Bernard Herrmann – Walking Distance (Twilight Zone) - Part 3

With the concluding part of my analysis of Bernard Herrmann's score for 'Walking Distance', I would like to concentrate on his orchestration. Herrmann himself was a great believer that every composer working on films should orchestrate his own music as this quote of him illustrates:

'To orchestrate is like a thumbprint. I can't understand having someone else do it. It would be like someone putting color to your paintings.'

And indeed, he orchestrated every work of his until his death.

That tells me that he valued orchestration as an important tool in order to communicate the music to the audience. I try to highlight some of his methods in this blog entry.

Firstly, it should be noted that the ensemble used for this score was a very small one consisting of harp and a string section only. Even the string section is relatively small with 6 violins I, 4 violins II, 3 violas, 3 cellos and 2 basses. The reason for this could be an artistic one as the music almost exclusively portraits a single character and would therefore benefit of being confined to a few instruments or a small ensemble. Another reason, the one I believe to be the more likely, is that the budget for the music was limited and a small ensemble was all they could afford. Either way, the score offers a fascinating insight into Herrmann's approach for writing for such a small ensemble, especially bearing in mind that he wrote a similar score (albeit only for strings) a year later with 'Psycho'.

Intro

The first bar of the 'Intro' cue [0:01 in first video] shows that Herrmann split the violins in two (3 each for violins I and 2 each for violins II) and that each of the string groups is to be played with mutes. He will not deviate from this set up for the rest of the score. The chord (C#half dim7) is divided onto solo viola and violins, with harp playing the whole chord arpeggiando. The interesting thing here is that the first note is to be played with an up-bow for all the strings, possibly to generate a more diminished attack of the chord, which would be in line with the arpeggiando harp and the dynamic marking of pp. The cue continues this way until the end.

The second cue shows how to effectively use the harp to great effect. In bars 4-5 [0:57], the strings hold an E7(b5)/Bb chord as a pad for the harp to play a downward arpeggio of an E7. The tonal qualities of the harp create a sense of foreboding and danger. Note also, how the chord doesn't change (although the voicing does) but the notes for the individual string sections do – a subtle detail to make the parts more interesting.

The Drugstore

The third cue ('Memories'), illustrates one of the cornerstones of Herrmann's compositional as well as orchestral style: the development of motifs. In the opening two bars [1:37], he scores the 'memory motif' for violins (violins II and first desk of violins I an octave apart with the second desk of violins I a third below) with cellos and violas for the chord pad. For the return of the motif in bars 15 – 16 [2:39], he scores it in a much lighter texture with violins only for the theme and chord pad.
In bar 19, he introduces cellos (note that they are playing the chord tutti now) and double basses to clearly define the chord as A minor, to then add a harp arpeggio (with the same effect as in the previous cue) in Ab major in second inversion. I have highlighted the violas, that support the harp only ever so slightly with the same chord played flautando, the effect gained is hauntingly chilling.

Memories

In 'The Park' [4:27], Herrmann offers us an interesting approach of scoring a simple waltz theme. The harp plays the basic accompaniment, while the second desks of violins I and II play tonic and dominant harmonics respectively. The first desks play the same harmonics but twice as fast as the second desks. The remaining two first violins, play the theme a third apart to complete the whole texture. Once again, the scoring here is very light and thin but at the same time creates a sort of carefree atmosphere.

The Park

The House

Bars 14 – 15 [6:54] of 'The House' offers a glimpse of Herrmann's chord voicing for violins alone. The second desks of each section lay out the basic chord, while the first desks provide the top octave and doublings of notes apart from the seventh. Note also, that the chords are played at ppp with the additional marking of non vibrato, to give just the faintest of sound.

The opening bars of 'The Merry-go-round' [10:24] shows one of the very few instances where the violins are not to be played with mutes. The motif is represented by violins I at first before answered an octave lower by violins II. The dynamic of ff and the tempo marking indicate that a harsh and intense sound is desired. Once again although repetitive, Herrmann makes each part more interesting by throwing phrases around and thus keeping the sections but also the listener entertained.

The Merry-go-round

For the final example I want to go back to what I was pointing out in the third cue: the development of motifs.
Section A [11:50] shows the initial chord motif, divided onto all string sections apart from double basses, playing with the same rhythm. At section B [12:34], the meter changes and basses are now introduced, to play a pedal D along with the cellos. The chord theme is now divided onto violas and violins. The melodic rhythm has now changed and is much more elaborate. At section C [0:01 second video] (the beginning of the 'Elegy' cue), the pedal D has gone, the meter is back to where it was but the whole theme is condensed to strings alone. Section D [0:48], represents even more condensing. Back is the pedal D and the change in meter but this time everything is scored for cellos and violas only.
I hope it can be seen how Herrmann was able to alter the tone and character of the same music by the use of (sometime subtle) variations throughout his orchestration. This, I believe, is the key to the success and popularity of his music as it rarely becomes tiring although being incredibly repetitive.

This concludes my blog about Bernard Herrmann's orchestration for the score to 'Walking Distance' and indeed my 3 part blog series about the score itself. I hope you found it interesting and informative but also motivating to explore more of Herrmann's music, as there is much to be learnt from it.

-PW

These transcriptions are entirely my own and only intended for educational purposes.