PROMISE AT DAWN (Complete)

In 1970, American filmmaker Jules Dassin contacted Georges Delerue, the renowned French composer who had already enjoyed success with his scores for Jules & Jim, Contempt, King of Hearts and A Walk with Love and Death. Dassin wanted him to do the music for Promise at Dawn, his adaptation of Romain Gary's autobiographical memoir.

Delerue thought it was an interesting challenge: he would use notes of music to tell this story, an impassioned mother-son relationship, and explore the torments of the Slav soul, while travelling through time (from 1914 to 1945), and covering a lot of territory (Russia, Poland and France). Unfortunately, the trip had pitfalls: Dassin turned down part of the music already recorded by the composer, and Delerue had to go back to the drawing board.

Here, for the very first time, is the double score for Promise at Dawn: the music heard in the film, plus the music that Jules Dassin didn't keep.

You can hear the firepower in Delerue's compositions, his great lyricism, and the very personal way that he revisits music of the past. The complete score is accompanied by some previously unreleased demos, miraculously exhumed from the composer's archives. Today, 45 years after the original recordings, you can listen to the musical adventure of Promise at Dawn, revealed at last in its full dimensions.

This is both an album and an event, an indispensable collectors' item for lovers of the great Georges Delerue.

Limited edition: 750 discs
24-track CD, 55 minutes of music
12-page booklet in two languages

This item has a planned release date of April 8th.

01) Leningrad (Prologue)
02) La Promesse de l'Aube (Generique) / Promise at Dawn (Opening credits)
03) L’Arrivee en France / The Arrival in France
04) Theme d’Aniela / Aniela's Theme
05) La maison de Couture / The Fashion house
06) Premiere idylle de Romain / Romain's first love
07) Valse diabolique / Diabolical Waltz
08) Theme de Piekielny / Piekielny's Theme
09) La Poursuite (vers la pharmacie) / Pursuit (to the Chemistery)
10) La femme de sa vie / The Woman of his life
11) Les metiers - La vente du Samovar / Various professions - The sale of the Samovar
12) La valse du Negresco / Negresco's Waltz
13) L’adieu des amis / The Friend's farewell
14) Nostalogie baroque / Baroque nostalgia
15) Chanson de Nina (instrumental) / Nina's song (instrumental)
16) Romain et l’espoir / Roamin and hope
17) Promenade dans Nice / Walk in Nice
18) Premiere idylle de Romain (version alternative) / Romain first love (alternate version)
19) Romain sur la plage - Romain a bicyclette / Romain at the beach - Romain riding a bicycle
20) Leningrad (Prologue) {version alternative)
21) La valse du Negresco (version alternative) / Negresco's Waltz (alternate version)
22) Le retour de Romain / Return of Romain
TITRES BONUS / BONUS TRACKS
23) Chanson de Nina / Nina's Song
24) Chanson russe (maquette) / Russian song