Press Release from Dragon's Domain:
Dragon’s Domain Records presents THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH, a dramatic cantata composed by the legendary Lalo Schifrin (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, BULLITT, DIRTY HARRY, ENTER THE DRAGON) based on the Emmy-nominated 1968 television documentary” instead of “for the 1968 directed by Jack Kaufman, produced by David L. Wolper, featuring the narration of Richard Basehart.
David L. Wolper was one of television’s most respected and honored producers. The winner of three Emmys (nominated for eight more), the Oscars’ Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award and a member of the Television Hall of Fame, Wolper gave us ROOTS, THE THORN BIRDS, NORTH AND SOUTH, the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Specials, WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY and dozens of other projects over a 40-year career in films and television.
Among his landmark television documentaries was THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH, which aired on ABC over three nights in March 1968. Based on journalist William L. Shirer’s best-selling, award-winning 1960 chronicle of the history of Nazi Germany, it was the result of two years of research and examining more than five million feet of film to tell the story of Adolf Hitler’s rise to power and his eventual downfall at the end of World War II.
Lalo Schifrin had already scored his NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC “The Hidden World of Insects” and earned an Emmy nomination for the music for THE MAKING OF THE PRESIDENT in 1964. Schifrin’s imagination was sparked by the subject and what followed was unprecedented in the history of music for television: a major concert work performed by a leading American orchestra, debuting eight months before the program that inspired it. THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH cantata debuted at the Hollywood Bowl on Thursday, August 3, 1967.
As a young man in his native Argentina, Lalo Schifrin received classical training in music and also studied law. He came from a musical family, and his father, Luis Schifrin, was the concertmaster of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Buenos Aires at the Teatro Colon. Schifrin continued his formal music education at the Paris Conservatory during the early 1950’s, studying with numerous teachers including famed composer Olivier Messiaen. Simultaneously, he became a professional jazz pianist, composer and arranger, playing and recording in Europe. When Schifrin returned to Buenos Aires in the mid 1950s, he formed his own big concert band. It was during a performance of this band that Dizzy Gillespie heard Schifrin play and asked him to become his pianist and arranger. In 1958, Schifrin moved to the United States and thus began a remarkable career.
Lalo Schifrin has written more than 100 scores for films and television. Among the classic scores are MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, MANNIX, THE FOX, COOL HAND LUKE, BULLITT, DIRTY HARRY, THE CINCINNATI KID, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR. Later scores include TANGO, BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE, THE BRIDGE OF SAN LUIS REY, AFTER THE SUNSET, the RUSH HOUR films and ABOMINABLE.
Originally released on vinyl by MGM Records in 1967 with the addition of Laurence Harvey's narration, Dragon’s Domain Records brings THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH to compact disc for the first time, featuring music composed by Lalo Schifrin, performed by members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Gregg Smith Singers and conducted by Lawrence Foster. The music for THE RISE AND FALL OF THE THIRD REICH Cantata appears here minus the narration, music newly mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland and featuring liner notes written by noted author Jon Burlingame.
