Composed by Miklos Rozsa
The 1959 epic Ben-Hur is the third adaptation of Lew Wallace’s late 19th Century novel. The story, as its subtitle suggests, takes place at the time of Jesus’ life in Judea. The plot of both the book and the film is that Jewish prince Ben-Hur’s (Charlton Heston) Roman childhood friend Messala (Stephen Boyd) has returned. Their friendship soon takes a bad turn when it turns out that Messala has fully imbibed Roman propaganda, while Ben-Hur wants Israel to be free of Roman rule. Later a roof shingle from Ben-Hur’s house is accidentally dislodged, nearly killing a Roman general. Messala sends Ben-Hur to the galleys while imprisoning his widowed mother and sister. Ben-Hur devotes himself to revenge against both Messala and Rome.
The movie is faithful to the novel despite rearranging and changing much of it. Having recently read the book, I think I prefer the movie. It gets me more in the feels, though it might just be because I grew up on it. One of my favorite films of all time, Ben-Hur deservedly won 11 Oscars, one for Miklos Rozsa’s musical score. Rozsa was no stranger to the epic genre, having previously scored Quo Vadis, another Christian tale in Roman times. This didn’t stop him from doing exhaustive research to catch what he believed were uniquely Roman and Jewish musical sounds. The end result was a triumph. Ben-Hur sports a massive array of themes and motifs, all of them great in their own way.
I will primarily use MGM’s tall two-disc set for this review, mainly because I own it. It contains a book detailing the production of both the movie and score. A lot of the tracks are unused pieces or extended versions. The original album release from 1959 had to compress nearly three hours of score into about forty minutes. Rozsa thus rearranged his music in a concert arrangement, hitting all the highlights. It’s worth checking out on its own. Finally there is another two-disc set which includes unused material, but not the extended versions. It also combines the music in longer tracks while the MGM release divides them into smaller cues.
I’ll do a rundown of the first few tracks, because the overture, main titles, and other cues introduce most of the themes at the outset. “Overture” kicks off on trumpets with the AD fanfare. This fanfare starts off “Overture” and “Entr’acte” and also appears less bombastically as a setting motif. 0:19 introduces another setting theme for Judea. It’s a wavy piece that evokes the Oriental setting of the film, and is first played with Middle Eastern woodwinds. This builds into the introduction of the first major theme. It’s the Love Theme, my favorite. The theme has a strong A-phase, with a lush B-phase for extended performances. Rozsa infuses it with incredible sweeping motion in its grander appearances, and it’s still lovely in its softer appearances. Its application is broad. It serves the romance between Ben-Hur and maidservant Esther (Haya Harareet), Esther herself as a character, Ben-Hur’s love for his country (when he longs for Judea in “Nostalgia”), and as a general triumphal theme for Christ’s coming kingdom (best displayed in “Finale”).
“Overture” is not done introducing themes. Next is Ben-Hur’s mother and sister, Miriam and Tirzah (I’ll just refer to it later as the Miriam theme). Rozsa actually used a folk song from Yemen for this theme, infusing it with a distinctly Near Eastern flavor. It’s a string piece that is often melancholic as events separate them from Ben-Hur. Finishing “Overture” is the Friendship theme. It represents the relationship between Ben-Hur and Messala. In its first appearance it brims with warm, masculine energy. “Friendship” continues this trend, briefly turning the theme into a fanfare for a spear-throwing contest. Afterwards, however, Rozsa slightly alters the tone as the friendship dissolves. From here on the theme is morose and tragic, for a friendship broken. The Rowers theme later on in the film is possibly a variation of this theme as well, but we’ll get into that later.
“Anno Domini” uses the AD and Judea themes as a narrator gives the background of the film starting with Joseph and Mary’s trip to Bethlehem. “Star of Bethlehem” introduces Balthasar’s theme, a religiously-infused melody for one of the Three Wise Men. Rozsa plays it on choir for the more Christian moments, and elsewhere on strings. The theme reappears at the movie’s midpoint as Balthasar returns to Judea, hoping to find the grown Christ. “Shofar Call” is a short diagetic cue, a shepherd blowing a horn. This leads to “Prelude (Main Title),” which introduces the last two major themes. After some trumpeting, Christ’s theme bursts forth as a fanfare. It’s made up of five-note motifs bridged by other notes that literally spell out “Hallelujah” in “Finale.” Despite its bombastic debut, Rozsa mostly plays it peacefully on pipe organ and more notably vibraphone. This gives the character’s infrequent appearances and references an otherworldly quality, emphasizing his divine and benign mission on earth. Since Jesus scarcely appears in person (and always from the back and side so we can’t see his face), the theme’s appearances are poignant, sometimes emerging amidst suspenseful or harrowing cues. Right after Christ’s theme finally comes the identity for Judah Ben-Hur. It’s a heroic theme that lends itself well to fanfares and has a B-phase with similarities to the A-phase. Rozsa doesn’t give it as much extended performances, inserting it into longer pieces when Ben-Hur makes a decision or takes an action. It’s mostly known for its insertion into “Parade of the Charioteers.”
There are several other identities that don’t first appear until later in the film. There is the aforementioned Charioteers’ march, which only appears around the awesome chariot race sequence. There is a dark Revenge motif that serves as a reflection of the Friendship theme. It usually appears in conjunction with Messala, but also serves to represent Ben-Hur’s negative qualities. The last of the themes I can identify is the Leper motif. This doesn’t appear until “Lepers” on disc two, and in startling fashion. The theme’s later appearances for the Valley of Lepers are dismal, effectively encapsulating the horrid nature of a disease that was prevalent in Biblical times.
Before I go into a rundown, I should add that Rozsa also fills out his score with a series of Roman marches. None serves as an overarching identity for the Roman Empire, but all are great representations of sheer military power. “Marcia Romana” starts with the Judea theme amidst a driven rhythm. The rhythm builds into the triumphant Marcia Romana itself. “Spirit and Sword” briefly sees Christ’s theme before the Marcia Romana takes over again. “Salute for Gratus” and “Gratus’ Entry to Jerusalem” are more sinister, representing the reactions of the Jews as they watch soldiers march into their capital. Finally there is “Victoria Parade,” a much more uplifting piece as Ben-Hur escapes the galleys through his newfound relationship with Quintus Arrius.
Going back to the earlier cues, “Friendship” sees the same-named theme go through various moods. “The House of Hur” and “The Conflict” represent the fracturing of Ben-Hur and Messala’s friendship. “Esther” introduces the Love Theme into the narrative, and it plays in the next tracks as well in a soft, lush mode. After “Gratus’ Entry to Jerusalem” we get a series of brief action and suspense cues. This culminates in “The Desert” and “Exhaustion.” Here Rozsa scores a chain gang on its way to the galleys. Harrowing strings and deathly woodwinds dominate “The Desert.” In “Exhaustion” the music transitions into grand melancholy as water is denied to Ben-Hur. The strings escalate with Ben-Hur’s theme and then collapses alongside the protagonist. This leads to one of my favorite moments in the movie. After all this cacophony, Christ’s theme peacefully intrudes on pipe organ and vibraphone. The music gets morose when the main Roman guard tries to stop Jesus from giving Ben-Hur water. Jesus tells him off with just a look and then his theme returns. Ben-Hur’s theme returns, strengthened, and leads into a triumphal blast of Christ’s theme.
Christ’s theme wonderfully transitions right into the sinister Rowers’ theme. The Rowers’ theme often simulates the repetitive motion of the galley slaves’ oar work. This is most magnificently done in “The Galley (Rowing of the Galley Slaves).” In this scene naval commander Quintus Arrius wants to test his rowers. As he increasingly orders the speed driven up, Rozsa increases the tempo of the Rowers theme. A secondary Naval motif starts to come in more and more as the scene escalates. When they aren’t rowing, Rozsa uses a somber Galley Slave motif that often plays in counterpoint with the Rowers’ theme (“Rest”) A final thematic addition to the movie’s Galley Slave sequence is the Pirates motif (“Battle Preparations”).
Tracks 36-40 on Disc One deal with the movie’s naval battle (even with some outdated effects it’s still an awesome scene). “The Pirate Fleet” starts hopefully with Christ’s theme, then gets into a ponderous rendition of the Rowers’ theme as the ships close in on each others. The Pirates’ motif gets brassier when the they throw missiles at each other. “Attack!” and the brief “Ramming Speed” pick up the pace with the two themes dueling each other. “The Battle Parts 1,2,3” covers the moment when two ships collide and a fight erupts on the deck of a Roman vessel. The boarding party is heralded at 0:42 by quick action music and followed by perilous renditions of the Pirates motif. Ben-Hur’s motif cuts in at a couple points as he performs some heroic feats. Over the next several cues the pace winds down with sinister reprises of the Rowers themes as Ben-Hur and Quintus Arrius deal with the aftermath. Disc One ends with a victory parade.
Disc Two starts off with some party music. First is “Fertility Dance,” the sole African-style cue though with Mediterranean woodwinds. “Arrius’ Party 1 & 2” shows the completionist nature of this edition, as at 0:12 the music flounders when a character interrupts. The festive music then restarts. “Farewell to Rome” is a violin laden piece based off part of Ben-Hur’s theme that ends with the Anno Domini theme. The tracks that deal with the film’s return to Judea are scored with reprises of the (of course) Judea theme as well as the reintroduction of Balthasar’s theme. The track named for the character mixes his theme with the Love and Christ identities as he introduces Ben-Hur to the concept of the Savior. The introduction of the Lepers theme leads to the last cues before the intermission: “Return,” “The Promise,” and “Sorrow and Intermission.” The Miriam, Lave, and Ben-Hur themes all appear in tragic renditions until the bombastic cliffhanger fanfare in “Sorrow and Intermission.”
After “Entr’acte,” a shortened reprise of “Overture,” we get to the chariot race sequence. This section is heavily based on the Parade of the Charioteers. “Circus Parade (Parade of the Charioteers)” is the go-to for this piece, presenting it over two minutes. At 0:47 Ben-Hur’s theme breaks forth in its most memorable iteration. One aspect that might be an issue for listeners with this section of the album is that Rozsa did not score the chariot race itself. As a result listeners go through minutes of epic build-up, only to skip right to “Victory March” and a somber Friendship theme in “Bitter Triumph.” Tracks 29-36 deal with Ben-Hur’s search for Miriam and Tirzah. This means plenty of dour music centered around the Lepers’ theme and heart-tugging renditions of the Love and Miriam themes. “The Mount” and “The Sermon” break up the atmosphere a little with the Judea and then Christ themes.
“The Procession to Cavalry” is another dour cue. This one introduces a new dirge for Christ’s march to his death. “The Bearing of the Cross” alters the melody, but has the same atmosphere. “Recognition” is beautifully executed. At 0:28 the music transitions into a reprise of the earlier moment where Ben-Hur was on the verge of dying from thirst. Once again it leads into Christ’s theme, but instead of triumphally continuing, it’s sidelined by more the Crucifixion dirge. “Aftermath No. 2” brings back the Revenge theme and the downer version of the Friendship theme. Rozsa wonderfully conveys man’s sinful rejection and murder of Christ by bringing in motifs that represent man’s uglier aspects.
“The Miracle” and “Finale” are absolutely glorious and still give me goosebumps on repeat listening. “The Miracle” sees Christ’s theme at its most victorious. At 1:08 the theme turns into a go from horns to sweeping strings while bells chime. This segues into “Finale” with Ben-Hur’s theme. Christ’s theme makes a softer appearance as the protagonist tells Esther the Savior’s effect on him. The Love theme kicks in at 1:23. Choir shortly joins it as the characters experience the outcome of a miracle. The choir plays out the Love theme in its most epic moment and then Christ’s theme closes things out with Hallelujahs. The two-disc set ends with an alternate choral version of “The Star of Bethlehem.” It makes for a nice postscript.
All-in-all this is a fantastic score, one of the greatest in film history. Every time I listen to it, there’s at least half a dozen moments I can’t wait to get to: that thunderous Overture with the Love theme at its finest, the Desert music, the Sea Battle, “Parade of the Charioteers,” the beautifully tragic Valley of the Lepers section, and the glorious “Miracle & Finale.” Every theme is a winner in its own right, with the Love and Christ themes especially laying on the feels. Though I used the version I owned, the 1996 two-disc set, the more film-accurate complete score might be a neater listen and one of the single-disc albums might make for easier relistening. The complete score sets will give you the feeling of watching a lengthy epic. Again, I have to reiterate that this is one of the greatest film scores of all time and the multitude of releases, some with album-only versions, allows for a lot of ways to experience it.
Rating: 10/10
Because there are so many albums and on some editions so many tracks, I have posted a link that will give them so I don’t have to write them all out.
raymondusrex 