VERTIGO, the permanent present of a classic
If there is a soundtrack on the Film History which has been talked, wrote, argued, studied and revised, this is no other than Vertigo (1958), one of the greatest Bernard Herrmann's masterpieces. Composed in 1958 between January 3rd and February 19th, it meant the fourth collaboration of Herrmann with Alfred Hitchcock, and probably the zenith of their mutual relationship, but at the same time it was surrounded by certain turbulence during its recording. A musician's strike in Los Angeles cause its transfer to London, where conductor Muir Mathieson was hired; only some of the cues could be recorded there, all in stereo, before new problems with the London orchestra force the jump to Vienna. The Austrain recordings, at the contrary, were all in mono sound. When the first record was edited by the Mercury label, it only comprise the themes recorded in England, so a big amount of the excellent Herrmann material left unpublished. Along the years, different recordings had salute this score in an special way, although limited to the recording of a suite. It had to wait till 1995 to discover part of the rest of the score, with the stupendous version by Joel McNeely and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, even though still left some cues unheard. Now it came a new edition of the original recording, this time with the practical totality of the material recorded then, both in London and Vienna -with the exception of some cues whose master has been destroyed-, and the sound reprocessed in a terrific labour. The new record includes all the Mercury material, with only the change of name of two cues: Madeleine, which on the Mercury record comes together Carlotta's Portrait, now appears as first part of the Scotty tails Madeleine cue, and Love Music has now the name (more of Herrmann taste) of Scene d'Amour; about the McNeely record it missed two cues, Graveyard and Tombstone (both included in Scotty trails Madeleine) whose original material is badly damaged. At the opposite, it has been included four cues not available on the first Varese record: Mission Organ, as end of Scotty tails Madeleine, The Streets, The Past and The Girl, which whom practically is available all the material composed by Herrmann, with the exception of some small cues of limited significance. And although this proliferation of editions may seems as something excessive, they never will be enough if the music deserves it. And Vertigo is the perfect example.

Mercury
422106-2
33' 51"
Sinfonia of London
Conductor: Muir Mathieson


Varese Sarabande
VSD5600
62' 41"
Royal Scottish National
Conductor: Joel McNeely


Varese Sarabande
VSD5759
64' 12"
Conductor: Muir Mathieson


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