Search - Bernard Herrmann :: The 7th Voyage Of Sinbad (1998 Re-recording)

The Seven Voyage of Sinbad: Bernard Herrman Dazzles

James D. Eret | 06/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the film world of fantasy there is an unparalleled match of two geniuses, working at the top of their gifts, Bernard Herrman, composer, and Ray Harryhausen, master animator,and they colaborated on three great fantasy films, Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts, and Mysterious Island. The first two films are classics.The energy in Seventh Voyage is great and evocation of the Arabian Knights marvelous; everything about this score is wonderful, fully matching the fabulous animation and action. No one creates atmospheres through music in movies better than Bernard Herrman. From clashing battle themes, love themes, exoitic dancing themes, genie themes, and even music to battle evil wizards and skeletons by. I have this score on LP, have always cherished it, and welcome the CD version,for in this film, all the flim's elements come together primarily through two other wizards, Ray Harryhausen, and Bernard Herrman. Some look to Herrman's scores for Vertigo as an example of his best work. But Herrman could write great music for any genre and for the Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, he scores another masterpiece. Miklos Rozsa wrote the music for The Golden Voyage of Sinbad and it is only average compared to Herrman's marvelous evocation of Arabian mythology, sounds, and adventure. A must buy for fans of film music."

Musical Treasure Beyond Price

R. Sol | Hemet ca United States | 09/28/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The original soundtrack recording of this score has long been highly prized by collectors for it's uniqueness, imagination and brilliant orchestral color. It is Herrmann at the height of his powers. This 1998 re-recording by John Debney sparkles a little less vibrantly than Herrmann's original recording, but it is powerful and lovely none the less, and contains far more musical selections. Some of the tempos are a bit off, and some liberties were taken with the final selection, and a complete presentation of the entire score would have been preferable, but given the unavailability of that, this album is still very worthwhile - a delightful listening experience."

A Good Recreation and Reperformance of Herrmann

Christopher Tune | No. Hollywood, CA USA | 10/06/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Despite what some of the other reviews claim, this recording appears to be a performance by the Scottish National Orchestra conducted by John Debney using the original score to this movie. Perhaps some are noticing the faster tempo used in the treacherous "Battle with the Skeleton" music. . .or maybe the added prominence of the cast bell used during the "Cyclops" music. . .These things sound slightly different here than in the original motion picture.



Nonetheless, this is the majority of actual score of the movie. Of course it is TRULY Bernard Herrmann's work. . .some here perhaps do not realize how different BH could be from score to score. Journey to the Center of the Earth is completely different than Fahrenheit 451, which is absolutely different from North By Northwest.



I am a longtime fan and a freelance musician, so perhaps I can point out the truth in earlier reviewer comments about Williams and Herrmann. They are definitely related to each other. BH worked in an era when film scores were expected to routinely use the "leitmotiv" method to adhere to changes on screen. Thus, here in the 7th Voyage, we have a Princess's theme. . .just as there was a Princess Leia theme in Star Wars.



Herrmann also used both "classic", and more "modern" effects and harmonic devices for a very basic purpose (e.g. extensive percussion work for fight sequences or "barbaric" content. . . .static, "tritone" distant chords or clusters slowly alternated to establish no key whatsoever, but to keep a level of tension going) and with a sense of "staying out of the way". . .that the best scorers routinely exhibit. Williams does this too.



This is quite a dramatic score, since the movie features fantastic Ray Harryhausen clay animation figures. There is a dragon, a cyclops, a multi-headed bird, and chick. There is a dance of a "half snake-half woman". Herrmann uses percussion and brass to great effect here, yet the material is quite accessible to a wide audience.



I'd heartily recommend this, though I've got a vinyl recording here, of "The Fantasy Film World of Bernard Herrmann" which has a better performance of the "Battle with a Skeleton".



This should definitely be in your film score collection.



Chris Tune"