Arthur Benjamin composed the Storm Clouds Cantata in 1934 for Hitchcock’s first version of The Man Who Knew Too Much. In the 1956 color remake of the film, Bernard Herrmann was offered the opportunity to write his own music for the film’s climax. In an unusual outbreak of modesty, however, he said that he could not improve upon Benjamin’s cantata, so it stayed. Also on this disc is Benjamin’s Waltz and Hyde Park Gallop from An Ideal Husband, and the music from The Conquest of Everest, one of his most successful film scores. Leighton Lucas is particularly noted for his film music, including the scores for Alfred Hitchcock’s Stage Fright, for Ice Cold in Alex, and for The Dam Busters – all represented on this disc. All are performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales under Rumon Gamba. The disc features exquisite performances by a number of soloists – the mezzo-soprano Abigail Sara, pianist Catherine Roe-Williams, and organist Rob Court – as well as the voices of Côr Caerdydd.
