The image below is my own personal research hand-copy of five bars of the "Temptation" cue from King of
Kings. I have read here in this forum occasional discussion about how the only time Rozsa used strict serial or twelve-tone (dodecaphonic) music was in this cue for KOK. I personally do not normally
find serial music pleasing (not my steady, daily musical diet!) but occasionally find it interesting and quite effective such as the terrific score for
The Haunting. Rozsa's temperament as a Romantic (like Herrmann) did not lend it self to serial methods where, in
my opinion, the heart/soul of music has been sacrificed for the head/logic.
At any rate, I am not very familiar with the serial method as it is practiced on the written score. I would not be able to easily detect it initially except as a piece steeped in atonality. So maybe somewhere here can detect if and where in the viusal sample below if Rozsa employed in in these particular bars.I noticed that in that soli clarinets section at the top that Rozsa did not repeat any of the tones and that there are actually twelve of them! That last sustained D [written E] tone doesn't count. The timp/celli/top CB play augmented 1 and minor 2nd intereval descent and ascents of quarter notes E-Eb-D-Db to C-C#-D-D# and also B-Bb-A-Ab to G-G#-A-A#, etc. The piano shows E/B/E to Eb/Bb/Eb to D/A/D to Db/Ab/D descent in that first bar seen, so P5 and P4 relationship--very stable and strong intervals. I don't know the dynamics very well but Rozsa is quite clever and interesting in his overall dissonant approach for this devil scene! I wonder if any serial expert ever studied this cue in-depth? The sketches and full orchestrated score are available for research at USC.
http://img104.imageshack....mg104/1306/img0002ju.jpg
At any rate, I am not very familiar with the serial method as it is practiced on the written score. I would not be able to easily detect it initially except as a piece steeped in atonality. So maybe somewhere here can detect if and where in the viusal sample below if Rozsa employed in in these particular bars.I noticed that in that soli clarinets section at the top that Rozsa did not repeat any of the tones and that there are actually twelve of them! That last sustained D [written E] tone doesn't count. The timp/celli/top CB play augmented 1 and minor 2nd intereval descent and ascents of quarter notes E-Eb-D-Db to C-C#-D-D# and also B-Bb-A-Ab to G-G#-A-A#, etc. The piano shows E/B/E to Eb/Bb/Eb to D/A/D to Db/Ab/D descent in that first bar seen, so P5 and P4 relationship--very stable and strong intervals. I don't know the dynamics very well but Rozsa is quite clever and interesting in his overall dissonant approach for this devil scene! I wonder if any serial expert ever studied this cue in-depth? The sketches and full orchestrated score are available for research at USC.
http://img104.imageshack....mg104/1306/img0002ju.jpg
