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Dragon's Domain Records presents the premiere release of the original motion picture soundtrack for HEART OF THE STAG, featuring music composed and conducted by Leonard Rosenman (EAST OF EDEN, FANTASTIC VOYAGE, THE LORD OF THE RINGS) for the 1984 dramatic film directed by by Michael Firth (OFF THE EDGE), written by Firth, Neil Illingworth and Bruno Lawrence, starring Bruno Lawrence, Terence Cooper, Mary Regan, Anne Flannery, Michael Wilson and Susanne Cowie.
Released in 1984, HEART OF THE STAG tells the story of Peter (Lawrence), a farmhand in New Zealand who discovers that Robert (Cooper), the farmer he works for has been carrying on an incestuous relationship with his daughter, Cathy (Regan) for years. As Peter becomes more involved with Cathy, he is forced to confront the dark and tumultuous dynamics within the family. Delving into the taboo subject of incest, HEART OF THE STAG does so with remarkable sensitivity and candor and was well regarded by critics at the time.
The score for HEART OF THE STAG was composed by Leonard Rosenman, who was well known for tackling sensitive and sometimes controversial subjects throughout his career, which included films such as EAST OF EDEN, THE COBWEB, THE CHAPMAN REPORT, SYBIL and MAKING LOVE.
Composer Leonard Rosenman was born on 7 September, 1924 in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish immigrants from Poland. After serving in the Pacific with the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, Rosenman earned a bachelor's degree in music from the University of California, Berkeley. He studied composition under renowned composers such as Arnold Schoenberg, Roger Sessions, and Luigi Dallapiccola. Rosenman's entree to film scoring came about when his friend, actor James Dean, introduced him to director Elia Kazan, who was about to cast Dean in his film EAST OF EDEN and who subsequently hired Rosenman for the music. The Brooklyn-born composer introduced a modern-music sensibility to commercial films, especially with his next work, THE COBWEB, hailed as the first 12-tone score for a Hollywood film. His filmography includes EAST OF EDEN, REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, THE COBWEB, THE CHAPMAN REPORT, FANTASTIC VOYAGE, A MAN CALLED HORSE, BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES, BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, RACE WITH THE DEVIL, THE CAR, the animated THE LORD OF THE RINGS adaptation and PROPHECY. He contributed music to many television shows including COMBAT, THE TWILIGHT ZONE, LAW OF THE PLAINSMAN, GARRISON'S GORILLAS, THE VIRGINIAN, MARCUS WELBY, M.D. and more.
Dragon's Domain Records presents HEART OF THE STAG, featuring music composed and conducted by Leonard Rosenman, performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra for the first time on compact disc. Although a release was planned by Fifth Continent Music back in 2001, the project was never realized. This premiere release of HEART OF THE STAG includes the entire score presented in film order and also includes some source music composed for the film that went unused. The album includes liner notes written by G.B. Kemner and Scott Davis. The music has been mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland.
- BSX
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