Quartet Records, in collaboration with Fifth Continent Music Classics, presents a remastered reissue of the acclaimed 1978 recording of Hugo Friedhofer's classic, Academy-Award-winning score for William Wyler's THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946), performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Frank Collura.
Considered one of the best film scores ever composed, Hugo Friedhofer's music was revolutionary at the time. Far from the prevailing influence in Hollywood in the 1940s with the sound brought by European composers, Friedhofer opted for music with a profound American influence, especially Aaron Copland. In addition to economy of means, he preferred an orchestral color palette closer to chamber music than to the grand symphonic sound that prevailed at the time.
He was also economical in the amount of music he wrote for the film. Instead of wall-to-wall music, as was the norm in huge productions, he chose to write around 50 minutes for a three-hour film, which was tremendously effective and opened a new way forward where music could contribute a psychological factor beyond the merely descriptive.
In the 1970s, producer John Lasher attempted to release the original score, which he considered his personal favorite, but the tapes had disappeared. A new recording using modern technology, in stereo, was the only solution.
Tony Bremner reconstructed the score with Friedhofer's approval, and the result was one of the best re-recordings ever made of a classic film score, which had the blessing of the composer and the entire film music industry.
The album has been remixed and remastered by Chris Malone on Super Audio CD at 32-bit/96 kHz from high-resolution sources transferred in two-channel stereo. This hybrid SA-CD can of course be played on any standard CD player, although those with an SACD system will be able to enjoy it in DSD.
The lavish 24-page booklet features detailed liner notes by film music writer John Takis, discussing the film and the score. Limited edition: 1000 units
ウィリアム・ワイラー監督作品『我等の生涯の最良の年』（1946年）のアカデミー賞受賞スコア、ヒューゴ・フリードホーファーのクラシック名作を、ロンドン・フィルハーモニー管弦楽団がフランク・コッルーラ指揮のもとで演奏した1978年の名盤がリマスター再発売！
トラックリスト史上最高の映画音楽の一つと評されるヒューゴ・フリードホーファーの音楽は、当時画期的なものであった。1940年代ハリウッドで主流だったヨーロッパ作曲家たちの影響とは一線を画し、フリードホーファーはアーロン・コープランドに代表される深いアメリカ的要素を音楽に取り入れた。手法の簡潔さに加え、当時の主流だった壮大な交響楽的音響よりも、室内楽に近い管弦楽の色彩を好んだ。
また、映画のために書いた音楽の量も経済的だった。大作映画で一般的だった壁一面に音楽を流す手法ではなく、3時間の映画に対して約50分間の音楽を書くことを選択した。これは非常に効果的で、音楽が単なる描写を超えた心理的要素を貢献できる新たな道を開いた。
1970年代、プロデューサーのジョン・ラッシャーは自身が最も愛したオリジナル・スコアのリリースを試みたが、テープは消失していた。現代技術を用いたステレオ録音による新規録音こそが唯一の解決策であった。
トニー・ブレムナーはフリードホーファーの承認を得てスコアを再構築し、その結果はクラシック映画音楽史上最高のリレコーディングの一つとなり、作曲家本人と映画音楽業界全体の賛同を得た。
本アルバムはクリス・マローンにより、高解像度音源を2チャンネル・ステレオで転送し、32ビット/96kHzのスーパーオーディオCD用にリミックス・リマスターされている。このハイブリッドSA-CDは、もちろん標準的なCDプレーヤーでも再生可能ですが、SACDシステムをお持ちの方はDSDで楽しむことができます。
豪華な24ページのブックレットには、映画音楽評論家ジョン・タキスによる詳細なライナーノーツが掲載され、映画とスコアについて論じています。
限定1000枚。
Quartet Records, in collaboration with Fifth Continent Music Classics, presents a remastered reissue of the acclaimed 1978 recording of Hugo Friedhofer's classic, Academy-Award-winning score for William Wyler's THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946), performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Frank Collura.
Considered one of the best film scores ever composed, Hugo Friedhofer's music was revolutionary at the time. Far from the prevailing influence in Hollywood in the 1940s with the sound brought by European composers, Friedhofer opted for music with a profound American influence, especially Aaron Copland. In addition to economy of means, he preferred an orchestral color palette closer to chamber music than to the grand symphonic sound that prevailed at the time.
He was also economical in the amount of music he wrote for the film. Instead of wall-to-wall music, as was the norm in huge productions, he chose to write around 50 minutes for a three-hour film, which was tremendously effective and opened a new way forward where music could contribute a psychological factor beyond the merely descriptive.
In the 1970s, producer John Lasher attempted to release the original score, which he considered his personal favorite, but the tapes had disappeared. A new recording using modern technology, in stereo, was the only solution.
Tony Bremner reconstructed the score with Friedhofer's approval, and the result was one of the best re-recordings ever made of a classic film score, which had the blessing of the composer and the entire film music industry.
The album has been remixed and remastered by Chris Malone on Super Audio CD at 32-bit/96 kHz from high-resolution sources transferred in two-channel stereo. This hybrid SA-CD can of course be played on any standard CD player, although those with an SACD system will be able to enjoy it in DSD.
The lavish 24-page booklet features detailed liner notes by film music writer John Takis, discussing the film and the score.
Limited edition: 1000 units
Total Disc Time: 45:57