PSYCHO - Bernard Herrmann's score explored for A-level music students

Rachel Leach is joined by LSO Musicians Maxine Kwok and Rebecca Gilliver to take a detailed look at Bernard Herrmann's score for Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho.
Hear key passages performed by the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Simon Rattle, followed by detailed analysis of a work that is among the set pieces in Edexcel's A-level music syllabus.
00:00 Introduction
03:51 Discussion of string techniques
15:29 Prelude
24:24 The City
26:27 Murder/Shower
30:07 The Cellar
32:22 Marion
34:07 Toys
35:08 Discovery
36:09 Finale
Written and presented by Rachel Leach
Maxine Kwok: Violin
Rebecca Gilliver: Cello
Sir Simon Rattle
London Symphony Orchestra

[@14jemima]

Every time I hear the "psycho theme", I see Marion's car in the rain and the windshield wipers going back and forth.

[@milesbecky1]

It was not shot for television, he used his TV crew. It did not have a shaky beginning at the box office, it was an instant hit.

[@rnw2739]

Correct. Although it did have a complete savaging by critics, who cited it as 'nasty' and 'disgusting'. Then, these frauds all changed their minds in the 70s and altered those reviews, hailing it now as a 'masterpiece'.

[@Tolstoy111]

@@rnw2739it got lots of good reviews on release

[@michaelwatson113]

It's fascinating how music can be part of telling the story.

[@jonahbabei6883]

With only a month left until the exam, this has been very helpful revision. Thank you!

[@LondonSymphonyOrchestra]

Best of luck!

[@aminXlocale]

Unbelievable.. absolutely incredible I really can't believe you've put this together. I'm truly grateful good luck to all our future aspiring composers, musicians, dreamers! May we keep getting these types of series. Perhaps a Twilight Zone breakdown of the score? 😎🧠

[@catherinehiltz8634]

I'm not familiar with the course this is designed for, but I really appreciate the upload and the thoughtful analysis! Thank you Rachel Leach and LSO!

[@rdavis7114]

Since I first saw the movie in the late 70s, I noticed and have always been fascinated with how Herrmann used inversion of lines. Inversion plus layering gives amazing results when done by a genius. Rachmaninoff did the same thing. Most amazing is how Herrmann could write such carefully detailed music in such a short time, plus write the individual instrument parts himself. He looked down on any composer who had someone else do the arranging and he was right because he looked at it as a complete and dedicated art form, not something to churn out for money.

[@gordonurquhart8417]

Psycho was not shot for TV as the narrator suggests. Hitchcock used techniques on Psycho that he and his crews had developed on his various television programmes so that the film could be shot faster and therefore more cheaply. In its time, Psycho was one of the most shocking horror films ever made, just as Hitchcock intended. At the time it would have been unthinkable to have made such a shocker for television.

[@brunoantony3218]

Hitchcock didn’t use TV techniques, he used his TV show crew to save money. But Psycho is 100% cinema.

[@grifirnyc]

I've always loved the score to Psycho, and this breakdown shows beautifully why it's so effective. Thank you so much for putting this up.

[@robertjewell9727]

Host has a lot of background information mixed up. Might want to correct that.

[@johnshitwalker3483]

Thank you for this fascinating study about one of best composers ever existed.

[@thanhhanguyen9354]

Thank you for this fascinating insight into the great film score.

[@dannyvegasman]

Well this is an absolute treat. Many thanks.

[@speedtrls]

This was and absolute delight. Thank you.

[@FreakieFan]

It would've been worth mentioning that actually most of the score from Psycho is re-used material from Herrmann's earlier concert work "Sinfonietta for Strings". Many cues are directly lifted from that work, and the whole harmonic language and instrumentation concept of the score is exactly the same as that piece as well. Not to diminish Herrmann's originality, but it is worth noting.

[@dimitrisnikoloulis4071]

One classic masterpiece score for a classic masterpiece film. No words.

[@Yurisombra2030]

Fantastic!! Thank you!

[@markbousie3501]

Brilliant! So interesting and useful. Thank you.

[@ponyonoodles6568]

That cello is beautiful😍 also 12:29 scared my cat LOL

[@Ivartshiva]

The fifth note with the added lower tone that sounds 'accidental' slays

[@lesgoe8908]

Damn! This is one expensive class. Rattle and the LSO don't come cheap.

[@jadenlee7688]

I've always been hesitant when it comes to watching horror movies but just from hearing this score... I just might reconsider

[@brunoantony3218]

So? Did you watch it?

[@jadenlee7688]

@@brunoantony3218 yup! As of sometime late 2022, I saw it for the first time and was found that it wasn't a horror movie so much as a good suspense film. Either way, it was a pretty good movie! 👌

[@brunoantony3218]

@@jadenlee7688 trust me, it will become a horror film in your hear gradually. And you will have dreams….

[@Ivartshiva]

There is a way to watch Psycho as a comedy, you just have to watch to see how much the director is putting you on - for fun!

[@brunoantony3218]

17:09 Bravo Mauceri!!

[@boneeatingsilicate580]

Such a hard score to get right..good sharp edged bowing and tempi

[@evecat1014]

can you please do some seminars for the AQA spec?

[@federicozimerman8167]

notes are more powerful than words😀

[@AQuietNight]

This all happened because when he was 3 months old... Alfred Hitchcock's mother came up to him and said "BOO".

[@Tolstoy111]

This had to be the most dissonant score ever written for a Hollywood feature to that point.

[@daniel3231995]

9:37 Give this troll a MEDAL! 🎖

[@mattmaloney2445]

Where does this score rank in all time masterpieces of the 20th century. Top 10?

[@mauricioduron3193]

Pray tell, was telling the unexpected moment in the shower scene a spoiler that could not be avoided? There will always be young music lovers not necessarily familiar with the movie.

[@mark-shane]

She rather got lost in your presentation. Why can't LSO play the other parts ?

[@jslasher1]

Excellent doco. Well researched, presented and expertly performed. Too bad about those useless face-masks.

[@brunoantony3218]

It was fun to watch but it’s not well researched. On edit: well researched musically yes. But her information about the film itself is off.