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Bernard Herrmann's "Hangover Square" Soundtrack Expanded On New Two-For-One CD

August 20, 2015 By Joe Marchese Leave a Comment

Hangover SquareFresh off its successful Indiegogo campaign, Kritzerland has returned to the music of Bernard Herrmann (Psycho, Taxi Driver) for its latest soundtrack release.  Two Herrmann scores - 1945's Hangover Square and 1952's 5 Fingers - have been paired on one CD.  Though both have been previously released on CD, they have been newly transferred for Kritzerland by our friend Mike Matessino, and Hangover Square (a favorite score of none other than Stephen Sondheim) has been expanded by sixteen never-before-released minutes of music!

Below, you'll find Kritzerland's press release as well as pre-order links!  This limited edition release of 1,000 units is due to ship by the last week of September, but pre-orders from the label typically ship an average of two to four weeks early.

LOS ANGELES, CA - Sometimes a movie comes along in which all the elements align perfectly - cast, writer, director, photography, art direction, costumes, and music - and the result is often a unique film that works on every level, and the 1945 film Hangover Square is a perfect example.  The cast was perfection, with Laird Cregar as composer/pianist George Henry Bone, beautiful and talented Linda Darnell and the always-wonderful George Sanders.  In a film in which a musical composition also plays a leading role, the choice of composer is key to the film's success.  In this case, the match was sublime - Bernard Herrmann.

For Hangover Square, Herrmann's task was to compose George Henry Bone's piano concerto. The resulting "Concerto Macabre" is a tour de force - the concerto had to accomplish many things, including beginning and ending with just piano, but it also had to portray the mind of its on-screen composer and his descent into madness.  But the concerto is but one piece of Herrmann's musical tapestry in Hangover Square, and the rest of the score is as evocative and brilliant as the concerto.

Five Fingers5 Fingers was a 1952 spy picture directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz.   Bernard Herrmann was once again the perfect choice for the film.  His score conveys every bit of suspense and emotion, from the dramatic main title, to the jittery music for "Cicero," to the brief-but-beautiful cue "Romance," to the exciting music for "Escape."  Much of the score almost seems like a preview of what Herrmann would go on to compose for his legendary series of films with director Alfred Hitchcock.  It's a world-class score by a world-class composer.

Both 5 Fingers and Hangover Square were released in the Bernard Herrmann at Fox box set on Varese Sarabande.  For that release, Hangover Square was a much-truncated presentation.  But thanks to advances in technology and a couple of new sources we present it here with over sixteen additional minutes of music, and what music it is.  While the source material for 5 Fingers was in excellent condition, the sources used for Hangover Square were not in as prime condition.  Everything possible has been done to clean them up, but the music is so important we wanted to include every note we could.  For this CD, Mike Matessino has gone back to the 5 Fingers elements and done a fresh new transfer, which sounds absolutely stunning, and he's done the same for Hangover Square.

Hangover Square/5 Fingers is limited to 1,000 copies only and is priced at $19.98, plus shipping.   CDs will ship by the last week of September.  However, never fear - on average we usually ship two to four weeks ahead of the official ship date.  To place an order, see the cover, or hear audio samples, just visit www.kritzerland.com.

Bernard Herrmann, Hangover Square/5 Fingers (Kritzerland, 2015)

  1. Main Title/Fulham Waltz and The Dealer*
  2. Murder and Fire
  3. Confession*
  4. The Clock and The Knife*
  5. Barbara*
  6. So Close to Paradise (Lionel Newman)*
  7. The Spell
  8. The Murder
  9. Fame and Anger*
  10. Second Spell*
  11. The Cat and Netta's Death*
  12. The Bonfire
  13. Recovery and The Invitation*
  14. Concerto Macabre: First Movement
  15. Concerto Macabre: Second Movement
  16. Coda
  17. Concerto Macabre: The Lost Movement
  18. Prelude
  19. Cicero
  20. The Embassy
  21. The Film
  22. The Old Street
  23. German Embassy/Berlin
  24. The Safe
  25. Dreams
  26. Five Weeks
  27. The Trap/The House
  28. Romance
  29. Departure
  30. Alone
  31. The Charwoman
  32. Escape
  33. The Pursuit
  34. The Boat
  35. Rio
  36. Finale

Tracks 1-17 from Hangover Square (1945)
Tracks 18-36 from 5 Fingers (1952)

(*) denotes previously unreleased track

Categories: News Formats: CD Genre: Soundtracks Tags: Bernard Herrmann

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with Real Gone Music, has released newly-curated collections produced by Joe from iconic artists such as Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Chet Atkins, and many others. He has contributed liner notes to reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, B.J. Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, and Andy Williams, and has compiled releases for talents including Robert Goulet and Keith Allison of Paul Revere and the Raiders. Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray. Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

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