Search - Jerry Goldsmith, National Philharmonic Orchestra :: The Omen: Original Motion Picture Score (Deluxe Edition)

One of the materpieces of film music, or any music

Ryan Harvey | Los Angeles, CA USA | 02/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The score to the "The Omen" netted famous composer Jerry Goldsmith his only Oscar (beating out two scores by Bernard Herrmann!) out of his many nominations. Few horror film scores -- indeed, scores to any kind of film -- have been as influential as this dive into Satanic terror. But on its own, "The Omen" score is something even larger than accompaniment to a scary film. This CD, which restores music missing from the original LP and CD release and puts the cues in chronological order, shows that "The Omen" score is a masterpiece of American concert music, sort of an orchestral/choral tone poem of fear and sadness. It's an unnerving thing to listen to for the first time (scared me half to death first time I heard it, and I hadn't even seen the film yet), but becomes more impressive and even beautiful with each additional listening. There is really nothing else like it in film music: a dark, gorgeous piece of profane music.This CD is still missing a number of smaller cues from the film, such as Lee Remick's death, the unused music for the early appearances of the dog, and the evil nanny's first meeting with Damien, but it restores most of the important pieces that were unavailable until now: "I Was There," (Father Brennan's first attempt to explain to ambassador Thorn who his son is), "Broken Vows" (the approach to the church when Damien has his fit), "The Day He Died" (searching Brennan's apartment), and "Beheaded" (self-explanatory).The score is based on two ideas. First is a Black Mass, an inversion of the Catholic mass, sung by a mixed choir. Not actually a theme, the choral motif changes constantly depending on the requirements of the scene, but it always indicates some sort of Satanic presence or evil occurrence (in fact, Goldsmith's score is the ONLY indication in the film that anything supernatural might be occurring, and is thus a crucial part of the storytelling). The Black Mass is established in the first cue, "Ave Satani." (Believe it or not, it was nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, but lost to "Evergreen." Kind of makes you sick, huh?) "Ave Satani" is actually the music for the end credits (the second half of the final cue, "The Altar" is the music heard over the opening credits), but serves as the perfect opening to the soundtrack. The choir intones the Latin phrases they will utilize for the rest of the score. The otherwise informative liner notes to the album neglect to print the lyrics, so here they are:Sanguis bebimus corpus edimus
Tolle corpus Satatni
Ave versus Christus
Ave SataniWhich roughly translates as: "We drink the blood, we eat the body. Raise the body of Satan. Hail Antichrist. Hail Satan."(Think of how enriched your experience of the album will be now you know what that creepy choir is actually saying. Yipes!)For the rest of the score, Goldsmith uses the chorus as an assault weapon. "Ave Satani" is stately and slow, but the chorus becomes vicious and bizarre as the score continues, using each word like a weapon, repeating them endlessly in strange patterns. Goldsmith effectively dumps the form of traditional religious music and goes for a modernist approach (Stravinsky and Bartok are probably the closest equivalents). The chorus is positively insane on such cues as "The Killer Storm," "Beheaded," "The Demise of Mrs. Baylock," and "The Dogs Attack." This last cue is the score highlight, beginning with eerie whisperings and turning into a full-on choral assault that hits screaming pitches. This music is really like getting run over by the orchestra and chorus, and it wrings you out. Believe me, you'll love it.The second idea is the "Family Theme," a delicate love theme first heard on "Ave Satani" as a few chords on the piano before the Black Mass starts. It flowers into a beautiful and childlike melody on the cue "The New Ambassador." Goldsmith then spends the rest of the score slowly destroying the theme with dissonance, minor chords, and dark orchestrations. By the time of "The Bed" near the end of the score, the theme is almost unrecognizable, as all the love of the family from the beginning has disintegrated into nothing. It's an unsettling musical trip. (The love theme also appears as a vocal, "The Piper Dreams," at the end of the album. I don't consider this part of the score proper, and it wasn't in the film, thankfully.)This CD is a must for anyone interested in orchestral American music, choral music, or any kind of music that leaves a unique lasting impression. It is one of the masterpieces of modern music."

THE ULTIMATE EVIL HAS RETURNED!!!!

MR IAN N ENTWISTLE | Brisbane, Queensland Australia | 10/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Often the case I have noticed with original releases of soundtracks that only a certain selection of tracks make it onto the record, and still there is a considerable amount of music featured on the film's soundtrack that is left out and these arn't always reprises of familiar themes but other themes that very much make an impact.
I always found this a disappointing case with many fine soundtracks having compared the amount of music on the film itself and the actual soundtrack album. Why should some of the finest music composed be restricted to one medium??
Now all that seems to be changing with a significant number of classic soundtracks been reissued and remastered with additional material and the new Deluxe version of 'The Omen' is a fitting and very pleasing example of a timeless and very powerful Jerry Goldsmith score which has earned Goldsmith so far his only Oscar for best original score 1977. Goldsmith's music for 'The Omen' made an an already frightning film all the more effective with this masterful and highly original experimentation of the horror genre.
The malevolent use of diabolical vocals and chantings from a choir as well as the eerie use of violins and other instruments make this still the finest horror score. I remenber first listening to this soundtrack in the dark for the first time and to say it was quite unsettling was an understatement.
Along with never before been released tracks(a total of eight)the sound quality is a definite improvement and the packaging is splendid!!!
I'm now looking froward to 'The Final Conflict' Deluxe edition!!!
Its a pity that there will be no Deluxe edition at this time for 'Damien Omen II' as I believe the rights to that album is still owned by Silvascreen!!!
Highly recommended!!!
Enjoy!!! If you dare!!!!"

Could have been the maxx

Grissom | Antwerp ,Belgium | 11/08/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Although this is a very noteworthy and long overdue extended release of one of the most important scores ever written for a movie, it is somewhat bothering that this edition still isn't final. There are still missing more than five minutes of original material of which 2 cues ("Father Spiletto" and "Kathy's Death")are to be considered absolute highlights next to the finally released cues such as "Broken Vows","Beheaded" and of course the classic chillers like "Ave Satani","The Killer Storm" and "..Mrs Baylock". As for the release itself, what you get is first-class and a must-have for every collector : 5 stars for the music minus one for the missing cues. Enjoy it!"