For the majority of German TV viewers, almost two generations, the four Agatha Christie films with Margaret Rutherford from the years 1961-64 will be an inseparable part of their childhood and youth. I can only talk about myself: I am a self-confessed Miss Marple fan. Long before I knew the name of the composer Ron Goodwin at all, I whistled already five years that "Marple theme" under my breath, I forced a ten-year high school student my mother to take me the theme music from "Murder Ahoy" on television, while I in the school had to be. So it will be issued many of my age, and how I asked always in vain for the recording of music. Now, the secret desire of many film music fans has been met: a longer Suite, compiled from all four parts of the series was recorded by the composer höchselbst. Here Goodwin had to reconstruct the music based on videotapes of movies and from memory, the original scores were but how many films of this studio, were burned by MGM in the sixties in an act of barbarism. Measured against this, the recording is remarkably true to the original: with the exception of slightly increased emphasis on the drum parts (without this disturbing), corresponds to the original arrangement completely. Also tempos and rhythm held Goodwin exactly, supported by wide-awake the game in top form, Odense Symphony Orchestra (Denmark). Even the mixing, in an almost anachronistic plated stereo effect, emphasizes the nostalgic flair of the company. The 22minütige Suite opens with the themes of the fourth version of the film, "Murder Ahoy": it is the most colorful of the series. The material, although all four parts is taking into account, mainly from "Murder at the Galop" (Murder at the Gallop, you notice the striking hunting horn theme for the sporting rider Miss Marple) and "Murder Ahoy" together. From the latter film also comes the pretty gem: a Baroque theme, is taken over the played the harpsichord and then canonically by various instruments (cello, flute). Who knows the film, is this use of music hardly ever forget. Each instrument represents a figure that next time scurrying alternately over the course of the training ship Battledore. In between there are some suspense sequences with eingetreuten fragments of the main theme, to remind us that even soundtrack music can be amusing when one knows how to handle it. Enjoyable closes the suite with a shorter restatement of the theme that has been sent as a single cue cut (along the lines of "Theme from ..."). In addition to this main event on the 70-minute CD offers two more favorite music of the composer, also for the first time in longer versions. On the one hand "Lancelot and Gulnevere", a variety of music to a knight movie with a beautiful main and love theme, on the other hand "Force Ten From Navarone", a war film music with Goodwin's probably most successful title march in this field. Unfortunately disappointed the rest of suite but rather long-winded with underscoring. Here is something missing the naive charm of Marple-Piecen. However, everything is all one can only congratulate you on this album Goodwin and us film music lovers. It fills a place that is also a place in the hearts of not a few.
