ORSON WELLES AT THE MOVIES: THE FILM MUSIC OF BERNARD HERRMANN

BSXDG0193

Special Note: This release features the original LP and CD mixes of these recordings. These differ from the remixes released by Quartet Records in 2025. For those interested in the remixed edition, please visit Quartet Records.

BSX DIGITAL presents ORSON WELLES AT THE MOVIES: THE FILM MUSIC OF BERNARD HERRMANN, featuring music written by legendary composer Bernard Herrmann for the first two feature films of the equally legendary director, Orson Welles, performed by the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Tony Bremner.

Orson Welles and Bernard Herrmann shared a legendary creative partnership that revolutionized radio and film sound design. Herrmann and Orson Welles collaborated on several very famous radio broadcasts, including THE WAR OF THE WORLDS and series such THE MERCURY THEATRE ON THE AIR. Welles brought Herrmann to Hollywood to score CITIZEN KANE, his debut feature film, and they collaborated again on THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, although much of Herrmann’s music was not used because of the extensive re-editing done on the film by RKO. 

Bernard Herrmann is one of the greatest composers of motion picture music in the twentieth century. He is considered the man behind some of the most original and distinctive film scores. He was a master at evoking psychological and dramatic tension in his music to suit the dramatic needs of a film. He won his only Oscar in 1947 for writing the score for THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER. Herrmann made a powerful mark in radio and in 1934 he began a 25-year career as a conductor and composer in radio, working for the CBS Symphony Orchestra. In 1938, he scored the notorious infamous presentation of Orson Welles’ Halloween production of H. G. Wells’ THE WAR OF THE WORLDS broadcast. He is best remembered for his collaborations with some of Hollywood’s most celebrated film directors like Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese and Brian DePalma. Described as a perfectionist, he believed that most directors didn't have a clue about music so he would blithely ignore their instructions. His filmography includes CITIZEN KANE, THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, VERTIGO, MYSTERIOUS ISLAND, CAPE FEAR, FAHRENHEIT 451, OBSESSION, TAXI DRIVER and many hours of episodic television including THE TWILIGHT ZONE and HAVE GUN, WILL TRAVEL, among others. 

These recordings performed by the Australian Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Tony Bremner and produced by John Steven Lasher originally debuted on compact disc in the early 1990s on Preamble Records. BSX Digital brings CITIZEN KANE and THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS together for ORSON WELLES AT THE MOVIES: THE FILM MUSIC OF BERNARD HERRMANN, featuring music composed by Bernard Herrmann. These recordings have been newly mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland and reprise original liner notes written by Tony Bremner, John Steven Lasher and Christopher Husted for the respective recordings.  

CITIZEN KANE
01. Prelude (2:20)
02. Susan In Night Club (Rain Sequence) (0:53)
03. Thatcher Library (Litany) (3:23)
04. Galop (0:58)
05. Dissolve To Thatcher / Second Ms. / Bernstein's Narration (1:41)
06. Kane’s News Office / Carter's Exit / Chronicle Scherzo (2:58)
07. Bernstein's Presto (0:40)
08. Kane’s Return / Valse Presentation (1:40)
09. Sunset Narrative (2:19)
10. Theme And Variations (Breakfast Montage) (3:20)
11. Kane Meets Susan / Susan’s Room / Mother Memory (3:04)
12. The Trip To Susan’s / Getty’s Departure / Kane Marries (2:09)
13. Salaambo's Aria (4:23)
Rosamund llling, Soprano
14. Leland’s Dismissal (0:58)
15. Susan In Night Club (New Dawn Sequence) (0:52)
16. Opera Montage (0:47)
Rosamund llling, Soprano
17. Xanadu / Jigsaw Puzzles (Perpetual Motion) / Second Xanadu (3:50)
18. Kane’s Picnic / Susan Leaves (1:59)
19. El Rancho (Second Dawn Sequence) (0:38)
20. The Glass Ball (1:23)
21. Finale (2:26)
22. Opera Montage Etendu (1:28)
Rosamund llling, Soprano

THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS
23 Theme And Variations / George’s Homecoming (7:13)
24. Snow Ride (3:01)
25. The Door / Death And Youth (0:51)
26. Tocatta (1:07)
27. Pleasure Trip (1:01)
28. Prelude (1:25)
29. First Nocturne (4:04)
30. Garden Scene (1:10)
31. Fantasia (2:06)
32. Scene Pathetique (2:16)
33. Waiting 1 And 2 (1:27)
34. Ostinato (1:48)
35. First Letter Scene (3:22)
36. Second Letter Scene / Romanza (2:08)
37. Second Nocturne (3:18)
38. Departure / Isabel’s Death (1:44)
39. First And Second Reverie (2:35)
40. The Walk Home (2:46)
41. Garden Music (2:56)
42. Elegy (1:19)
43. End Title (2:21)

Total Time: 95:52