Post by erik on Oct 16, 2021 17:18:28 GMT -5
The Devil is in the details of this 666th Classical Works Spotlight, as it is in the form of Jerry Goldsmith's only Oscar-winning score, for THE OMEN.
Jerry Goldsmith: THE OMEN
Since the early 1960’s, Jerry Goldsmith had amassed a formidable reputation as one of the great composers of film music in Hollywood. His film credits, up to 1976, included such hugely memorable films as Seven Days In May; Planet Of The Apes; Patton; Rio Lobo; Papillon; and Chinatown, to name just six. But unlike his near-contemporary John Williams, whom he had apprenticed with early on in many Hollywood studio orchestras, Goldsmith was only ever able to cop one Academy Award for Best Music Score; and it was not for what too many people thought was a prestigious film. That film was the 1976 horror classic The Omen. Indisputably one of the better “satanic” horror films to have followed in the wake of The Exorcist, the film’s story focused on the American ambassador to England (Gregory Peck) and his wife (Lee Remick) adapting a baby named Damien, only to find out to their horror that Damien may very well be the Antichrist as foretold in the Book Of Revelations. Many sundry horrible things happen to those who find out about Damien. The Omen, shot primarily in Europe and England, was directed by Richard Donner (who would later direct Superman and Lethal Weapon), with a great cast that included Billie Whitelaw (as an evil nanny) and David Warner (as a news photographer, whose death still remains among the most graphic death scenes in any film, horror or otherwise). Goldsmith’s brilliant and very intense score, which included Satanic chants modeled off of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana”, and the doom-laden “Ave Satani”, plus a relatively lilting song sung by his wife Carol, was one of the highpoints of what would turn out to be among the most controversial, and commercially successful, horror films of the 1970’s. Goldsmith won his Oscar for that film; and he would subsequently do the scores for the two sequels that followed in 1978 and 1981, as well as, among other horror films, the 1982 classic Poltergeist.
Solo Vocal: CAROL GOLDSMITH
John Alldis Choir
National Philharmonic Orchestra/LIONEL NEWMAN (Varese Sarabande)
Jerry Goldsmith: THE OMEN
Since the early 1960’s, Jerry Goldsmith had amassed a formidable reputation as one of the great composers of film music in Hollywood. His film credits, up to 1976, included such hugely memorable films as Seven Days In May; Planet Of The Apes; Patton; Rio Lobo; Papillon; and Chinatown, to name just six. But unlike his near-contemporary John Williams, whom he had apprenticed with early on in many Hollywood studio orchestras, Goldsmith was only ever able to cop one Academy Award for Best Music Score; and it was not for what too many people thought was a prestigious film. That film was the 1976 horror classic The Omen. Indisputably one of the better “satanic” horror films to have followed in the wake of The Exorcist, the film’s story focused on the American ambassador to England (Gregory Peck) and his wife (Lee Remick) adapting a baby named Damien, only to find out to their horror that Damien may very well be the Antichrist as foretold in the Book Of Revelations. Many sundry horrible things happen to those who find out about Damien. The Omen, shot primarily in Europe and England, was directed by Richard Donner (who would later direct Superman and Lethal Weapon), with a great cast that included Billie Whitelaw (as an evil nanny) and David Warner (as a news photographer, whose death still remains among the most graphic death scenes in any film, horror or otherwise). Goldsmith’s brilliant and very intense score, which included Satanic chants modeled off of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana”, and the doom-laden “Ave Satani”, plus a relatively lilting song sung by his wife Carol, was one of the highpoints of what would turn out to be among the most controversial, and commercially successful, horror films of the 1970’s. Goldsmith won his Oscar for that film; and he would subsequently do the scores for the two sequels that followed in 1978 and 1981, as well as, among other horror films, the 1982 classic Poltergeist.
Solo Vocal: CAROL GOLDSMITH
John Alldis Choir
National Philharmonic Orchestra/LIONEL NEWMAN (Varese Sarabande)