This slightly eclectic compilation takes an extended suite from Herrmann's only Oscar winning score and presents them alongside three of his less well known concert suites. Of course, Herrmann's writing for the cinema was every bit the equal of his writing for the concert hall as this diverse album clearly demonstrates.
It is fairly astounding that in the history of film music, Bernard Herrmann only won a solitary Oscar and the choice is perhaps even more strange. The Devil and Daniel Webster is about a man who sells his soul to Mr Scratch and it isn't even one of Herrmann's most well known works (how Psycho, Vertigo or Citizen Kane and several others could not have won Oscars seems nothing short of criminal). Herrmann served up a surprisingly offbeat score for the film, which is somewhat different to his usual stylings. The more vigorous moments are all written as dances, albeit dances with the Devil, thus full of darker and mischievous overtones, most notably in the energetic Swing Your Partners. However, it is the gentle and quite lovely Ballad of Springfield Mountain where Herrmann is at his warmest and most sincere and for my money is the highlight of the suite, exciting and dynamic though the other pieces are.
The middle of the disc is filled by two fairly short stand along pieces. Silent Noon is as hauntingly poetic as its title and sees Herrmann in a very reflective idiom, similar in tone to The Ghost and Mrs Muir. The modest and elegiac trend is continued with For the Fallen, a sombre berceuse that has a more memorial tone than the lilting whimsy of Silent Noon. The Currier & Ives Suite is a surprisingly upbeat and jolly suite, at least by Herrmann's often tempestuous standards. Indeed, Herrmann's luck to be a student of Aaron Copland as well as his interest in the music of Charles Ives may have led to this somewhat Copland-esque effort. There is also more than a hint of broadly balletic romance running throughout; from the fiery Whirlwind Skater, to the lilting Waltz right through to the extremely good natured and exciting finale, there are as many surprises as there are familiar nods towards Herrmann's more well known style. It shows Herrmann had great flair for more comedic music, which would be a surprise to those only accustomed to the intense psychology of his best known works.
The playing of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra under the baton of apparent film music devotee, James Sedares, is uniformly excellent. The recording is perhaps occasionally a little too warm and replete with a more concert hall acoustic, which doesn't always suit Herrmann's more clattering and dynamic music. Some of the detail of the playing can get a little lost, although it must be said that in the more lyrical moments, the recording is absolutely splendid and hugely sympathetic. This is a nice disc for any film music fan, however. Most Herrmann fans are likely to already have at least a couple of tracks from The Devil and Daniel Webster, but the playing here is of sufficient quality to recommend a new take on the material. Of course, the more obscure, but no less enjoyable other selections will be of most interest. Overall, the entire disc seems to focus mainly on either Herrmann's playful side, which is not something that happens often, or his talent for writing music that is hauntingly beautiful, all played with conviction and sincerity.
Rating ~ 
Currier & Ives
Suite (1935)
The Whirlwind Skater: Presto
Total Time ~ 51:04