Search - Miklos Rozsa, The Graunke Symphony Orchestra of Munich :: Rozsa : El Cid Score

Very Good remastering of the original album

Juan Alberto Diaz Wiechers | Santiago Chile | 11/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If I am not wrong this one is the original album release Miklós Rózsa recorded for commercial purposes (originally produced by MGM). Miklós Rózsa conducts, apparently, a German orchestra. This excellent recording (42:43 minutos, 11 tracks, and stereo) should NOT be confused with the "Original Soundtrack", wich actually apparently is lost; nor with the also excellent and longer re-recording made in 1996 by "Koch" with James Sedares and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (65:52 minutes, 15 tracks, stereo and digital). Koch's re-recording, it is important to point out, was prepared by Christopher Palmer with the approval of Mr. Rózsa.



This "Original Album" is extremely good, and probably represents a "suite" Miklós Rózsa extracted from the longer original score. It is not the actual soundtrack recording, but, since it is most probably lost, this record is the only surviving material from the period of the film release. Considering that El Cid's score is rated together with Ben-Hur's as one of Mr. Rózsa's top film compositions, for a wise collector this recording is very important. There is even some music that is not included in Koch's re-recording. I recomend to include this "original" album in any music collection, but without forgeting Koch's re-recording, which is more complete and also can be considered an "official" reconstruction.

"

EL CID- Long time overdue

Joseph A. Basinger | Silver Spring, MD United States | 08/12/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great music for an excellent film. Long time overdue. Fans of the great epic films such as El Cid, Spartacus, Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, etc. will enjoy this CD.Hopefully, there will be more CDs made for the great music classics."

Rozsa's selected sountrack now superceded

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 02/14/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This magnificent "soundtrack" album of 11 cues from 1961'd "El Cid" is an example of the greatest film score ever written. This CD is no longer available and a costly issue from collectors. However, a new CD of the complete score to "El Cid" is being marketed by a film score company in England. That score, marketed as a special limited time issue, comprises 3 CDs that give all the music for the film including the cues cut from the film. A third disk offers alternatives of some of cues and an 8-minute suite from the 1944 film noir classic "Double Indemnity."



James Sedares led an alternative recording with more than an hour of excerpts that may still be available. It contains more music than the composer's soundtrack. This one includes most of the significant cues and is played with Rozsa's full-throated all-out romantic style, something no other conductor manages in his music.



If money is not an issue, this soundtrack is dynamite. The notes detail the composer's quest to understand Spanish music to project the era of the film -- the 11th century -- a time when music as we know it (with harmonics, dynamics, thematic development and romance) had not yet been invented. Rozsa worked with a Spanish history professor to understand the epoch and mimic what may have been authentic. The romantic, golden era music consists of arching themes, love and battle music, and marches.



This is surely a tremendous achievement and no collector would be unhappy with this recording even if you paid the exhorbitant price holders demand. The MGM soundtrack has good sound although a bit two dimensional and strident on occasion. This detracts little from this keepsake of Miklos Rozsa's greatest film score."