The Prize Jerry Goldsmith 1963

Late in a starry career appeal of favourite 1960s music man Jerry Goldsmith dipped ~ Morricones fame came later~ More to the point a clutch of excellent composers was added to the roster incl Moon River 's Henry Mancini boasting charts for Peter Gunn ~Falllout like this Goldsmith piece an effective horn anchored addition to a TV series ~ John Williams out of a youthful 1950s arranging for singers ~ challenging uncompromising scores of Leonard Rosenman ~ Straddling the 1950s protean composer Andre Previn conductor songwriter of note~ heavy latin jazz of Lalo Schrifin ~ equally demanding dark hard swing of Quincy Jones( time for another belt of Sammy s My Shining Hour with Quincy ~ vulgar noisy and we LOVE IT~ All composers out of youthful starter blocks in late teens Though not just orchestral Burt Bacharach ~ Special mention Point Blanks Johnny Mandel a score hazily seamed with excellent jazz starkly contrasted with comely Shadow of Your Smile ~ France Michel Legrand consolidating wide ranging career ~ French by birth and avocation among naturally gifted as his easily styled songs attest.~ A formidable first division and a common currency lingua franca ~ Jazz their talent not excelled by succeeding Hollywood generations ~ supplanting traditional take on serious music ~music in a variety of genres conventional orchestra as basic prop ~ composers critically frozen out during wintry avant garde 1950s of adamantine attitudes~ movie music mere kitsch ~ Ever the melodist with orchestrator Arthur Morton Jerry Goldsmith vied for top role in this new generation .
If Elmer Bernstein was mantle waver for jazz inflected 1950s paring down some ripe romantic stuff ~ Max Steiner from an 1930s before Steiner's Indian summer of flowing themes from late 1950s ~momentary respect for "A summer Place "~Ifcopod What about your favourite version Percy Faith Actually Percy is on U Tube doing a brisk ~ish two minutes plus take ~
Contested but for young Turks Goldsmith was key movie composer of 1960s~ marked by attractive melody. before he took time out from so effective Planet of the Apes~ Prize music almost contemporary with Goldsmiths Our Man Flint and sequel In Like Flint example of the familiar Goldsmith ~elemental music not shackled to any music style not needing any props or proficiency in the new modern classics ~ fill in the empty spaces then put hands over ears and run for cover ~ A handy maxim If you cant mint a melody you have little business hanging around the world of film music. Why ~its a populist medium hitting the ground running not treating music as science experiment The Prize music boasting attractive Love theme which so besotted Ifcopod in the Ray Ellis Eddie Heywood version presently on Ifcopod channel at least it should be ~ the Prize music fresh exciting especially this heraldic opening section punchy rhythms abounding touching many styles composed not long after his Dr Kildare tv theme .Goldsmiths music is among the most individual energised and least derivative of film composers ~ marginal debt to usual suspects Bela Bartok buddy Igor Stravinsky or Holsts Planets~ Planets Alert ~ Spoiler Alert ~Planets Anyway whats wrong with The Planets apart from its composer almost being sunk( wrongly deemed a one work composer) by its phenomenal success music which came from nowhere was acclaimed everywhere . one of the finest gifts to the 20th century has stood the test sharing the ring with lone orchestral adversary Rite of Spring ~I'm not taking bets on where music is going in the 21st century but i'm in the prognostication business for these two big beasts of 2oth century orchestral music Rite of Spring and aforementioned Planets in any version including synthesiser King Isao Tomita but Peace" Igor the Great" ~an invidious choice between Planets and Rite Of spring~ I remember a critic expending verbal energy proclaiming greater eloquence Michael Tippetts Concerto for
Double String Orchestra (last movement big tune)) over the big tune in Jupiter from the Planets I hope my memory is not like the critic overexpended
Short introduction from The Prize tagged ~The Courier~ sets the colourful thriller on its way ' something of a musical epiphany for this scribe. The mutes are on ~the brass ( that is) for the second equally engaging section. The love theme here among Goldsmiths best if not quite of the beauty of his dreamy Star Trek Love theme in a dressing of lissome woodwind rival for Prize love theme ~ Ifcopod ever consider replacing your manky copy with new take ? NO.