John Scott: Cousteau / Channel Islands / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

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ABOUT THE SCORE:
One of only a handful of John Scott’s many scores for Jacques Cousteau to be released commercially through the JOS Records label, Channel Islands was a two-part documentary hailing from 1986 as part of Cousteau’s “Rediscovery Series”, the signature tune for which Scott penned himself (replacing earlier themes by Walter Schiff and Elmer Bernstein, respectively). While many of the Scott/Cousteau collaborations allowed for only a modest section of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to be employed, the more sprawling subject matter of this two-parter represented a chance for larger orchestral forces to be employed. Scott responds accordingly with a fantastic primary idea of resplendent, breezy adventure and high energy (the theme introduced at the onset in the strings) and numerous sub-motifs, with the composer’s usually exquisite woodwind writing and creative harmonies front and center. The imagination and color on display is exceptional even by this composer’s standards!

[@BenoitEngel-bk1hc]

John Scott

[@galipolis65]

Hello Bob, the theme for the THE UNDERSEA WORLD OF JACQUES COUSTEAU Series was composed by Walter Scharf - just a typo :-)