Jerome Moross's The Big Country

A Film Score Guide

Mariana Whitmer

With its unique focus on pacifism, The Big Country was an unusual Western for audiences of the 1950s. Produced in 1958, this epic film featured an all-star cast that included Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, and Oscar-winner Burl Ives. One of the most enduring elements of the film has been Jerome Moross’s score. Inspired to re-think the traditional Western score and approach it in a way that enhances the emotional content, rather than simply accompanying the action, Moross created a work that stands as one of the great achievements of cinematic music.

In Jerome Moross’s The Big Country: A Film Score Guide, Mariana Whitmer examines Moross’s landmark work, a score that continues to attract listeners and influence composers of film, Westerns and otherwise. This book begins with a biographical survey of Moross’s formative years, his early dramatic compositions in ballet and musical theater, and his early film work, providing an historical context for understanding his approach to scoring The Big Country. Drawing upon Moross’s original manuscripts and correspondence, Whitmer looks carefully at the score itself. She relates the history of this magnificent score and how the film’s music differs significantly from contemporary trends in the Western. Whitmer also examines the music’s individual cues and describes how Moross approached the film as a dramatic entity, delineating sections of the narrative into mega-scenes through the music. Finally, the aftermath of this score is considered, including how it has influenced not only subsequent Westerns but also music videos.

The first book devoted to a Western film score and the only biographical book on the composer, Jerome Moross’s The Big Country: A Film Score Guide, will be a valuable read for musicologists, film scholars, and anyone interested in Moross and his music.

Scarecrow Press

Pages: 216 • Trim: 5⅜ x 8½

978-0-8108-8500-4 • Paperback • June 2012 • $53.00 • (£41.00)

978-0-8108-8501-1 • eBook • June 2012 • $50.00 • (£38.00)

Series: Film Score Guides

Subjects: Music / Individual Composer & Musician, Performing Arts / Film / General

Jerome Moross's The Big Country

A Film Score Guide

Paperback

eBook

Summary

With its unique focus on pacifism, The Big Country was an unusual Western for audiences of the 1950s. Produced in 1958, this epic film featured an all-star cast that included Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, and Oscar-winner Burl Ives. One of the most enduring elements of the film has been Jerome Moross’s score. Inspired to re-think the traditional Western score and approach it in a way that enhances the emotional content, rather than simply accompanying the action, Moross created a work that stands as one of the great achievements of cinematic music.

In Jerome Moross’s The Big Country: A Film Score Guide, Mariana Whitmer examines Moross’s landmark work, a score that continues to attract listeners and influence composers of film, Westerns and otherwise. This book begins with a biographical survey of Moross’s formative years, his early dramatic compositions in ballet and musical theater, and his early film work, providing an historical context for understanding his approach to scoring The Big Country. Drawing upon Moross’s original manuscripts and correspondence, Whitmer looks carefully at the score itself. She relates the history of this magnificent score and how the film’s music differs significantly from contemporary trends in the Western. Whitmer also examines the music’s individual cues and describes how Moross approached the film as a dramatic entity, delineating sections of the narrative into mega-scenes through the music. Finally, the aftermath of this score is considered, including how it has influenced not only subsequent Westerns but also music videos.

The first book devoted to a Western film score and the only biographical book on the composer, Jerome Moross’s The Big Country: A Film Score Guide, will be a valuable read for musicologists, film scholars, and anyone interested in Moross and his music.

Details

Scarecrow Press

Pages: 216 • Trim: 5⅜ x 8½

978-0-8108-8500-4 • Paperback • June 2012 • $53.00 • (£41.00)

978-0-8108-8501-1 • eBook • June 2012 • $50.00 • (£38.00)

Series: Film Score Guides

Subjects: Music / Individual Composer & Musician, Performing Arts / Film / General

Author

Mariana Whitmer teaches film music and manages special programs at the Center for American Music at the University of Pittsburgh.

Table of Contents

Editor’s Foreward Kate Daubney
Acknowledgements
Preface: Reinventing the Western Film Score
Chapter 1: Jerome Moross in Hollywood
Chapter 2: Scoring Drama: Composing Theatre and Film
Chapter 3: The Critical/Historical Context of The Big Country
Chapter 4: Changing the Western Soundscape
Chapter 5: Analysis of the Score
Afterward: The Big Country’s Legacy
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the Author

Reviews

Whitmer ably places the film in the context of the history of the development of the western genre, making a strong case for reevaluating The Big Country.
— Journal of the Society for American Music

Jerome Moross's The Big Country

A Film Score Guide

Mariana Whitmer

Jerome Moross's The Big Country

A Film Score Guide

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