Jerome Moross William Wyler's THE BIG COUNTRY soundtrack LP Gregory Peck UA HMV

	£		25
	$		33

Here I have for sale the British HMV release of the classic soundtrack to 'The Big Country' by Jerome Moross.

Jerome Moross ?– Original Music From The Motion Picture Sound Track "The Big Country"

Condition (refer also to notes at bottom):
Vinyl – G. Superbly clean on visual inspection. No obvious signs of wear beyond very light scuffs on side A. Played just pre-listing and sound clarity is good throughout. The odd click/pop on each side but the instrumentals sound good. Some light surface noise/static throughout with some distortion in places. No jumping, skipping or sticking. Overall, good.
Outer cover – EX. Colours remain bright and unfaded. Superb laminated cover. Minor corner nicks and dents. A few scuffs on the front; beginnings of creasing in from edges. Edges are unworn but aperture shows nicks and slight wear. Spine is clean and intact. A few vein-like creases on face of cover in centre right near aperture. Reverse is wonderfully clean with just the odd mark/discoluration and crease. Flipbacks are especially clean with just light soiling on inner edge.
Picture sleeve – EX. Original HMV off-white ‘window’ paper with thin plastic-coated inner. HMV catalogue’s album cover thumbnails printed on both sides in mono. Minor creasing and folding.


Label: United Artists Records / HMV ?– CLP 1511
Format: Vinyl, LP, Mono
Country: UK
Released: 1962
Genre: Folk, World, & Country, Stage & Screen, Classical, Instrumental, Epic, Pop
Style: Score, Soundtrack, Contemporary, Americana, Theme
 
Tracklist
A1. The Big Country.
A2. The Welcoming.
A3. Old Thunder.
A4. McKay's Triumph.
A5. The Waltz.
A6. The Old House.

B1. Big Muddy.
B2. The War Party Gathers.
B3. McKay In Blanco Canyon.
B4. The Death Of Buck Hannassey.
B5. The Stalking.
B6. The Big Country.

Made By – British Celanese Limited 
Published By – Chappell & Co.

Conductor, Composed By – Jerome Moross
Design [Uncredited] – Saul Bass

Film made, recording first published 1958. Release date printed in curved flipback.



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Review:
If it were possible to rate a record here at higher than five stars, this might be the place to do it, as a sort of "best of the best." Jerome Moross' soundtrack from The Big Country (1958) was one of the earlier albums in the output of United Artists Records – and this release in the UK on the London label.



The Film:

The Movie Poster said it all: 'Big they fought! Big they loved! Big their story!' Audiences piled into cinemas in 1958 to enjoy a western that lasted an amazing 165 minutes. Everything about The Big Country was big: the landscapes, the music, and the stars - Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston and Burl Ives.

The Big Country's central plot about two battling ranching families would make a perfect subject for an opera. Ives, who won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance plays Rufus Hannassey who is at war with his rival Henry Terrill (Charles Bickford) over the land rights to a local river, which is actually owned by the local schoolmistress (Simmons) who inherited it from her father. Although she allows the men access to the river, both want it for their own. Meanwhile Terrill's daughter (Carroll Baker) is engaged to straight-laced James McKay (Peck), who is new to the west. His arrival arouses the jealousy of Terrill's foreman (Heston) and, to complicate matters further, there emerges chemistry between McKay and the schoolmistress. All the complexities and competition climax with a brilliant showdown between the two patriarchs.

The music:

For the soundtrack, which needed to be as sweeping as the film's action and location, director William Wyler turned to Jerome Moross who had orchestrated dozens of movies and had extensive experience composing for the concert hall, ballet and theatre. Born on 1 August 1913, Moross attended the New York University School of Music, concurrently holding a Juilliard conducting fellowship. His innate composing talent soon shone through; the legendary film composer Bernard Herrmann conducted the first of Moross's compositions, Paeans, when the composer was just 17. Numerous concert pieces followed, including a first symphony premiered by Thomas Beecham in 1943, and the composition of music for Broadway allowed Moross to develop his instinct for a distinctive American musical feel.

While the Big Country's Oscar-nominated score is somewhat reminiscent of the wild west ballets of Aaron Copland, Moross attributed his unique sound to his first experience of the Great Plains, which he visited in 1936. He later described the journey in great detail: 'I got to the edge of town and walked out on the flat land with a marvellous feeling of being alone in the vastness with the mountains cutting off the horizon.'

The Big Country was Moross's most important contribution to film music, clearly influencing the great western scores that followed.  Although several memorable themes are woven through the film, it is the main title track that has become a movie classic.


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Postage and packaging FREE to UK. Will post worldwide. Europe standard £6.50; Europe tracked and signed £11; N and S America, USA, Canada £9; Asia, Australia, Japan £11.

Sorry but no returns accepted.

Payment by cheque (UK only) or Paypal please.

Please see my other soundtrack listings.

Thanks for looking and happy eBaying!


ITEM CONDITION - items are graded according to Record Collector definitions - see below:

MINT: The record itself is in brand new condition with no surface marks or deterioration in sound quality. The cover and any extra items such as the lyric sheet, booklet or poster are in perfect condition. Records advertised as Sealed or Unplayed should be Mint.

EXCELLENT: The record shows some signs of having been played, but there is very little lessening in sound quality. The cover and packaging might have slight wear and / or creasing.

VERY GOOD: The record has obviously been played many times, but displays no major deterioration in sound quality, despite noticeable surface marks and the occasional light scratch. Normal wear and tear on the cover or extra items, without any major defects, is acceptable.

GOOD: The record has been played so much that the sound quality has noticeably deteriorated, perhaps with some distortion and mild scratches. The cover and contents suffer from folding, scuffing of edges, spine splits, discolouration, etc.

FAIR: The record is still just playable but has not been cared for properly and displays considerable surface noise; it may even jump. The cover and contents will be torn, stained and / or defaced.

POOR: The record will not play properly due to scratches, bad surface noise, etc. The cover and contents will be badly damaged or partly missing.

BAD: The record is unplayable or might even be broken, and is only of use as a collection filler.