Philip Glass: Dracula [Soundtrack]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
It's no surprise that some of Philip Glass's most inspiring projects have been multimedia. The composer's minimalist tendencies lend themselves to the accompaniment of vast landscapes, silent films, and--now--Tod Browning's 1931 horror classic, Dracula. With longstanding collaborators the Kronos Quartet performing the score, Glass has created a soundtrack that moves with rapid-fire momentum and a timeless chamber-music feel. Dracula never sounds sinister or ironic, just ominous--the perfect companion to a film with plenty of dialogue but no pre-existing score. So what if we've already heard Glass's stylistic trademarks--striking arpeggios, repeated motifs, and the like--on any number of albums (for example, the Kronos/Glass soundtrack to Mishima or Uakti's 1999 release, Aguas de Amazonia)? Unlike the epic three and a half hours of Music in Twelve Parts, this enjoyable disc takes just over an hour and it's well worth hearing. In the new video release of Dracula, accompanied by Glass's score, you'll never see Bela Lugosi's mug the same way again. --Jason Verlinde

Tracks:

Dracula
Journey to the Inn
The Inn
The Crypt
Carriage Without a Driver
The Castle
The Drawing Room
"Excellent, Mr. Renfield"
The Three Consorts of Dracula"
The Sotrm
Horrible Tragedy
London Fog
In the Theatre
Lucy's Bitten
Seward Sanatorium
Renfield
In His Cell
When the Dream Comes
Dracula Enters
Or a Wolf
Women in White
Renfield in his Drawing Room
Dr. Van helsing and Dracula
Mina on the Terrace
Mina's Bedroom/ The Abbey
The End of Dracula
Dracula: Epilogue

Product Description

In 2004, Orange Mountain Music released an album of solo piano transcriptions of Philip Glass' Oscar and Golden Globe nominated score to THE HOURS. These transcriptions were done by Glass' longtime Music Director and pianist Michael Riesman. Mr. Riesman's solo piano transcription of The Hours proved so successful musically, that OMM was inspired to approach Riesman again to make an arrangement of Glass' haunting score to Todd Browning's 1931 classic DRACULA starring Bela Lugosi. Glass original score was written for string quartet and was recorded and toured by the Kronos Quartet. This new arrangement of the score is treated to a truly virtuosic performance by Michael Riesman and includes a previously unrecorded track which was composed by Glass but was left out of the soundtrack recording. Riesman's extraordinary playing brings life and phenomenal craftmanship to a seemingly timeless musical score.

Customer Reviews:

...skip the kronos recording and go with this............2007-07-07

...brilliant piano transcription of the powerful Glass score for 1931's "Dracula".......playing which simply rocks the senses with it's power and subtlty....i find it so much more "definitive" than the original recording made with the Kronos Quartet...always found their interpretation oh-so screechy and monotonous...never could get through it, even when accompanied with the visual of the film......hearing this version made me re-evaluate this wondrous music as if hearing for the first time...
Luigi ~ nyc

Great!!!.......2007-05-07

As usual, there's only one thing that could be said "very good job Michael". Thanks a lot for this piano transcription.

Average customer rating:

Better Than A Midsummer Night's Dream
Definetely worth picking up
Dark and moody
Dark and moody
Dracula Soundtrack

Philip Glass: Dracula

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Solo Piano

ASIN: B00000JZCI
Release Date: 1999-08-31

Tracks:

Dracula
DRACULA: Journey To The Inn
DRACULA: The Inn
DRACULA: The Crypt
DRACULA: Carriage Without A Driver
DRACULA: The Castle
DRACULA: The Drawing Room
DRACULA: 'Excellent, Mr. Renfield'
DRACULA: The Three Consorts Of Dracula
DRACULA: The Storm
DRACULA: Horrible Tragedy
DRACULA: London Fog
DRACULA: In The Theatre
DRACULA: Lucy's Bitten
DRACULA: Seward Sanatorium
DRACULA: Renfield
DRACULA: In His Cell
DRACULA: When The Dream Comes
DRACULA: Dracula Enters
DRACULA: Or A Wolf
DRACULA: Women In White
DRACULA: Renfield In The Drawing Room
DRACULA: Dr. Van Helsing And Dracula
DRACULA: Mina On The Terrace
DRACULA: Mina's Bedroom/The Abbey
DRACULA: The End Of Dracula

Amazon.com

It's no surprise that some of Philip Glass's most inspiring projects have been multimedia. The composer's minimalist tendencies lend themselves to the accompaniment of vast landscapes, silent films, and--now--Tod Browning's 1931 horror classic, Dracula. With longstanding collaborators the Kronos Quartet performing the score, Glass has created a soundtrack that moves with rapid-fire momentum and a timeless chamber-music feel. Dracula never sounds sinister or ironic, just ominous--the perfect companion to a film with plenty of dialogue but no pre-existing score. So what if we've already heard Glass's stylistic trademarks--striking arpeggios, repeated motifs, and the like--on any number of albums (for example, the Kronos/Glass soundtrack to Mishima or Uakti's 1999 release, Aguas de Amazonia)? Unlike the epic three and a half hours of Music in Twelve Parts, this enjoyable disc takes just over an hour and it's well worth hearing. In the new video release of Dracula, accompanied by Glass's score, you'll never see Bela Lugosi's mug the same way again. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

Better Than A Midsummer Night's Dream.......2007-03-22

The original soundtrack to "Dracula" was a poorly recorded and tired sounding Mendelssohn "Midsummer's Night Dream", along with (as I may recall) some "Swan Lake". You could almost hear the scratches on the record. Where the music was absent during the movie there was stark silence. All the more enjoyable when you are forced to hear the various soundstage gaffs and pops. The movie makers relied heavily on Bela Lugosi's enormous stage presence to keep the audience riveted to their seats. However, Bela aside, I always found the original score distracting and felt it took away from an otherwise classically gothic masterpiece.
The first time I watched the restored "Dracula" with Glass' score I was floored! It was amazing what the proper sound and mood of a piece of music can do for a movie! (Let this stand as a good lesson to all you young aspiring movie composers!). This has got to be the most beautiful and hauntingly perfect recapture of a classic mivie I have ever heard! Bravo to Philip Glass! Please, Mr. Glass, redo "Frankenstein"!

Definetely worth picking up.......2003-01-19

As years go by it seems as if almost every premise for something great has been overused and beaten to death, it's really cool to see an old classic like this given the right treatment without making a mockery of it. Even if you've memorized the entire movies dialogue before this score was introduced, you'll still have visions of Bela Lugosi on the screen when you listen to this soundtrack after seeing it in conjunction with the film. As usual, Kronos Quartet works feverishly with the composer's true intent behind them and churn out quite a great soundtrack that is not only enjoyable as a soundtrack, but an album that stands on it's own just as well.

Dark and moody.......2002-06-04

I have never heard Philip Glass before, but I was captivated while watching "Dracula" with his new score. The music transformed the movie into a more Gothic, more poetic film than before. What a difference music makes to a movie!

As a CD, "Philip Glass: Dracula" is very enjoyable to listen to. This is also my first CD featuring the Kronos Quartet, and I am mesmerized. The music is beautiful. The black mood of Dracula is evoked in every chord.

Dark and moody.......2002-06-04

Dracula Soundtrack.......2002-03-09

This is an absolutely awesome soundtrack. I don't know how many times I've listened to since I first heard it. I have the Dracula DVD and it enhances it beautifully. I would love to see the Kronos Quartet perform this live.

Average customer rating:

Enjoy it very much

Music to Die For

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000DD78R
Release Date: 2003-10-21

Tracks:

O Fortuna - Slovac Philharmonic Chorus
Dies Irae - Hungarian State Opera Choir
Brides - Cracow Philharmonic Chorus
Moonlight Sonata - Jeno Jando
Second Movement - Adele Anthony
Adagio For Strings - Marin Alsop
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Customer Reviews:

Enjoy it very much.......2007-03-27

I really enjoy classical music. I heard one of the pieces on the radio and had to have it.

Average customer rating:

SEVERELY ALTERED "Belle et la Bete"
Reviewers are not looking at this correctly
A re-approach
The Worst of Phil?
More of the same

Philip on Film

Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Illusionist

ASIN: B00005O1EU
Release Date: 2001-10-02

Tracks:

Koyaanisqatsi - The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble
Organic - The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble
Cloudscape - The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble
Resource - The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble
Vessels - The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble
Pruit Igoe - The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble
The Grid - The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble
Prophecies - The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble

Tracks:

Serra Pelado - Joe Passaro
The Title - Joe Passaro
Anthem - Part 1 - Joe Passaro
That Place - Joe Passaro
Anthem - Part 2 - Joe Passaro
Mosque And Temple - Joe Passaro
Anthem - Part 3 - Joe Passaro
Train To Sao Paulo - Joe Passaro
Video Dream - Joe Passaro
New Cities In Ancient Lands, China - Joe Passaro
New Cities In Ancient Lands, Africa - Joe Passaro
New Cities In Ancient Lands, India - Joe Passaro
The Unutterable - Joe Passaro
Caught! - Joe Passaro
Mr. Suso #1 - Joe Passaro
From Egypt - Joe Passaro
Mr. Suso #2 With Reflection - Joe Passaro
Powaqqatsi - Joe Passaro

Tracks:

Dracula - Kronos Quartet
Journey To The Inn - Kronos Quartet
The Inn - Kronos Quartet
The Crypt - Kronos Quartet
Carriage Without A Driver - Kronos Quartet
The Castle - Kronos Quartet
The Drawing Room - Kronos Quartet
'Excellent, Mr. Renfield' - Kronos Quartet
The Three Consorts Of Dracula - Kronos Quartet
The Storm - Kronos Quartet
Horrible Tragedy - Kronos Quartet
London Fog - Kronos Quartet
In The Theatre - Kronos Quartet
Lucy's Bitten - Kronos Quartet
Seward Sanatorium - Kronos Quartet
Renfield - Kronos Quartet
In His Cell - Kronos Quartet
When The Dream Comes - Kronos Quartet
Dracula Enters - Kronos Quartet
Or A Wolf - Kronos Quartet
Women In White - Kronos Quartet
Renfield In The Drawing Room - Kronos Quartet
Dr. Van Helsing And Dracula - Kronos Quartet
Mina On The Terrace - Kronos Quartet
Mina's Bedroom/The Abbey - Kronos Quartet
The End Of Dracula - Kronos Quartet

Tracks:

Ouverture - Gregory Purnhagen
Les Soeurs - Gregory Purnhagen
Le Damande En Mariage D'Avenant - Gregory Purnhagen
Le Voyage Du Pere - Gregory Purnhagen
Le Domaine De La Bete - Gregory Purnhagen
Le Retour Du Pere - Gregory Purnhagen
La Belle Va Au Chateau - Gregory Purnhagen
Le Diner - Gregory Purnhagen
Les Tourments De La Bete - Gregory Purnhagen
Promenade Dans Le Jardin - Gregory Purnhagen
Le Saisie Des Meubles - Gregory Purnhagen
La Confiance De La Bete En La Belle - Gregory Purnhagen
Belle Retourne Chez Son Pere - Gregory Purnhagen
Belle Raconte Son Histoire - Gregory Purnhagen
Le Plan - Gregory Purnhagen
La Passion D'Avenant - Gregory Purnhagen
La Magnifique Apparait - Gregory Purnhagen
Le Miroir - Gregory Purnhagen
La Pavillon - Gregory Purnhagen
Le Metamorphose - Gregory Purnhagen

Tracks:

The Beginning - Michael Riesman
Perpetual Motion - Michael Riesman
The Witness - Michael Riesman
Sand Mandala - Gyuto Monks, Monks Of The Drukpa Order
Projector - Gyuto Monks, Monks Of The Drukpa Order
Escape To India - Gyuto Monks, Monks Of The Drukpa Order
Mishima/Opening - Kronos Quartet
Osamu's Theme: Kyoko's House - Kronos Quartet
November 25: Ichigaya - Kronos Quartet
Mishima/Closing - Kronos Quartet
Secret Agent - The English Chamber Orchestra
The First Meridian - The English Chamber Orchestra
Trust - The English Chamber Orchestra
End Credits - Michael Riesman
The Man In The Bath - The Philip Glass Ensemble
Facades - The Philip Glass Ensemble
Diaspora - The Philip Glass Ensemble

Amazon.com

The best-known soundtracks of composer Philip Glass have stood the test of time extremely well. Today, we associate Koyaanisqatsi as much with Glass's vast soundscape as we do with director Godfrey Reggio's haunting images. Philip on Film gathers three complete Glass scores--Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, and Dracula, along with selections from La Belle et la Bête, Anima Mundi, Kundun, Mishima, The Secret Agent, The Thin Blue Line, and a handful of short films.

The Glass trademarks--those machinelike arpeggios; that familiar, if odd, electronic keyboard sound; the influence of non-Western vocal techniques--are all here. Glass has forged his own unmistakable style of epic-sounding minimalism, but it never gets stale. A few unreleased tracks on Philip on Film will serve hardcore Glass fans (who probably already own most of these works), including "Facades" from Godfrey Reggio's Evidence and a track each from Atom Egoyan's Diaspora and Peter Greenaway's The Man in the Bath. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

SEVERELY ALTERED "Belle et la Bete".......2005-12-22

...which is uncalled for. IT IS SPED UP from its original recording, making some of the high notes hit by the female singers truly chipmunk-like. I can't believe they would release this...let's speed it up to fit it on ONE disk! What a GOOD idea. No. Not a good idea.

Reviewers are not looking at this correctly.......2003-04-03

John Adams and Steve Reich were first introduced to me in detail through their respective Nonesuch 10-disc re-releases of previous material. These box sets were never intended to be some new experience for the seasoned Adams and Reich fans, but were instead created either to introduce these artists to those of us who hadn't previously heard their works or to serve as a nicely packaged collector's item.

Like both of the aforementioned box sets, the Philip on Film box set contains complete selections of a few recordings, some new material, and some other works stripped down (either by editing the tracks or by including a few complete tracks from each work). While this package could have easily been ten discs long, evidently Nonesuch was only interested in including those recordings which were featured on the Philip on Film Tour.

I encourage any new Glass listener to purchase this great set: it served as a superb intro to his works for me, as did the Adams and Reich sets.

A re-approach.......2001-12-10

Everyone who thinks of this as purely a repackaged box set doesn't fully understand the nature of this set. In the introduction, Philip Glass mentions that most of the works represented is from a series of concerts where the music is interpreted live while the movie is presented on a screen behind the performers. I personally attented these performances in Austin, TX and was very pleased with the results. The first night consisted of the Shorts, or the 5th disc of this set. The Man in the Bath, Passages, Evidence (Facades with synth), Diaspora, and Anima Mundi where all performed live by The Philip Glass ensemble with the movie itself in the background. The following 4 performances where of Powaqqasti, Le Belle et La Bete, Dracula, and Koyaanisqatsi. Seeing these films with the music has shed a new light on these scores for me, because I had previously heard almost all of them, but to the recording at hand.
This set of discs is something you might pick up at a live concert of your favorite local band, representing what they played that night in studio recording. This set of discs was released to accompany Philip's current world tour of Philip On Film. Although almost all of it has been released previously, this isn't just a way to make a "quick buck". This is a great way to get most of the music played at these performances and, most of all, is a bargin way to get a lot of his best music to date. I also don't personally agree with the "highlights" idea with Belle and Mundi, but to a person wanting post-Einstein Glass, this is a good way to start. Also, I would think that anyone who believes that Glass has written the same music since Einstein needs to listen more and generalize less because there is a wealth of music out there that you may not realize exists.

The Worst of Phil?.......2001-10-30

Anyone who thinks that Powaqqatsi is "the worst of Phil" needs to have his head examined.

More of the same.......2001-10-17

Okay, I give up! The world (or at least the music industry) wants to keep Philip Glass's star in ascendance, with new commissions, and new recordings, or expensive repackagings of previously issued recordings. Glass hasn't had a new idea since 1976, when his "Einstein on the Beach" was the freshest new sound imaginable. Basically, all he's done is re-write that work over and over (and over!) again ever since. While there are cool parts to some of these scores, most of this is the same arpeggiated chords he's been using for the last 25 years! Somebody wake me up when this guy gets a new idea!

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