Bliss, A.: Christopher Columbus

Featuring

Adriano
Sylvia Čápová-Vizváry
Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Slovak Philharmonic Chorus
Arthur Bliss

Did you know?

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Compositional Technique

For the film 'Men of Two Worlds', Bliss combined original music with ethnically derived material, skillfully woven together, such as developing a children's song into climactic sections.

Historical Context

Muir Mathieson, who conducted over two hundred British film scores, was instrumental in raising film music in the UK to a high level by commissioning and promoting works by major composers.

Compositional Technique

For 'Christopher Columbus', Bliss used Spanish idioms and tunes akin to those of Spain to suggest the atmosphere of the age in which Columbus set forth.

Performer Biography

The conductor Adriano, born in 1944, is largely self-taught and has established himself as a specialist in Ottorino Respighi and obscure or neglected symphonic repertoire.

Composer Biography

Sir Arthur Bliss, the composer, wrote scores for eight films that reached the screen, though only two were major productions.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Bliss believed that music in film, despite taking a humble position in the final synthesis, was powerfully expressive and could bring landscapes to life, add drama, and convey human emotion.

Recording & Production

The suite for 'Christopher Columbus' on this album was created from a close study of Bliss's 140-page autograph score, as Bliss himself never made a suite of the film music.