Search - Moscow Symphony Orchestra :: AURIC: La Belle et la Bete (Beauty and the Beast)

Resistance is futile--you must have this CD!

William F. Flanigan Jr. | North Potomac, MD USA | 05/16/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Getting right to the numbers. On a scale of five and rounding up, I'd rate the CD at 4-1/2 stars (five because it's the only modern recording of this marvelous film score; four for performance; and four for sound quality). The music conjures up in the mind's eye scenes from what is one of the most stunning films of the post-war 40's and, very likely, of all time. For sure, it's Jean Cocteau's finest cinematic poem. Like the film, the score as performed here seems magical, light as a souffle, haunting, emotional, and delicately beautiful--clearly, a tour de force for your ears! For film enthusiasts who love the film (like myself), your life will never be complete until you have this CD! For those who love films, but have not yet seen Cocteau's masterpiece, you might as well get the CD now because this task will go straight to the top of your "Things I Gotta Do Today" list immediately after you've seen the film. And for those who are familiar with Mr. Auric's scores (say, from Cocteau's The Blood of a Poet (1930) or William Wyler's Roman Holiday (1953)) or are just casual listeners to film music, you will not be disappointed by this recording."

Great music on its own terms

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 02/21/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This very well might be the greatest cinematic score of them all. All the magic of Cocteau's visual elements is more than matched by the magic of this music. Even if I had no idea what was supposed to be happening on the screen during each musical segment, I would still play this CD over and over. But knowing the film as I do, my enjoyment is increased many times over. Since most copies of the film have somewhat poor sound-tracks, I am extremely grateful to Marco Polo for making this studio recreation available. And in case you are wondering about THAT OTHER recording, the Philip Glass score does not even come close! It is amusing on its own terms, but the Auric score is great music on ITS own terms. See if you can spot the influences on this composer. (Hint: listen to Ravel's "Daphnis et Chloe"!)"

OK - when you can hear it

Stuart M. Paine | Arlington, VA USA | 06/29/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"When I think of Georges Auric, I think of "Les Six". Les Six were a group of French composers (also Darius Milhaud, Artur Honegger and Eric Satie...) in Paris during the 1920s who, to put it simply, promoted French modernism. Auric is best remembered, however, for a film theme which was a monster hit in 1952 and remained popular for a decade thereafter: the "Theme from Moulin Rouge". I don't know any of his concert music which ever attained that kind of familiarity.



So, on to a different kind of "monster" hit. The composition in LA BELLE ET LA BETE is analogous to French post-romantic, impressionist ballet music and it's a very attractive score for the film. I've seen the film and I like both it and the music. This album, however, doesn't do the music justice. As with too many other re-recordings of film music in the MARCO POLO series, the sound often fades and practically disappears. Really, minutes can go by with very little getting to your ears. There are real problems with the encoding of the music on these discs. I myself have around fifteen of them and this is a problem on far too many of them, so I can only recommend them with reservation. I'm happy to have this, but I sure wish there were a stronger, brighter and more immediate sound.

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