John Morris - The Scarlet Letter / Electric Grandmother (Music from the Original Scores) '2022

Tracks list

       Dragon’s Domain Records presents THE SCARLET LETTER/THE ELECTRIC
GRANDMOTHER, featuring music composed and conducted by John Morris (BLAZING
SADDLES, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, THE ELEPHANT MAN).

THE SCARLET LETTER was a four part mini-series production of Nathaniel
Hawthorne’s historical novel helmed by director/producer Rick Hauser. The
production starred Meg Foster as Hester Prynne, John Heard as Reverend
Dimmesdale, and Kevin Conway as Chillingworth. THE SCARLET LETTER tells the
story of Hester Prynne, a Colonial Boston woman who had lived two hundred years
earlier, and a scarlet piece of cloth elaborately embroidered with the letter
‘A’. In her husband’s absence, Hester takes a secret lover
and has a child by him. Accused of adultery, Hester is imprisoned. Refusing to
identify the father of the child, her shame and despair continue and her
isolation grows as the townspeople see her as a symbol of sin in their pious
community. Unknown to them, the father is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, who must
grapple with his indecision over revealing himself and his indiscretions.

Airing on public television in 1979, this version of THE SCARLET LETTER was
considered the most faithful adaptation of Hawthorne’s novel at the time.
Extensive research and detailed production design also made this one of the most
accurate filmic depictions of 17th Century colonial America. Hauser’s use
of visual symbolism from the original text and the inclusion of the author as a
narrator were highlights, and a lush orchestral score by John Morris gave the
series a big budget feel. For THE SCARLET LETTER, Morris used the 76-piece
London Studio Symphony Orchestra and recorded at the CTS Recording Studios in
London over three days in January of 1979.

Airing in 1982 as a television special on NBC, THE ELECTRIC GRANDMOTHER was a
retelling of a Ray Bradbury story. Maureen Stapleton stars as the kindly robotic
granny who uplifts three children after the death of their mother. Edward
Herrmann (THE LOST BOYS) plays their father and Paul Benedict (THE JEFFERSONS)
plays the bemused robot-maker Fantoccini. The story began as a script Bradbury
wrote for THE TWILIGHT ZONE called “I Sing the Body Electric”. The
TWILIGHT ZONE episode was broadcast during its third season, in 1962, starring
Josephine Hutchinson as the mechanical grandmom and Veronica Cartwright as the
young girl. Bradbury subsequently adapted his teleplay into a 12,000-word
novella, originally titled “The Beautiful One is Here”, published in
McCall’s Magazine in August 1969. Renamed with its TWILIGHT ZONE title,
the story was included that same year in Bradbury’s anthology, also
titled “I Sing The Body Electric.” THE ELECTRIC GRANDMOTHER was
well-received, having won a prestigious Peabody Award and an Emmy nomination in
the category of “Outstanding Children’s Program”, while
10-year old Tara Kennedy (in her only film role) was nominated for a
“Young Artist Award” in the “Best Young Actress in a Movie
Made for Television” category. John Morris composed the music for THE
ELECTRIC GRANDMOTHER a year before composing THE SCARLET LETTER, and fresh from
his feature film scores for THE ELEPHANT MAN (1980) and Mel Brooks’
HISTORY OF THE WORLD PART 1 (1981). The score is based on two recurring themes:
the dominant and quite cheerful “Electric Grandmother” melody for
the family as a whole, and the tender, sentimental “Grandmother
Lullaby” tune.

Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1926, John Morris studied at the Juilliard
School of Music and the University of Washington. From the 1950s through the
1970s, Morris helped to compose incidental music and dance numbers for a number
of Broadway productions, including WILDCAT, HOT SPOT, BAKER STREET, DEAR WORLD,
MACK & MABEL and HAMLET (1975). He also wrote and produced his own musical , A
TIME FOR SINGING, released in 1966. He began a career in film scoring in 1968
with the Mel Brooks film, THE PRODUCERS. He has since scored more than sixty
films and TV movies, including THE ELEPHANT MAN, THE DOCTOR AND THE DEVILS,
DIRTY DANCING, CLUE, SCARLETT, and all but two of Brooks’ comedy films.
He has been nominated twice for an Academy Award® and won two Emmy Awards®
for his work. John Morris died on Jan. 25th, 2018 at the age of 91. His last
film score had been for the 2004 film, THE BLACKWATER LIGHTSHIP, starring Angela
Lansbury.

While THE SCARLET LETTER was previously released on compact disc in 1995, THE
ELECTRIC GRANDMOTHER has never seen a release. Dragon’s Domain Records is
excited to bring THE SCARLET LETTER back to the marketplace along with the world
premiere release of the composer’s music for THE ELECTRIC GRANDMOTHER,
mastered by James Nelson at Digital Outland with liner notes by author Randall
D. Larson. THE SCARLET LETTER/THE ELECTRIC GRANDMOTHER is a limited edition of
500 units.

Tracklist:
1 01. John Morris - Opening Theme (From "The Scarlet Letter") (02:35)
1 02. John Morris - Sentenced (From "The Scarlet Letter") (01:36)
1 03. John Morris - Hester And Dimmesdale (From "The Scarlet Letter") (01:49)
1 04. John Morris - Chillingworth (From "The Scarlet Letter") (02:58)
1 05. John Morris - A Meeting on the Beach (From "The Scarlet Letter") (03:11)
1 06. John Morris - The Minister's Vigil (From "The Scarlet Letter") (03:26)
1 07. John Morris - The Lovers (From "The Scarlet Letter") (02:02)
1 08. John Morris - The Comet (From "The Scarlet Letter") (02:40)
1 09. John Morris - A Soul Full of Sorrow (From "The Scarlet Letter") (01:06)
1 10. John Morris - The Scarlet Letter (From "The Scarlet Letter") (01:43)
1 11. John Morris - The Marketplace (From "The Scarlet Letter") (01:59)
1 12. John Morris - Chillingworth's Revenge (From "The Scarlet Letter") (04:36)
1 13. John Morris - Dimmesdale's Confession (From "The Scarlet Letter") (01:45)
1 14. John Morris - The Conclusion (From "The Scarlet Letter") (04:48)
1 15. John Morris - Main Title (From "The Electric Grandmother") (01:21)
1 16. John Morris - Mom Dies (From "The Electric Grandmother") (01:10)
1 17. John Morris - Electronic Heart (From "The Electric Grandmother") (01:31)
1 18. John Morris - Fantoccini (From "The Electric Grandmother") (02:14)
1 19. John Morris - Building Grandma (From "The Electric Grandmother") (03:25)
1 20. John Morris - Grandma Arrives (From "The Electric Grandmother") (02:02)
1 21. John Morris - The Kite Sequence (From "The Electric Grandmother") (01:12)
1 22. John Morris - Grandmother Lullaby (From "The Electric Grandmother")
(02:05)
1 23. John Morris - Grandma Prepares to Leave (From "The Electric Grandmother")
(01:13)
1 24. John Morris - I'll Be Here (From "The Electric Grandmother") (02:00)
1 25. John Morris - Time Passes / Finale (From "The Electric Grandmother")
(02:05)
1 26. John Morris - End Credits (From "The Electric Grandmother") (01:03)
1 27. John Morris - End Credits (From "The Electric Grandmother") (Alternate)
(00:44) 

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