VAMPIRES AND OLD LACE Music from Hammer Horror and a brace of harpsichord pioneers

AA quite different brand of musical drama, ..one that in so many key respects grew directly from the great Romantic symphonies (Bruckner almost certainly being one of them) is the scare-mongering soundtrack; 'Hammer Horrors' are the best loved and best known. GDI Records has released some of the most interesting Hammer soundtracks, headed by The Mummy with music by Franz Reizenstein, a score that quite aside from its cinematic effectiveness (try 'The Story of Kharis and Ananka') is beautifully crafted as music, Tchaikovsky and Hindemith being probable influences. The conductor is John Hollingsworth. Philip Martell — a central figure at Hammer 40 or so years ago — directs Gerard Schiirmann's score for The Lost Continent, much more the fervid, fast-moving stuff we're used to from Hammer. The playing is generally on the ball, the (mono) sound tightly packed and forwardly balanced.

Numerous albums are available but the best place to start is probably the Hammer Film Music Collection, two separate volumes, the first encompassing music by the likes of Reizenstein, Laurie Johnson and James Bernard, the second, score fragments by Don Banks, Malcolm Williamson, Richard Rodney Bennett and others. There's also a Vampire Collection (The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires, The Kiss of the Vampire and so on) and if you fancy a chuckle, you can always sample The Hammer Comedy Film Music Collection, in other words, the cinema versions of Rising Damp, Nearest and Dearest, etc. All albums are well annotated.

There was definitely something of the Goth about the flamboyant harpsichord virtuoso Wanda Landowska, at least on the evidence of her more dramatic recordings. Testament and Naxos have each reissued the same attractive pairing of two long-unavailable Landowska programmes, both originally released on Victor LPs, Dances of Ancient Poland and A Treasury of Harpsichord Music. The Polish sequence includes among its contents a handful of titles by, or arranged by, Landowska herself whereas the 'Treasury' features music by Vivaldi-Bach, Scarlatti, Couperin and others. The playing combines elegance, rhythmic vitality and (at times) Romantic sweep, Landowska relishing the rich, tangy sonority of her Pleyel instrument.

As to transfers there's precious little difference between the two versions, save for a hint more immediacy on Testament, which is presumably taken from rnastertapes. However, Naxos scores not only on the price front but by including two short items that Testament leaves off, namely a C minor Bach Fantasia (BWV919) and, more significantly given its —.— grave beauty, a Sarabande in D minor by Chambormieres. I can only assume that when RCA sent over the masters, those particular tracks (both from the original Treasury LP) were missing.

Like Landowska the German-born harpsichordist Liselotte Selbiger was obliged to flee Nazi-occupied Europe, in her case arriving in Denmark where she made quite a name for herself. Selbiger, a fine musician, is a more sober player than Landowska, rather less of a virtuoso too, but worth hearing and Danacord's second CD collection of her recordings (Purcell, Couperin, Bach, Scarlatti, Rameau, on both harpsichord and clavichord) is representative of her best work. Sources include broadcasts and commercially released 78s and the transfers have been well managed, though the clavichord is very closely recorded. 0 THE RECORDINGS Reizenstein The Mummy GDI e GDICD006 Schiirmann The Lost Continent

GDI g GDIC015 The Hammer Film Music Collection, Vol 1

GDI GDICD002 The Hammer Film Music Collection, Vol 2

GDI GDICD005 The Hammer Vampire

GDI g GDICD017 Comedy Classics from Hammer Films

GDI GDICD004 Treasury of Harpsichord Music. Dances of Ancient Poland Landowska

Naxos ® 8 111055 Treasury of Harpsichord Music. Dances of Ancient Poland

Landowska

Testament S8T1380 Purcell. Couperin. Bach Harpsichord works Selbiger

Danacord DACOCD645