Director: William Spier, Original script by Lucille Fletcher / Present Tense Vincent Price plays Roger, Director: William N. Robeson Original script by James Poe
Igor Stravinsky Octet To Orpheus…The Neo-Classical Stravinsky acmem153cd
Of all the major composers of the 20th century, none was more warmly embraced by the world of rock music than Stravinsky. Along with Edgard Varese, he was the principal influence on the compositions of Frank Zappa, while numerous avant-garde and progressive rock bands - among them Yes, who would take the stage to the accompaniment of The Firebird - proclaimed him their guiding light. The obvious reasons for this are his pioneering use of powerful and unusual rhythms, his music's lack of sentimentality, its waspish wit, its anti-authoritarianism - not to mention the composer's love of good whisky - all found obvious counterparts in the rock lifestyle, even if his meticulous approach to discipline did not. If history makes Stravinsky sound like a daunting and intimidating musical figure - a composer to be approached with fear and reverence rather than any expectation of pleasure - then the gorgeous music contained here will prove a more than useful corrective. 1-10: Octet For Wind Instruments (1922-23 Revised 1952) Conductor Igor Stravinsky / 11-13: Ode (1943) / The Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra Of New York Conductor Igor Stravinsky / 14-16: Ebony Concerto (1945) Woody Herman And His Orchestra Conductor Igor Stravinsky / 17: Rag-Time For Eleven Instruments (1918) Conductor Igor Stravinsky / 18-21: Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (1917-25) Orchestra Della Svizzera Italiana Conductor Igor Stravinsky / 22: Rag-Time For Eleven Instruments (1918) Orchestra Della Svizzera Italiana Conductor Igor Stravinsky / 23-33: Orpheus - Ballet In Three Scenes (1947) The Rca Victor Symphony Orchestra Conductor Igor Stravinsky
Bernard Herrmann Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World acmem154cd
Published in 1932, some 17 years before George Orwell's equally dystopian 1984, Brave New World was prompted by Aldous Huxley¹s visit to the United States and his shock at the all-embracing commercialisation he encountered. Set in the 26th century, the book depicts a world in which the masses are socially engineered and subconsciously indoctrinated for their roles in society, and kept docile and content by a combination of drugs (Soma), promiscuous sex, synthesised Muzak and mindless entertainment (the Feelies). Solitary pursuits such as reading are discouraged in favour of group activities, while the nuclear family has been replaced by the Hatcheries and Conditioning Centres that control every aspect of the period between artificial conception and childhood. This extraordinary musical radio production of Huxley’s masterpiece attracted a suitably stellar cast of performers including the author himself in the role of narrator and the great film composer Bernard Hermann. A titan of cinema now remembered for such undisputed masterpieces as Citizen Kane, Psycho and Taxi Driver. Here, his palette was necessarily constrained by budgetary considerations, but he nevertheless deployed his slender resources - organ and percussion instruments - with typical ingenuity. Brave New World. Original Score Composed and Conducted by Bernard Herrmann / Brave New World - Part One .Narrated by Aldous Huxley. Original Score Composed and Conducted by Bernard Herrmann / 11: Brave New World - Part Two Narrated by Aldous Huxley / Original Score Composed and Conducted by Bernard Herrmann
Henry Mancini The Versatile Henry Mancini acmem155cd
Henry Mancini’s first album, a languid and vastly superior piece of exotica initially released in 1957 as Driftwood and Dreams re-issued here for the first time on compact disc in both stereo and the original beautiful mono version. For these historic sessions, Mancini recruited the renowned Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida, to bring a distinctly tropical feel that would have been beyond the reach of even the most seasoned American player and to add a crucial touch of the other-worldly, the soprano Loulie "Lulu" Jean Norman, whose wordless vocals would later achieve global recognition on the theme from Star Trek. Donald Fagen called Henry Mancini the "High Priest of Hollywood Cool", and this masterful album is full of stylish Mancini motifs that anticipate such future triumphs as Moon River, Baby Elephant Walk, The Days of Wine and Roses, The Pink Panther and The Party. High quality bonus material includes The Four Freshmen’s exquisite recording Mancini’s What’s It Gonna Be, written for the film Rock, Pretty Baby, the rare Mancini single of instrumental material from the same movie, Hot Rod and Big Band Rock and Roll, and another Hank composition Cha Cha Cha for Gia from Four Girls in Town. Poinciana (Mono) / Bali Hai (Mono) / Flamingo (Mono) / The Whispering Sea (Mono) / Return To Paradise (Mono) / The Naked Sea (Mono) / The Breeze And I (Mono) / Driftwood And Dreams (Mono) / Moon Of Manakoora (Mono) / Sleepy Lagoon (Mono) / Ebb Tide (Mono) / Off Shore (Mono) / Poinciana (Stereo) / Bali Hai (Stereo) / Flamingo (Stereo) / The Whispering Sea (Stereo) / Return To Paradise (Stereo) / The Naked Sea (Stereo) / The Breeze And I (Stereo) / Driftwood And Dreams (Stereo) Moon Of Manakoora (Stereo) / Sleepy Lagoon (Stereo) / Ebb Tide (Stereo) / Off Shore (Stereo) / What’s It Gonna Be (Performed By The Four Freshmen) / Hot Rod (From The Film Rock, Pretty Baby) / Big Band Rock And Roll (From The Film Rock Pretty Baby) / Cha Cha Cha For Gia (From The Film Four Girls In Town