Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959). Bernard Herrmann /even on a good day/

Bernard Herrmann via last.fm

Via The Buzzing Read, the article Great Moments in Film Orchestration History: Bernard Herrmann, from Film Music Magazine, includes this:

In “Journey To The Center Of The Earth,” (20th Century Fox, 1959) there are two standout uses of unusual color becoming a dramatic element. In a scene involving a giant snake, Herrmann coaxed a low, unsteady moaning effect out of an Renaissance instrument called, appropriately, a serpent. The bass member of the cornetto family, it is a woodwind with a brass-type mouthpiece and recorder-like finger holes, and using a tuba embouchure. Even on a good day it has trouble producing a stable, centered tone.

By the way, there are a zillion active film composers I hadn't heard of before. From that list, I did know of Daft Punk, James Newton Howard, and a couple of others although I wasn't aware that Ennio Morricone's son is a composer.

Last night, we watched East of Eden. FYI, there is a recording of John Adams conducting the music of Leonard Rosenman. 

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