CANDLESHOE

While Goodwin keeps the comic spirit close at hand throughout, the emotional core of the score is the modal theme that plays to Candleshoe Manor in general and for Lady St. Edmund (Helen Hayes) in particular. It’s a tender, waltzing idea infused with minor-mode, English folk song sadness that would make Vaughan Williams proud, especially in a beautiful treatment for strings alone that opens the “End Title” (track 23). And for the climactic action, “The Big Fight At Candleshoe” (track 20), Goodwin maintains cohesion with his modal harmonic vernacular but now leads the entire orchestra, and particularly the brass, in a rousing tour-de-force.

All of the music Ron Goodwin recorded in London during April 1977 is being presented in this world premiere CD release, mastered in vibrant stereo from the 1/4′′ two-track session mixes courtesy Walt Disney Pictures and the Ron Goodwin Estate.

A few words about “the extras” are in order. Goodwin made six initial passes at his “Main Titles,” completing the last two of the takes. Each of those contained slight changes in a number of orchestral textures: the timpani parts used in take 5 were dropped in take 6; bass guitar and woodwind figures are emphasized during take 6; a viola countermelody featured in take 5 is deleted from take 6; drums are rescored throughout take 6; and other, similar nuances. Then, late in his sessions, he went back and made three more slightly altered passes at the cue, finally settling on the third of these “retakes” for the finished film. We present the final film version as track 1 of the CD and include both of the completed earlier takes (5 and 6) as extras. A similar situation occurred with “Market Day,” albeit in this case he made only two complete takes with slight performance changes between each. The film version appears as track 16 and the unused, slightly altered take is featured in the extras.

A few bars of the traditional melody Greensleeves play briefly as part of the actual story. The tune is heard early in the film as a pair of tiny one-handed piano snippets, then later in a brief whistled version, followed immediately by a quote for music box. The two piano snippets are included in the extras portion of the CD. However, the brief whistled and music- box versions, heard during a key dramatic sequence, were designed to preface the emotional “Lady St. Edmund Welcomes Casey” music (track 7), and as such are included at the start of that track.

Finally, Goodwin supplied a short, lilting “Candleshoe Waltz” for another key scene between Lady St. Edmund and her most loyal friend, Priory (David Niven). He recorded two versions, one for a small combo representing the onscreen phonograph record being played by Priory, and the other for full orchestra, representing the dissolve into a nostalgic, sweeping memory of both of them dancing together in full regalia. Goodwin recorded each in a full-length version, ingeniously scoring them so during midpoint the former version could segue into the latter when the scene dissolves. We include the special “film mix” as track 18 and offer both complete individual versions as closing extras.

—Douglass Fake