Caldera Records

In this new episode of our series Behind the Scenes we talk about the challenging beginning of producing ALIVE & KICKING and how a fraught and chilly start evolved into something beautiful over the course of several weeks. Why don't you have a look? And a listen? https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcymlBHypnJ/?igsi=MTV4eGtkbDhiOWluZg==

Caldera Records proudly presents Peter Salem’s score for the film “Alive & Kicking” from 1996. Partly because of his HIV infection, Tonio is afraid of committing himself to a new relationship. At the same time, he refuses to let the virus define him. It’s a delicate balancing act, one that finds its allegory in the film’s extended dance sequences, a dream for any composer. “Why aren’t you angry,” is a recurring question in Nancy Meckler’s acute, sensitive film starring Jason Flemyng, Anthony Sher, and Bill Nighy. It is asked repeatedly by Tonio’s new acquaintance Jack. He knows the answer, of course. It is obvious to him that Tonio tries everything to keep himself from falling apart, to let nothing and nobody get close. And how would anger help anyway? In the course of his ballet rehearsals Tonio learns a valuable lesson: you work with your disease, not against it. The film’s high point is the challenged performance of a challenging ballet. It is also the high point of Peter Salem’s score, a British composer most famous for his celebrated ballet works. Both director Meckler and composer Salem dislike sentimentality, which meant, among other things, that they agreed to underscore visual sequences and montages rather than scenes of dialogue to strengthen an emotion already suggested by the respective words and gestures. To put it another way, neither Salem nor Meckler were keen to put a hat on a hat and thus be overly manipulative. They chose instead to trust their audience. Correspondingly, Meckler and Salem agreed to infuse the film, particularly its montages, with driving, playful, upbeat music. Neither wanted the music and therefore the characters in the film to appear “self-pitying,” as Salem puts it. His piece “The Dance” for the elaborate ballet sequence in the film is the score’s standout-piece, a ravishing melody orchestrated for medium-sized ensemble that invokes the spirit of Michael Nyman, Michael Torke and, at times, Rachel Portman, while always staying uniquely captivating. “Alive and Kicking” is an astonishing feat of a score, particularly considering that it was written by a composer who at the time was inexperienced in writing for the big screen. Since it is a rather sparse score, we decided to add other titles from Salem’s oeuvre, namely a quartet and selected pieces from the 2003 BBC production “Caravaggio” which ran as the first part of the Simon Schama’s show “The Power of Art,” a docuseries with re-enactments. The 73rd CD-release of Caldera Records features a detailed booklet text by Stephan Eicke and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was mastered by Richard Moore and produced by Stephan Eicke. C6073 Music Composed by Peter Salem Album Produced by Stephan Eicke Executive Producers for Caldera Records: John Elborg, Stephan Eicke Album Art Direction and Design by Luis Miguel Rojas For more information and sound clips, please visit our homepage: https://www.caldera-records.com/alive-and-kicking Alive and Kicking 1. The Dance (5:45) 2. Opening Titles (2:06) 3. Restaurant (1:20) 4. Workout (1:11) 5. Lovemaking (1:24) 6. Ramon’s Death Bed (0:38) 7. Ramon’s Flat (1:23) 8. Ice Cream (0:48) 9. Montage/Dance Practice (1:55) 10. Greece (1:52) 11. Restaurant Piano (1:30) 12. Together (0:43) 13. Dream (0:28) 14. Park Bench (1:20) 15. Montage (0:40) 16. Dress Rehearsal (0:48) 17. Wheelchair (1:39) 18. End Credits (3:12) 19. Quartet (5:00) Caravaggio 20. Gloria (1:56) 21. Opening (2:10) 22. Caravaggio Goes to Rome (2:19) 23. The Tavern and the Light (2:11) 24. Martyrdom of Matthew (1:53) 25. Death and the Madonna (1:39) 26. John the Baptist (4:08) 27. Praying to the Madonna (1:00) 28. Anger (0:44) 29. Goliath and the Last Steps (4:22)

Ich zeige hier ein paar Dokumente aus Roy Budds Nachlass zu diesem Thema - auch für Nicht-Instagrammer abrufbar, wenn man das aufploppende Fenster einfach wegklickt: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbY0JLgoaHK/?igsh=MW56cHNkODhhNHczOQ==

Da triffst du so ziemlich den Nagel auf den Kopf. Einige Stücke sind hier nicht enthalten, weil wir nicht die kompletten Bänder zu CATLOW gefunden haben. (Das was wir haben, lag jahrelang in einem Container in einem englischen Dorf nahe der Stadt Whitby.) Die bisherige CATLOW Veröffentlichung war eine Neueinspielung. Im Booklet-Text gehe ich näher darauf ein, aber hier in Kürze: Fishman hat handschriftlich den Cue Sheet von CATLOW geändert, d.h. Titel mit Stift durchgestrichen, ihnen einen neuen Titel gegeben, und seinen eigenen Namen als Co-Komponist eingetragen. (Ich habe eine Kopie des Cue Sheets hier.) Auf diese Weise wurde er an den Tantiemen beteiligt, auch wenn er keine einzige Note selbst beigesteuert hat. Ein Beispiel: SUN ON MY FACE ist hier enthalten, heißt aber RIDE. Denn RIDE war der Titel, den Roy dem Stück gegeben hat. Auf dem Cue Sheet, der der Tantiemengesellschaft PRS eingereicht wurde, hatte Fishman den Titel aber durchgestrichen und SUN ON MY FACE genannt - mit seinem Namen als Co-Komponist.

Caldera Records proudly presents Roy Budd’s score for the 1971 film “Catlow”. Sheriff Cowan (Richard Crenna) was once great buddies with shifty Catlow (Yul Brynner), a suave cowboy eager to fill his own pockets. This friendship has come to an end. Still, Catlow is so charming that even Cowan, who is now on the other side of the law, finds himself unable to hate his opponent. One day, Cowan is tasked with arresting Catlow. Similar to the gangster, the sheriff is nothing if not committed. “Catlow” was producer Euan Lloyd’s first collaboration with a young jazz pianist and composer from Croydon, England: Roy Budd. Over the course of nearly 15 years, they worked on six films together, among them some of Budd’s biggest successes. Still, director Sam Wanamaker’s first choice was Bernard Herrmann, Alfred Hitchcock’s legendary creative partner. Herrmann was offered the film, though when Lloyd watched “Soldier Blue” in the theatre with its energetic score by Roy Budd, he withdrew the offer to Herrmann. Within a few weeks, Roy Budd crafted an energetic, tuneful score that plays with the idioms of Hollywood western music and Ennio Morricone’s Italo-westerns, while infusing the work with elements of upbeat jazz. It gave Roy the opportunity to flex his muscles as a composer of energetic action pieces. “Catlow” is a varied mix of elements and styles that doesn’t have a boring minute in it. Roy crafted diegetic music such as piano cues for an early saloon scene, as well as military music, variations on the rousing main theme, Mexican guitar, and dance pieces. It stands as one of his biggest achievements. For decades, the recording tapes were considered lost. We found them a few years ago. Unfortunately, one reel remains missing to this day, meaning that more than a handful of cues could not be included on this release. The album was sourced from two different tapes, one mono and one stereo. Considering that the mono tapes consisted mostly of suspense and source music, we took the controversial step to mix in the stereo cues with the mono cues. We understand this might be irritating to some, but we are glad that the sound quality is at least consistent and the experience an entertaining one. The 72nd CD-release of Caldera Records features a detailed booklet text by Stephan Eicke and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was mastered by Richard Moore and produced by Stephan Eicke. 1. Titles (3:18) 2. First Camp (0:49) 3. Mala Bell Sting/Miller Arrival (0:33) 4. Gun Fight (0:43) 5. Abilene Town (1:21) 6. Badge on Pants/Banjo Sting (1:13) 7. Ride (1:57) 8. Ride from Town (0:43) 9. M23 (unused) (0:38) 10. Mule Train/M25B (0:51) 11. M30 (1:18) 12. Stagecoach (2:31) 13. Orange Orchard (2:04) 14. Arrival at Cave (0:31) 15. Dry River Bed (1:41) 16. Water! (0:33) 17. Ruins Attack (2:08) 18. Indian Attack (1:31) 19. End Titles (1:08) Bonus: 20. Ride (alternative without piano) (1:59) 21. Cantina (2:18) 22. Mexican Source (2:27) 23. M12B (1:28) 24. Piano Saloon (2:09) 25. Piano Soon (alternative)/Roy Whistling (2:08) 26. Interview with Roy Budd (7:19) For more information and sound clips, please visit: https://www.caldera-records.com/catlow

Wir haben auch einen neuen Teil unserer Online-Reihe "BEHIND THE SCENES" für euch. Dieses Mal sprechen wir über die eher technischen Aspekte unserer Arbeit an unserer neuen Veröffentlichung. Viel Spaß! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaAQsLeIMGk/?igsh=MXgzYTM2ZTRtcGtvdg==

Neben der Ankündigung sei bemerkt, dass wir unser Distributions-Modell geändert haben. Über unsere neue Zusammenarbeit mit Music Box Records sprechen wir hier: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZpIvEfIzQC/?igsh=MXd1MW4yeG9pcmRyeg==

Caldera Records proudly presents Loek Dikker’s scores for the films “Iris” from 1987 and “Felice… Felice…” from 1998. Both films featured here revolve around an individual entering foreign territory. For Iris, the veterinarian who gives the first film featured here its title, this foreignness is largely figurative. For years, the thirty-year-old has lived with her older husband, an architect, in a big city. Tensions have started to simmer. One day, she leaves her husband to move to an unfamiliar village to begin again. But she soon finds that the local population resents her as a foreigner. It comes as it must: an implosion upends her life. Loek Dikker’s score for “Iris” proved central to the film’s impact. The composer had started writing for film only a few years before. The buoyant main title – modeled on a Latin American bolero – initially suggests lightness. For Dikker, it expressed Iris’s vitality. As hostility mounts, the music darkens. It reflects the unease of her rural surroundings. In the finale, acceptance brings the bolero back. It completes the arc. Peter Delpeut’s film “Felice… Felice…”, loosely inspired by Felice Beato, explores the tension between illusion and truth. In 1895 (the year of the first film screening), photographer Beato returns to Japan after some time away. Once a pioneering photojournalist who captured raw life in Asia, he has abandoned photography. Johan Leysen plays him with sorrowful gravitas: a man hollowed by loss, still mourning his wife, O-Kiku, whom he met in the when he first set foot in Japan. Director Peter Delpeut’s gentle, wise and moving meditation on the nature of memory explores a changing Japan, cultural differences, and our fear of forgetting and of being forgotten. It demanded a delicate score. Composer Loek Dikker had the difficult task of developing music that captures Beato’s restlessness, his hope and desire, while at the same time providing the appropriate musical accompaniment for the photographs of a lost place. Loek Dikker sought a balance between the East and the West. He wanted his music to flow almost imperceptibly. The 71st CD-release of Caldera Records features a detailed booklet text by Stephan Eicke and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was mastered by Richard Moore and produced by Stephan Eicke and Loek Dikker. Iris 1. Opening Titles (4:05) 2. Martha’s Broken Glass (1:06) 3. Frank and Iris in Love (2:15) 4. Frank and Iris in the Garden (1:25) 5. The Ominous Dinner (1:42) 6. Quarrels at a Safe Home (2:05) 7. How Iris’ Heart Sings (2:27) 8. At the Café Ball Haus (2:32) 9. The Rape (2:07) 10. The Red Glove (1:27) 11. End Titles (3:17) Felice… Felice… 12. Opening Titles (2:31) 13. Okoma Faints (1:24) 14. The Search for O-Kiku Begins (1:41) 15. The Empty Room (2:14) 16. Let’s Go to Onomichi (3:05) 17. To the Fuji Yama (1:17) 18. Ueno Talks About O-Kiku (2:51) 19. Let’s Go to Yokohama! (1:37) 20. Felice’s Confession (2:33) 21. Felice’s Bad Dream (1:26) 22. Okama Dies (2:21) 23. Felice Finds O-Kiku (1:59) 24. Epilogue (2:29) 25. End Credits (1:27) For more information and sound clips, please visit: https://www.caldera-records.com/felice-felice

To celebrate our most recent release, David Shire's unused score for KRAMER VS. KRAMER, we have published a new episode of our series Behind the Scenes. Here we discuss how our relationship with David began and the tragic circumstances of our first meeting over a decade ago in New York. We hope you enjoy this personal anecdote: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DW82keUiD9z/?igsh=d3ZwY3Q3YzEwNGl3

Caldera Records proudly presents David Shire’s unused score for the 1970s classic “Kramer vs. Kramer.” The late 1970s were hectic for David Shire professionally and stressful in his personal life. He and his wife, Talia Shire, separated, and it was while going through divorce proceedings that he was asked by producer Stanley Jaffe to write the original music for “Kramer vs. Kramer,” a film that deals in excruciating detail with the pain and horror of a relationship coming to an end and a son getting lost in the ensuing divorce battle. Yet the composer was apprehensive, as he says: “I told the producer that I thought the picture was great and obviously moved me. But I thought that a score would actually harm the film by pushing the drama over the top. I told him I would try anyway.” Shire developed a score for strings, woodwinds, and brass. He carefully spotted the film: there would be long stretches without music. Silence was meant to convey the characters’ isolation. Still, during test screenings, audiences and the producer found that the music pushed the film over the edge. Jaffe removed piece after piece. David Shire’s instinct had been correct. His score was not used. One year before his experience on “Kramer vs. Kramer,” Shire had been nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his musical contribution to the celebrated television film “The Defection of Simas Kudirka.” It is one of his proudest achievements, and for good reason: he developed an outstanding theme for the titular young man that elaborately captures his charm (sometimes bordering on naivety), and which Shire weaves in and out of the score. There are shades of that melody even in the more tense, dissonant suspense pieces that underscore the threat posed by the KGB. Five years later, in 1982, Shire was hired to provide the score for “The World According to Garp,” an adaptation of John Irving’s bestselling quasi-Bildungsroman. It was one of the first prominent big screen roles for Robin Williams and his first dramatic role, one that required him to show his full emotional range. It is difficult for any composer to find just the right tonal balance for a film that veers between satire, romance, tragedy and broad comedy, with dream sequences interspersed throughout. David Shire managed to find the balance, though: his music being a complex, intricate composition that plays with the conventions of both diegetic and non-diegetic soundtracks throughout. We are grateful to Warner Bros. for allowing us to release over 20 minutes of the latter score. The 70th CD-release of Caldera Records features a detailed booklet text by Stephan Eicke and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was mastered by Richard Moore and produced by Stephan Eicke and David Shire. C6070 Music Composed and Conducted by David Shire Album Produced by Stephan Eicke, David Shire Executive Producers for Caldera Records: John Elborg, Stephan Eicke Album Art Direction and Design by Luis Miguel Rojas Kramer vs. Kramer 1. Main Title (Version II) (1:27) 2. Alternate Main Title (1:29) 3. Do-nut Breakfast (1:37) 4. Ted Clears Apartment (0:57) 5. Ted & Billy / Finding Joanna’s Picture / Finding Joanna’s Picture (2:36) 6. Run to Hospital / End of Juice Spill Scene / Phone Ringing / Mommy in Window (1:39) 7. Job Montage (0:47) 8. Billy Runs to Joanna / At Ted’s Door / Ted Angry (2:32) 9. End Title (1:39) 10. Alternate End Title (1:42) The Defection of Simas Kudirka 11. Main Title (0:53) 12. Flashback & Soccer Game (1:37) 13. “Is This True?” (1:25) 14. “First Approach” (2:11) 15. Radio Room (0:54) 16. “Jump to Freedom” (1:57) 17. “You Must Go Back” (1:12) 18. “No!” (1:47) 19. In the Cell (3:22) 20. “On Your Soccer Team” (0:40) 21. “Simas, Come Home” (2:23) 22. Reunion (1:08) 23. Finale and End Credits (2:23) The World According to Garp 24. Main Title (2:16) 25. Roof Sequence / “And Then He Died” (2:59) 26. Chase Chaser (1:25) 27. Story Montage (3:08) 28. Swordfight (1:40) 29. Western Source (1:17) 30. Baby Presentation (1:16) 31. Assassination / Car Scene (2:14) 32. “I’m Flying” / End Credits (3:10) Bonus: 33. Piano Demo for Garp (2:59) For more information and sound clips, please visit: https://www.caldera-records.com/kramer-vs-kramer

In diesem Fall nicht. Die vertraglichen Bedingungen lassen es nicht zu. 400 Exemplare sind so schnell weggegangen wie die Tickets für das letzte Taylor-Swift-Konzert.

Caldera Records proudly presents John Cameron’s score for the TV movie “Witness for the Prosecution.” What makes a good Agatha Christie story? Above all, a clever twist that feels natural, even necessary, to the plot, and one of her cleverest denouements appears in one of her most popular works, “Witness for the Prosecution.” An elderly solicitor, Sir Wilfred (here played by Ralph Richardson), is visited by a young client, Leonard Vole (Beau Bridges), who is accused of having killed a middle-aged woman by the name of French. It is revealed that Mrs. French had left her estate to Leonard, giving him, who is nearly destitute, ample reason to do away with her. But he insists on his innocence. He even claims to have a fireproof alibi: his wife, Christine Vole (played by Diana Rigg) was with him when the murder was supposed to have occurred. Sir Wilfred is eager to throw himself into work. For him, it is an open-and-shut case. He calls on Christine, only to find that she hates her husband and does not doubt that he is indeed responsible for the poor woman’s death. Christine says she wasn’t with Leonard at the time of the murder and intends to appear in court as a witness for the prosecution. She has a few more surprises up her sleeve, though… Agatha Christie’s works were at one of the peaks of their popularity when the TV movie was produced in 1982. Hallmark Television was eager to get a piece of the pie. How eager? After only a brief pre-production period the television film was shot in merely three weeks because Hallmark was desperate to premiere the film before Christmas 1982. Everything was done in a frenzy, including composing, orchestrating, and recording the score. John Cameron remembers the frantic schedule without having been bothered by it — as a film composer he was used to tight deadlines. John Cameron decided to fuse ‘A Wandering Minstrel’ from “The Mikado” with his original composition, so in the film Gilbert and Sullivan’s music segues into ‘The Body in the Study’, before the melody then sneaks its way into subsequent cues. Cameron also developed several variations on the tune to make it sound more mysterious. Still, there is more the soundtrack has to offer. For Sir Wilfred, Cameron developed a strong theme that is both pompous and cheeky – ‘Elgarian’, as the composer describes it, invoking the master behind the “Enigma Variations.” Rather than make fun of the character, with its pastoral aspect the music underscores his gentle nature. By using the cimbalom for Christine Vole’s character, Cameron nudged the audience to think that Christine is ‘a little dangerous’, that she is playing a duplicitous game, only to then surprise the viewer at the end. Caldera Records are pleased to make available John Cameron’s score for “Witness for the Prosecution” and thus complete the duo of his Agatha Christie adaptations. Unfortunately, the music only survived in mono on DAT cassettes. We have done our best to clean up the recording. The 69th CD-release of Caldera Records features a detailed booklet text by Stephan Eicke and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was mastered by Richard Moore and produced by Stephan Eicke. C6069 Music Composed and Conducted by John Cameron CD Produced by Stephan Eicke Executive Producers for Caldera Records: John Elborg, Stephan Eicke Album Art Direction and Design by Luis Miguel Rojas Visit our homepage and listen to the sound clips! https://www.caldera-records.com/witness-for-prosecution 1. London 1954/On a Wet and Moonless Night (1:20) 2. A Wandering Minstrel/The Body in the Study (1:38) 3. The Old Fox Leaves Hospital (2:28) 4. Enter Christine/An Anonymous Call (1:52) 5. Too Hopeless?/Joy-Deprived (0:51) 6. The Temptation of a Mystery/The Great Escaper (1:47) 7. A Test for Christine (0:44) 8. Heart to Heart (1:30) 9. Prison/What is the Truth Anymore? (1:15) 10. A Mean, Ill-Tempered Old Man/The Prosecution is Satisfied (1:26) 11. The Great Halls of Justice (0:30) 12. Rubbish/Unbelievable, Yet True (0:41) 13. A Face in the Dark (3:31) 14. A Confession of Sorts (0:42) 15. Ready for a Holiday/Neat and Tidy (0:58) 16. Banana Skin (0:35) 17. Suspicions/A Cursed Inheritance/He Said, She Said (3:18) 18. Christine’s Revenge (3:39) 19. Brandy/The Nurse from Hell (0:32) 20. End Titles (1:00) Bonus: 21. Pub Source (0:35) 22. Conversation with John Cameron (7:42)

Das ist richtig, leider war Julee gestorben, bevor ich mit ihr sprechen konnte. Wer noch unentschlossen ist, ob mein Buch ein passendes Weihnachtsgeschenk ist, kann sich dieses Video anschauen. Vielleicht hilft es bei der Entscheidung. Vor ein paar Wochen hat mich Komponist Gary Yershon ("Mr. Turner") über A DREAM COME TRUE im Garden Cinema in London nach einer Vorführung von "Blue Velvet" interviewt:

Caldera Records proudly presents Zbigniew Preisner’s score for Soren Kragh-Jacobson’s “The Island on Bird Street.” A young boy named Alex lives with his father and a friend of the family, whom Alex with great affection calls Uncle, in a Polish ghetto at the height of the Second World War. The young boy is an immediate witness to the cruelty of the Nazi officers who use every opportunity to humiliate both his father and his so-called uncle. Though he may not be able to articulate it, Alex knows that his childhood has ended, cut short by fascists who made it their mission to eradicate people like him and his family. How do you grow up in an environment of threats, danger, and humiliation? Quickly. “The Island on Bird Street,” released in 1997, tells the story of Alex’ survival. Following the arrest of his father and his uncle, he has to fend for himself in the rubble that is his playground of death. Zbigniew Preisner received a Silver Bear at the Berlinale for his music in the film. It is indeed one of his grandest achievements. The director and his composer were careful to avoid the usual cliches in films about the horrors of the Holocaust. Thus, “The Island on Bird Street” doesn’t feature any instruments or orchestral colours that could be deemed ethnic. Instead, it is a both aggressive and tender meditation for large orchestra with solo instruments that get their chance to shine. The piano – and the harp, which also features prominently in the music – proved a particularly fitting choice since their fragility captured Alex’s situation and his fear, the fragility of his existence within the tragedy of the Second World War. Moreover, the pieces for piano and harp can be viewed as a depiction of the nobility of Alex’s spirit. Throughout the horror of the war, the young boy doesn’t lose his humanity. He remains firmly himself, adept at escaping danger and resolute in his stance to oppose the enemy and pray for the return of his father. The danger is expressed in aggressive, suspenseful, and propulsive pieces for full orchestra and a male voice. The staccato strings and relentless percussion add to the tension on the screen and make clear the harrowing circumstances of Alex’s existence in the rubble of Warsaw. That way, “The Island on Bird Street” is a score of two halves: one fittingly captures the brutality of the regime; one expresses the fragility of Alex’s situation. For the album, Zbigniew Preisner assembled shorter cues into more extended suites that reveal new facets of his composition. Their context is now different. It is as if a whole new work has emerged. The 68th CD-release of Caldera Records features a detailed booklet text by Stephan Eicke and elegant artwork by Luis Miguel Rojas. The CD was mastered by Zbigniew Preisner and produced by Stephan Eicke and Zbigniew Preisner. C6068 Music Composed and Produced by Zbigniew PreisnerCD Produced by Stephan EickeExecutive Producers for Caldera Records: John Elborg, Stephan EickeAlbum Art Direction and Design by Luis Miguel Rojas Part I Separation from the Family (6:33) Part II Empty Street (6:55) Part III Escaping the Ultimate Solution (8:30) Part IV Dream (1:53) Part V The Final Stage of the Fight for Life (13:15) Part VI The Island on Bird Street (4:23) For more information and sound clips, please visit our homepage: https://www.caldera-records.com/island-on-bird-street

Wir haben hier auch einen neuen Teil unserer Serie BEHIND THE SCENES. Genießt den Gossip! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQRQepsiApG/