Malcolm Arnold
Malcolm Arnold 1921-2006
While on a 10-day visit to Scotland as Composer-in-residence at the Perth Festival of the Arts, Malcolm Arnold talked to me about his work as a composer of film music. Between 1948 and 1969 he wrote the music for over 70 feature films as well as many short documentaries and some television programs. One must not forget that he has written extensively for the concert hall (this includes 9 symphonies) as well as music for ballet and the theatre. The conversation took place at the Royal George Hotel, Perth, on 27 May 1987.
It is really hard to understand why Malcolm Arnold's score to 1984 has become an orphan because even if it had nothing else going for it besides one of the composer's finest marches, that alone is reason enough for a re-recording. Beyond that, Arnold's effectively quirky score is gripping and imaginative. Perhaps the Orwell estate's dissatisfaction with the film and their subsequent unwillingness to see it re-released contributed to the unfamiliarity of the score. The US version is only available in illegal washed-out, splicy video copies, where not only is the picture bad, but the soundtrack is almost incomprehensible.
Reviews
This disc was first released to celebrate Sir Malcolm Arnold's 80th birthday. He has composed over 100 film and TV scores, receiving an Oscar for David Lean's epic film, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI from 1957. One year later he received an Ivor Novello award for THE INN OF THE SIXTH HAPPINESS.
Recorded in 1992 and first issued on CHAN9100, this first volume of film music shows just how inventive Malcolm Arnold can be. Christopher Palmer (who is the arranger of four out of the five items on this disc) points out in his excellent notes that, 'Arnold is not afraid of the obvious, nor does he avoid clichés or mannerisms'. This is certainly true: Arnold's musical vocabulary takes in whatever he feels to be apposite to the situation, surely a point which reinforces his stature as a composer of film music.
The album begins with a suite from Trapeze reconstructed, arranged and orchestrated by Philip Lane and here I should pause to pay tribute to the fine work of Lane which has enabled the recording so many of the tracks on this album. Circus drama, Trapeze (1956) starred Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Gina Lollobrigida. The Main Titles music sums up all the dangerous excitement of the high wire with a broad romantic spirit (and some wit) that reminds one of Steiner. 'Romance' is a slinky, close-up dance which very well captures the mood of the 1940s/50s. Bullish circus 'Fanfares' are followed by the amusing lumbering gait of 'Elephant Waltz' while 'Mike and Lola' is a dreamy romantic interlude. 'Tino's Arrival in Paris' swaggers along with accordion and rhythmic sticks and the suite draws to a conclusion in the darker, dramatic Finale.
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