The Egyptian

Label: Marco Polo        
Catalogue No: 8.225078

Release Date: 1999

Total Duration: 71:04 

UPN: 0636943507827

Moscow Symphony Orchestra conducted by William Stromberg

This splendid new recording in true stereo of one of the classic collaborations of Hollywood composers derives itself from the original score composition to present the music as it was intended to appear in the film. The “original score recording” (reissued beautifully on CD by Varèse Sarabande) was a monophonic re-recording by Alfred Newman, in which specific changes were made in some of the selections. Arranger John Morgan has gone back to the primary source materials to present or recreate the cues as Newman and Herrmann had originally written them for the film.

The music is grandly eloquent and majestic, as might be expected from an epic film about the ancient Egyptian empire. The majority of the film’s main themes were composed by Newman (as with his sad melody for lilting, descending strings (“Her Name Was Merit”) and his brilliantly mystical music for Akhnaton (“One Diety”), while much of the film’s textural atmospheres were created by Herrmann, including the choral Prelude material. “The Chariot Ride” could have come right out of SINBAD or JASON, and the magnificently atmospheric low brass and furtive strings of “Taia” are characteristic of the composer.

The score is rich in evocative textures and passionate melodies, with both Newman and Herrmann contributing mightily if independently to the music’s overall effect At 30 cues totaling 71:30, there’s almost 24 minutes more music than the original score recording; the state-of-the-art recording techniques and the performance of the Moscow Symphony also gives the music a heightened dynamic and crisper edge than was found in the previous recording. Morgan’s careful renderings may well be the closest approximation to what was heard on the 20th Century Fox sound stage in 1954.

The CD includes a voluminous 28 page booklet (written by Soundtrack columnist Jack Smith) describing the genesis of the film, the score, and the current recording. The track listing also thankfully identifies which cues were written by Newman and which by Herrmann (some of Herrmann’s also utilize Newman’s themes), and includes a track-by-track analysis of the music. As with Marco Polo’s previous and highly laudable restorations of classic scores of Hollywood’s golden age, THE EGYPTIAN is an essential entry in any collection of classic film music, among the best efforts of each composer individually, and collectively one of the best scores of the ‘50s.

Originally published in Soundtrack Magazine Vol. 20/No. 78/2001 - With permission of the editor, Luc Van de Ven