Essential
MacGuffin | New York City | 01/30/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Great set! It contains all the Herrmann-conducted tracks from the Phase 4 release, plus two others: Miklos Rozsa's "Spellbound Theme" and the Alfred Hitchcock Presents TV Theme (Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette"). "Spellbound" is performed by the London Festival Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Stanley Black, and "Presents" is performed by the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden conducted by Alexander Gibson.
You might want to keep in mind that the tempi, particularly in "Psycho," are often markedly different than those of the actual soundtracks. However, one can safely assume that Herrmann knew how he wanted his music to sound and conducted these performances accordingly, so try not to let it distract you!"