I approached Tony Bremner's recording of The Big Country with no small degree of trepidation. Jerome Moross' main title alone is a signature piece among Western film scores, frequently performed in film music concerts -- and usually very badly: the string opening isn't furious enough and the brass fanfares that follow are usually too timid. By the time Moross' glorious, flowing Big County theme arrives, the effect is already vitiated for anyone familiar with the original. And the potential hurdles don't end there for any conductor attempting to recreate the entire score. Beneath its harmonic simplicity, the score is driven by intricate and demanding tempos and rhythms. Cues such as 'The Welcoming," 'The Raid & Capture,' and - most notably -- 'The War Party Gathers' require careful attention on the conductor's part to recreate the experience Moross brought to the screen back in 1958 for director William Wyler's expansive study of courage and violence, focusing on a water war between two ranches amid the wide open Western vista. Thus it's not without some relief that I find Bremner's effort quite laudable. This 1995 CD re-release (from a 1988 recording) features London's Philharmonia Orchestra performing 26 of the original soundtrack recording's 42 cues, several of which are combined on the same tracks. In addition to the above-mentioned cues, I particularly enjoyed the four successive dance tunes that Moross composed as source music for the engagement party. 'McKay in Blanco Canyon'-- in which the music's powerful effect derives from its silent bars -- also merits particular mention. "You almost expect an echo to bounce back from the white walls of the canyon," Bremner says in his highly informative liner notes which, in addition to noting cues that were dropped ALSO notes certain passages that are nearly inaudible in the final film due to other sound effects. There are caveats when comparing this to the original soundtrack -- while Bremner's conducting is appropriately brisk, it sometimes lags slightly -- 'The Welcoming,' for example, takes an added 10 seconds here over Moross' version. And I wish they had included the short 'Night in Blanco Canyon' cue. Nevertheless, this is a sterling effort. But there remains one more issue, and (wouldn't you know it?) it involves that main title music -- those brass fanfares just aren't up to the original. A failing on Bremner's part? No. Interestingly, the score as originally recorded by Moross is not what the composer initially intended! In a note to musicologist Christopher Palmer (this album's producer) Moross confirmed that he had wanted the fanfares to be even quicker -- a Scotch snap -- which may have been too fast for Moross' trumpeters. Although it upsets my own concept of what should be, Bremner is faithful here to Moross' original intent. Reviewer John Huether	Reviewer John Huether Reviews from previous months Reviews carry sales links but you can also purchase from:
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