Alex North's best-known period-setting film score is the music he wrote for Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus -- understandable since that movie was a monster hit -- but his music for Carol Reed's The Agony and the Ecstasy may be his finest body of music for a period subject. North worked within the historical framework of the film's story -- the battle of wills between Michelangelo Buonarroti and Pope Julius II -- composing music that subsumed the musical influences of 15th century Italy within his own style. The result was a ...
Read More
Alex North's best-known period-setting film score is the music he wrote for Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus -- understandable since that movie was a monster hit -- but his music for Carol Reed's The Agony and the Ecstasy may be his finest body of music for a period subject. North worked within the historical framework of the film's story -- the battle of wills between Michelangelo Buonarroti and Pope Julius II -- composing music that subsumed the musical influences of 15th century Italy within his own style. The result was a brilliantly expressive score that evoked the enveloping passions of the men and the art that they fostered, in a concise and musically dramatic manner. The Varese Sarabande release features a new digital recording of North's music by Jerry Goldsmith conducting the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, which assembles the core and essentials of the complete film music in a succinct, 40-minute whole. The playing is superb; the sound sharp, clear, and rich in tone; and the music is extraordinarily powerful on its own terms, free-standing from the film. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
Read Less
Add this copy of The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965 Film-1997 Score to cart. $6.78, like new condition, Sold by goodsulove rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Palmdale, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1998 by Varese Sarabande.
Add this copy of Agony and the Ecstasy to cart. $9.99, very good condition, Sold by Spin On This rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Woodland Hills, CA, UNITED STATES, published by MAS 2427; Capitol.