Christus Apollo - Jerry Goldsmith

My first big musical love was - and still is, really - movie soundtracks. Due to a steady diet of 60's television rerun on afternoons after school and on weekends, I suspect - well before STAR WARS burst the soundtrack gates wide open in '77, I knew who John Williams was; when he was "Johnny" Williams and doing the music for Irwin Allen shows like LOST IN SPACE and LAND OF THE GIANTS, to name one example.

For me, it's opened the doors into a lot of aural landscapes; rather than being limited, it's a genre/label that's pretty inclusive - everything from orchestral, to pop songs, to sound/noise design.

I mention this because in addition to the occasional pop/rock items that may show up here from time to time, I'll also post soundtrack/soundtrack related items also.

CHRISTUS APOLLO falls into 'soundtrack related' - it's not a soundtrack, but a concert work from the late 60's composed by Jerry Goldsmith... specifically a "A Cantata For Contralto, Narrator, Chorus And Orchestra", with text by Ray Bradbury.

If you only know Jerry Goldsmith from his work in the 90's, like TOTAL RECALL, BASIC INSTINCT, RUDY... well, this is the Jerry Goldsmith from the 60's, when he was into serial composition - stuff like PLANET OF THE APES. Great stuff, but the neighbors may complain.

There is a recent recording of this, on the Telarc label, that features Anthony Hopkins doing the narration, as well as features two other concert pieces from Goldsmith, that is highly recommended.

This recording is from the premiere performance by The Southern Chamber Orchestra and Choir, with Goldsmith conducting and narration by Charlton Heston.


CHRISTUS APOLLO