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If you listen to Darkman, Batman Returns and his music for Alfred Hitchcock presents “The Jar”, it’s fair to say that Danny has certainly been influenced greatly by The Twilight Zone scores of Bernard Herrmann. I don’t think I’m stepping out of line here when I say that those scores in themselves are revolutionary in their style and introspective nature. The show was great (probably my all time favorite) but the music elevated it to another level.
I’m wondering how many of you on this forum have the 2-disc Herrmann re-recordings or the 4-disc Classic Recordings that also include Jerry Goldsmith, Franz Waxman and ect. I listened to the 2-disc “Herrmann” album on the road again today and — even though I’ve listened to this countless times before — was just blown away once more. There’s so much to hear. The man had such small orchestras sometimes (on one episode [“Living Doll”] he only had a celeste, two harps and a bass clarinet) and was able to pull off so much more with that kind of repetoire than most are able to do with larger ensembles today. It’s not like minimalist Philip Glass who takes one idea with a few instruments and repeats it over and over again until we’re almost ready to strangle him. Herrmann built atmostphere and tension and texture with such precision. He repeated ideas but played variations on them and made them new with each cue.
Those TV scores also showcases his definitive style so much more than anything else he’s done — even in movies. Some people say PSYCHO was Herrmann’s best (I did for a while) but this really is. It is a sampler of his entire career, covering all genres. The famous Herrmann dissonant 7th chord ( C-D#-E#-B ) is almost constant in these scores as is that great dramatic Herrmann candence that (we all know) he reitterated a few years later in PSYCHO (two half notes [C followed by D#] ending with a low accented whole note ). That candence almost entirely makes up the pilot score “Where is Everybody?”.
The instrumentation and preferences he used in more or less all his movies is here full throttle aswell (i.e. the almost constantly muted strings and brass, the arpeggiating l.v. harps and vibes with low woodwinds like the bass clarinet and contrabassoon growling underneath; The blaring horns). It’s all classic.
With the way TV is today (have any of you seen that “He’s a Lady” crap?) I’m very depressed. Damn all these reality shows. It’s shameful that we’re so advanced in so much of everything in the media today (FX, logistics, sound, ect) and sort of put the story, the visual style and the music on the backburner. People can debate this all day long but, for me at least, the 1950’s is the halmark of excellence in American TV culture.
Bernard Herrmann has a lot to do with that.
…it’s fair to say that Danny has certainly been influenced greatly by The Twilight Zone scores of Bernard Herrmann.
Danny has no qualms in saying that Herrmann is/was his “Master.” Although, I feel that Danny has been out of Herrmann homage territory since Batman Returns — and even then, the homage was subliminal for Danny, rather than intentional
I’m wondering how many of you on this forum have the 2-disc Herrmann re-recordings…
I have it. Walking Distance, Where is Everybody?, and Living Doll, are my favorites, respectably — and I’m almost intimidated over its quality. Absolutely hypnotic…
The bass clarinet solo in Living Doll is a Herrmann staple that I’ve really come to love listening to his scores.
That candence almost entirely makes up the pilot score “Where is Everybody?”.
That same great motif is used in Mysterious Island, but in a grander scale.
Some people say PSYCHO was Herrmann’s best (I did for a while) but this really is.
I always felt Jason and the Argonauts is his all-around finest film score. Psycho is just more-recognized in pop culture, which doesn’t diminish its merits, of course.
(Marnie isn’t far behind in my book, either.)
Herrmann’s Moby Dicky Cantata, if you can get it, is unbelievable, although, it isn’t a film or television score.
People can debate this all day long but, for me at least, the 1950’s is the halmark of excellence in American TV culture.
I can’t argue with that. The 50’s beats the Hell out of the 70’s, I can tell you that.
“Although, I feel that Danny has been out of Herrmann homage territory since Batman Returns — and even then, the homage was subliminal for Danny, rather than intentional”
I think I’ll have to disagree with that. What about Red Dragon, Sleepy Hollow, or Dolores Claiborne? They sounded full of Herrmann influences! Also, when does he say it’s subliminal?
Also, thanks to you, Dawg Man, I do have that 2 cd set. They are just awesome soundtracks! Herrmann’s style is unmistakable. I have to disagree, though, that this is his best work. I still think Vertigo and Psycho are among his very best.
That Thade “contrabassoon, snare drum and muted brass” theme from Planet of the Apes was total Herrmann.
I think I’ll have to disagree with that. What about Red Dragon, Sleepy Hollow, or Dolores Claiborne? They sounded full of Herrmann influences! Also, when does he say it’s subliminal?
I wouldn’t say that Elfman hasn’t been influenced by Herrmann in the last decade, or so. Every composer is influenced by a multitude of sources. However, homage, and influence, are two different things.
All this grand, orchestral music that Danny has accumulated in his younger years, namely Stravinsky, Herrmann, and the like, is part of Danny’s musical grammar and vocabulary, not solely, but in part.
So, if Danny needs to score something creepy in, say, Sleepy Hollow, it’s natural for him to use the Herrmann color, or orchestration.
It’s subliminal — my words, not Danny’s — from my point-of-view, anyway.
Danny will always have these little Herrmann flourishes, here and there, but Danny Elfman writes Danny Elfman music.
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