Bernard Herrmann's Vertigo - (Film Score Guides) by David Cooper (Hardcover)

About the Book

This in-depth musicological and critical study examines how Bernard Herrmann's score for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo plays a crucial role in the articulation and development of the film's narrative and how it affects readings of the film. Herrmann's collaboration with Hitchcock spanned eleven years and nine films, and Herrmann's film score for Vertigo is widely regarded as being one of his finest. Cooper considers the development of Herrmann's career up to 1958, providing a detailed discussion of his musical style. The explicit information about the structure of Herrmann's music is based on a study of Herrmann's autograph score.

Cooper examines not only the context of the film's production, but also its reception and critical readings of the film. In addition, this study explores how the effects track co-operates with Herrmann's non-diegetic and diegetic score and concludes with a detailed musicological study. The author advances a new theory, in his discussion of signification, about the establishment of meaning in film music through association with images on the screen. This sophisticated musicological approach will appeal to film music and film communication scholars.

Book Synopsis

This in-depth musicological and critical study examines how Bernard Herrmann's score for Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo plays a crucial role in the articulation and development of the film's narrative and how it affects readings of the film. Herrmann's collaboration with Hitchcock spanned eleven years and nine films, and Herrmann's film score for Vertigo is widely regarded as being one of his finest. Cooper considers the development of Herrmann's career up to 1958, providing a detailed discussion of his musical style. The explicit information about the structure of Herrmann's music is based on a study of Herrmann's autograph score.

Cooper examines not only the context of the film's production, but also its reception and critical readings of the film. In addition, this study explores how the effects track co-operates with Herrmann's non-diegetic and diegetic score and concludes with a detailed musicological study. The author advances a new theory, in his discussion of signification, about the establishment of meaning in film music through association with images on the screen. This sophisticated musicological approach will appeal to film music and film communication scholars.

Review Quotes

"This book has everything a musical specialist could ask: scruplous research, detailed technical analysis, an excellent summary of film music criticism, astute comparisons with other Hermann sores....[a]nd an up-to-date grounding in matters such as musical gender encoding....Bernard Hermann's Vertigo is an impressive study of the contributing elements that make the music of Vertigo such an indelible part of our cinematic subconscious."-Hitchcock Annual

?Anyone with a devoted interest in Herrmann or film music will find this one of the very best books ever on either subject.?-Classic Images

?It would be a good addition to circulating collections in music and film libraries....?-American Reference Books Annual

?This book has everything a musical specialist could ask: scruplous research, detailed technical analysis, an excellent summary of film music criticism, astute comparisons with other Hermann sores....[a]nd an up-to-date grounding in matters such as musical gender encoding....Bernard Hermann's Vertigo is an impressive study of the contributing elements that make the music of Vertigo such an indelible part of our cinematic subconscious.?-Hitchcock Annual

"Anyone with a devoted interest in Herrmann or film music will find this one of the very best books ever on either subject."-Classic Images

"It would be a good addition to circulating collections in music and film libraries...."-American Reference Books Annual

About the Author

DAVID COOPER is Senior Lecturer and the Director of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Scientific Research in Music at the University of Leeds.