The Film Music of John Addison

Album review

British composer John Addison was capable of great things both within and without his work for the film industry; witness his bright and sparkling concert works such as his Trumpet Concerto, Partita for string orchestra, and the 1955 musical Cranks. That Addison didn't always put the measure of his talent into the service of film scoring, yet nonetheless delivered the scores anyway, is something that becomes quickly apparent in Rumon Gamba and the BBC Concert Orchestra's otherwise excellent Chandos release The Film Music of John Addison. To most film music buffs, Addison's name is connected to the most notorious event in the history of film music, Alfred Hitchcock's dismissal of Bernard Herrmann -- while recording! -- during the production of Torn Curtain (1966). Herrmann's boosters frequently cite Addison's replacement score for that film as "mediocre"; indeed, will Gamba and the BBC Concert Orchestra succeed in this case to convince them otherwise? As a composer of concert music early in his career, Addison made his mark with tartly neo-classical music that was easily accessible, yet a tad modern in style. Addison's greatest artistic success was in this vein with the score for Tony Richardson's film Tom Jones (1963), and in a way he was temperamentally similar to Richardson; a brilliant and immensely talented artist who nonetheless viewed himself as a craftsman and tended to silence the creator inside in order to best serve the overall project. Although in some ways comparable to his contemporary Henry Mancini, unlike him, Addison didn't think outside the box too often in terms of instrumentation and melodic shape. A simple, English music hall styled number or sweeping, hollywoodized phrase will do in place of a big tune that is memorable and has dramatic import if it means meeting the deadline on time. To the amount of sparkling, inventive, and delightfully original film music in this collection -- The Maggie, Strange Invaders, Tom Jones, Brandy for the Parson, and Sleuth for example -- there are two times where it is merely going through the motions. It is telling that Addison's best-known theme, the Emmy-award winning tune written as an opener for the TV series Murder, She Wrote, is precisely in that slightly tart, neo-classic manner that made Addison's name early on. Gamba and the BBC Concert Orchestra's performances are strong and dedicated and Chandos' recording is generously visual; The Film Music of John Addison has all of the same basic elements in place that make Chandos' similar collections for Ralph Vaughan Williams, Arthur Bliss, and Francis Chagrin so exciting and fulfilling. The only thing lacking here is a consistent pulse of inspiration in the music, and that shortcoming ultimately must be laid at John Addison's door.
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