How nice to see the names George Korngold and Christopher Palmer associated with this album. It should be pointed out that these tracks were previously available on the Bay Cities and Varèse Sarabande labels and this Citadel recording has been available since 1997 (and can now be sourced through Hot Records). Most of the material on this album is grand ceremonial music. There is heavy brass and percussion signalling approaching doom for Caesar's Procession before the grand march of the approaching legions which rivals Respighi's the celebrated crescendo that is the 'Pines of the Appian Way.' Equally doomed is the Christ's struggle dragging his cross along the 'Via Dolorosa', the poignantly moving cue from King of Kings that is contrasted with the sparkle and colour of the 'Jugglers and Tumblers' that accords with the period and the locale. Ceremonial music that is hedonistic and opulently indulgent informs the 'Triumphal March' from Sodom and Gomorrah while the linked 'Wedding' music is unbridled sensuality. The most imposing part of this 'Suite from the Biblical Epics' is a stunning performance of the unforgettable 'Parade of the Charioteers' from Ben Hur with its proudly resounding, overlapping fanfares, and the subsequent swagger of the 'Victory Parade.' The most substantial work on the album is Róza's regal 'Fantasy on Themes from Young Bess' scored for brass, organ, timpani and harp. {The film starred Jean Simmons and Stewart Grainger.) Besides music of ceremonial splendour, there is a sprightly rondo and a series of variations on the Dies Irae for the death of Henry VIII (Charles Laughton). The organ part s commandingly played by Christopher Bowers-Broadbent. From The Story of Three Loves episode called "Equilibrium", with Kirk Douglas romancing Pier Angeli in Paris, comes 'Java de la Seine' a nice little atmospheric piece complete with the obligatory accordion. Apparently Rózsa had a great affection for this piece because it reminded him of his of struggle in the City of Light in the 1930s. Another beautiful little work is the 'Palace Music' from El Cid that has lute-like harp melodies and treble winds that seem to capture the sense of medieval life more completely than any fanfares. The first two tracks are by the Utah Symphony Orchestra. The World, the Flesh and the Devil was science-fiction film set in a New York in the wake of an apocalyptic disaster. Rózsa's music is hard and stark yet it rises above itself in indomitable majesty. Because of Him which starred Deanna Durbin and Charles Laughton had a lush score more Viennese than its New York setting and Rozsa moves with ease from the broad romantic gesture to the closed and intimate. The final track on the album is another ceremonial piece - the brief Festival Flourish written for the American Bicentennial as a tribute to Rózsa's adopted homeland. Breathtaking Reviewer Ian Lace	Reviewer Ian Lace Reviews from previous months Reviews carry sales links but you can also purchase from:
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