All music
Concert, radio, film and television music

1929

P The Forest (January) 1929
a tone poem for large orchestra

P The Dancing Faun (April-September) 1929
song for medium voice and small chamber orchestra

P The Bells (April-September) 1929
song for medium voice and small chamber orchestra

P Twilight (May) 1929
pastoral for violin and piano

P November Dusk (October-December) 1929
a tone poem for large orchestra
aka: Late Autum

P Tempest and Storm: Furies Shrieking! (November) 1929
for piano

P Requiescat (November) 1929
short piece for voice and piano
1932

P Aria for Flute and Harp (May) 1932

P Marche Militaire (September) 1932
ballet music

note: A part of the Broadway musical Americana Revue
note: The ballet was titled A la Marche Militaire
ref: BK
1933

P Aubade (July 31) 1933
for 14 instruments

note: Reworked as Silent Noon in 1975
ref.: Silent Noon, 1975

P Orchestral variation on Deep River 1933

P Orchestral variation on Water Boy 1933

P Prelude to Anathema 1933
for 15 instruments
1934

R La Belle Dame Sans Merci (September; CBS) 1934
melodram for narrator and orchestra

note: The text is from John Keats' poem
note: Dedicated to David Ross, the original narrator
note: Originally broadcasted on the In the Modern Manner show, September 20, 1934
note: There is a dispute about the name of this show. Johnny Green in the 1970s claimed that it was In the Modern Manner (a kind of variety show), but in 1939, Lucille Fletcher (already Herrmann's wife) claimed the name of the show was The Columbia Variety Show.
ref: BK

R The City of Brass (December; CBS) 1934
melodram for narrator and orchestra

note: The text is an excerpt reworked from One Thousand and One Arabian Nights, translated by Edward Powys Mathers
note: Originally broadcasted on the In the Modern Manner show, narrated by David Ross
ref: BK

R Annabel Lee (after September 1934, before June 1935; CBS) 1934
melodram for narrator and orchestra

note: The text is from a poem by Edgar Allen Poe
note: Originally broadcasted on the In the Modern Manner show, narrated by David Ross
ref: BK

R Poem Cycle (after September 1934, before June 1935; CBS) 1934
melodrams for narrator and orchestra

note: Collection of three short melodrams: The Willow Leaf, text from an anonymous Chinese lyric; Weep No More Sad Fountains, the text is supposedly an anonymous Elisabethan song, which was set originally by John Dowland (modern musicology tends to think the author is Dowland himself); Something Tells, text by David Ross
note: Originally broadcasted on the In the Modern Manner show, narrated by David Ross
ref: BK
1935

P The Body Beautiful 1935

R The Shropshire Lad (probably May; CBS) 1935
melodram for narrator and orchestra

note: The text is by A.E.Houseman, and contains three sections of the larger poem of the same name, Reveille, When I was One-And-Twenty and With Rue My Heart is Laden
note: Originally broadcasted on the In the Modern Manner show, narrated by David Ross
ref: BK

P Cynara (before June; CBS) 1935
melodram for narrator and orchestra

note: The text is by Ernest Dawson from his poem Non Sum Qualis Eram Bonae Sub Regno Cynarae
note: Cynara is the subtitle which Herrmann chose to make the single title of his work
note: Originally broadcasted on the In the Modern Manner show, narrated by David Ross
ref: BK

P Nocturne and Scherzo (September) 1935

note: Premiered on October 1936 on radio with Howard Barlow conducting the Columbia Symphony Orchestra.
ref: SCS-B / BK

P Sinfonietta for Strings 1935

P Currier and Ives Suite 1935
1936

R "The Columbia Workshop" (1936-1937) 1936

episodes: A series of experimental broadcasts, including:
  • Dauber (Oct 17, 1936)
    Poem by John Masefield, adapted by Burke Boyce, directed by Irving Reis; 30 minutes.
    Synopsis: In seeking worldly experiences, a painter becomes a crew member on a ship but with tragic results.
  • Rhythm of the Jute Mill (Dec 12)
    Written and directed by William Robson, based on a newspaper story; 30 minutes; on this date Herrmann was announced as the workshop's music director.
    Synopsis: A composer kills his wife and is sent to jail where he continues to compose
  • The Gods of the Mountains (Dec 19)
    Original story by Lord Alfred Dunsany.
    Synopsis: Itinerant beggars doubt that the sacred stones on a mountain are gods.
  • The Happy Prince (Dec 26)
    Original story by Oscar Wilde, directed by Irving Reis; this is totaly different from the 1941 version.
    Synopsis: With the aid of a swallow, a statue decides to help those less fortunate.
  • An Incident of the Cosmos (Jan 16, 1937)
    Written by Paul Y. Anderson, directed by Irving Reis.
    Synopsis: Extra-terrestrials witness the end of the planet Earth.
  • Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Feb 6, 1937)
    Written by Samuel Coleridge, adapted by Leopold Proser, directed by Irving Reis.
    Synopsis: A sailor learns the tragic results of doubting divine signs.
  • Macbeth (Feb 28)
    Written by William Shakespeare, adapted and directed by Orson Welles.
    Synopsis: There's trouble in Denmark.
  • Split Seconds (March 14)
    Written and directed by Irving Reis.
    Synopsis: While drowning, a man ponders the events of his life.
  • Eve of St. Agnes (March 28)
  • Mr. Sycamore (April 4)
    Written by Robert Ayre, adapted by Leopold Proser
    Synopsis: Weary of his daily routine, a mailman decides to become a tree.
  • The Fall of the City (April 11)
    Written by Archibald MacLeish, directed by Irving Reis.
    Synopsis: A totalitarian government eventually falls.
  • R. U. R (April 18)
  • Macbeth (May 2, 1937)
  • Supply and Demand (May 9)
  • Paul Revere (May 16)
  • Discovery (May 30)
  • The Downbeat on Murder (June 6)
  • Red Head Baker (June 20)
  • The Babouk (June 26)
  • The Tell-Tale Heart (July 11)
  • Fiy Grand (July 18)
  • A Matter of Life and Death (July 25)
  • Daniel Webster and the Sea Serpent (Aug 1)
  • An Incident of the Cosmos/The Last Citation (Aug 8)
  • Escape (Aug 22)
  • Meridian 7-1212 (Oct 10)
  • The Horla (Nov 7)
  • Georgia Transport (Nov 21)
  • Rhythm of the Jute Mill (Nov 26)
  • Marconi (Dec 9)
  • Metzengerstein (Dec 16)
  • Robert Owens (Jan 22, 1938)
  • Mme. Curie (Jan 29)
  • Andrea del Sarto (Feb 5)
  • Be Prepared (Feb 12)
  • Well of the Saints (Feb 19)
  • Air Raid (Feb 28)
  • The Ghost of Benjamin Sweet (March 5)
  • Wedding of the Meteors (March 19)
  • J. Smith and Wife (March 26)
  • Seven Waves Away (April 2)
  • The Broken Feather (April 9)
  • Melodrams (May 14)
  • Ecce Homo (May 21)
  • Surrealism (June 11)
  • The Constitution of the United States (July 2)
  • Murder in the Cathedral (July 23)
  • Tristram (July 30)
  • The Devil and Daniel Webster (Aug 6)
  • Outward Bound (Sept 15)
  • Brushwood Boy (Oct 13)
  • A Drink of Water (Nov 10)
  • Luck (Nov 17)
  • The Giant's Stair (Dec 1)
  • A Trip to Czardis (Dec 15)
  • Orphan Ego (Jan 5, 1939)
  • Forgot in the Rains (Jan 9)
  • Mr. Whipple is Worried (Jan 16)
  • Prophecy (Jan 23)
  • Nine Prisoners (Feb 20)
  • In the Train (March 13)
  • Letter from Home (March 20)
  • Seems Radio is Here to Stay (April 14)
  • Highlights from CBS Musical Programs (April 17)
  • Wet Saturday (May 1)
  • Wild Man (May 8)
  • A Trip to Czardis (Repeat) (July 27)
  • The Use of Man (Sept 14)
  • Samson (Aug 10, 1940)
  • Nightmare at Noon / Radio in the Rain (Aug 11)
  • Alf, the All-American Fly (Sept 1)
  • Well, Look Who's Here (Sept 22)
  • Constitution of the United States (Repeat) (Nov 3, 1941)
  • Someone Else (July 20, 1942)
  • The Trial (May 19, 1946)
ref: BK / SCS-B / JD-B

R "The March of Time" (weekly CBS news broadcast; c. 1936-1937) 1936

note: Herrmann conducted some of these broadcasts, though most were conducted by Harold Barlow.
ref: BK

R Palmolive Audition (weekly CBS news broadcast; c. 1936-1937) 1936

note: Herrmann probably composed several cues for this trial run of a new show, although only two survive: 'Fanfare' and 'Intro'.
ref: BK

R Arrangement of Jackson's Grand March (June 18) 1936

note: This is a piece from the time of the American Revolutionary War.
ref: BK

R Twelve Crowded Months (CBS; December 29) 1936

note: This hour-long special was a review of the important events of the year. There was another show in 1937 (December 24) which probably used the same music.
ref: BK
1937

P Violin Concerto (not completed) 1937
1938

P Moby Dick (Feb 1937 - Aug 1938) 1938
cantata for male chorus, soloists, and orchestra

R "The Mercury Theater on the Air" (Orson Welles) 1938

note: The famous hour-long series

episodes: Episodes:
  • Dracula (July 11, 1938)
    novel by Bram Stoker
  • Treasure Island (July 18, 1938)
    novel by Robert Louis Stevenson
  • A Tale of Two Cities (July 25, 1938)
    novel by Charles Dickens
  • The 39 Steps (Aug 1, 1938)
    novel by John Buchan
  • My Little Boy/The Open Window/I'm a Fool* (Aug 8, 1938)
    short stories by Carl Ewald, Saki, and Sherwood Anderson
  • Abraham Lincoln (Aug 15, 1938)
    from a play by John Drinkwater and other sources
  • Affairs of Anatol* (Aug 22, 1938)
    from the play by Arthur Schnitzler
  • The Count of Monte Cristo* (Aug 29, 1938)
    novel by Alexander Dunas
  • The Man Who Was Thursday (Sept 5, 1938)
    novel by G.K. Chesterton
  • Julius Caesar* (Sept 11, 1938)
    from the play by William Shakespeare
  • Jane Eyre (Sept 18, 1938)
    novel by Charlotte Brontė
  • Sherlock Holmes (Sept 25, 1938)
    from stories by Arthur Conan Doyle
  • Oliver Twist (Oct 2, 1938)
    novel by Charles Dickens
  • Hell on Ice* (Oct 9, 1938)
    book by Lincoln Edward Ellsberg
  • Seventeen* (Oct 16, 1938)
    novel by Booth Tarkington
  • Around the World in 80 Days (Oct 23, 1938)
    novel by Jules Verne
  • The War of the Worlds (Oct 30, 1938)
    novella by H.G. Wells
  • Heart of Darkness/Life with Father/The Gift of the Magi (Nov 6, 1938)
    from the novel by Joseph Conrad, memoirs of Clarence Day, and story by O. Henry
  • A Passenger to Bali* (Nov 13, 1938)
    novel by Ellis St. Joseph
  • The Pickwick Papers* (Nov 20, 1938)
    novel by Charles Dickens
  • Clarence* (Nov 27, 1938)
    novel by Booth Tarkington
  • The Bridge of San Luis Rey* (Dec 4, 1938)
    novel by Thornton Wilder

note: For episodes marked with an asterisk (*) the amount of original music is unknown.
note: As of December 9, 1938, the program was known as the Campbell Playhouse.
ref.: The Campbell Playhouse, 1938
ref: SCS-B / PB-B

R "The Campbell Playhouse" (Orson Welles) 1938

note: New name of The Mercury Theater on the Air from December 9, 1938.

episodes: Episodes, first season (1938-1939):
  • Rebecca (Dec 9, 1938)
  • Call It a Day* (Dec 16)
  • A Christmas Carol (Dec 23)
    re-broadcasted the following year
  • A Farewell to Arms* (Dec 30)
  • Counsellor-at-Law* (Jan 6, 1939)
  • Mutiny on the Bounty* (Jan 13)
  • Chicken Wagon Family* (Jan 20)
  • I Lost My Girlish Laughter (Jan 27)
    book by Jane Allen
  • Arrosmith (Feb 3)
    novel by Sinclair Lewis
  • The Green Goddess (Feb 10)
    play by William Archer
  • Burlesque (Feb 17)
    play by Arthur Hopkins and James Manker Watters
  • State Fair* (Feb 24)
    novel by Philip Duffield Strong
  • Royal Regiment* (March 2)
    book by Gilbert Frankau
  • The Glass Key (March 10)
    novel by Dashiell Hammett
  • Beau Geste (March 17)
    novel by Percival Christopher Wren
  • Twentieth Century (March 24)
    play by Charles MacArthur and Ben Hecht
  • Show Boat (March 31)
    novel and play by Edna Ferber
  • Les Miserables* (April 7)
    novel by Victor Hugo
  • The Patriot (April 14)
    novel by Pearl S. Buck
  • Private Lives (April 21)
    play by Noel Coward
  • Black Daniel* (April 28)
    book by Honore Morrow
  • Wickford Point (May 5)
    novel by John P. Marquand
  • Our Town (May 12)
    play by Thornton Wilder
  • The Bad Man (May 19)
    play by Porter Emerson Browne
  • American Cavalcade (May 26)
    radioplay by Orson Welles
  • Victoria Regina (June 2)
    play by Laurence Houseman

episodes: Episodes, second season (1939-1940):
  • Peter Ibbetson (Sept 10, 1939)
    from the novel by George du Maurier and play by John Nathaniel Raphael
  • Ah, Wilderness! (Sept 17)
    play by Eugene O'Neill
  • What Every Woman Knows (Sept 24)
    play by James m. Barrie
  • The Count of Monte Cristo (Oct 1)
    novel by Alexandre Dumas
  • Algiers (Oct 8)
    novel by Detective Ashelbe
  • The Escape (Oct 15)
    story by John Galsworthy
  • Liliom (Oct 22)
    play by Ferenc Molnar
  • The Magnificent Ambersons (Oct 29)
    novel by Booth Terkington
  • The Hurricane (Nov 5)
    novel by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall
  • The Murder of Roger Ackroyd* (Nov 12)
    novel by Agatha Christie
  • The Garden of Allah (Nov 19)
    novel by Robert Hichens
  • Dodsworth (Nov 26)
    from a novel by Sinclair Lewis and play by Sidney Howard
  • Lost Horizon (Dec 3)
    novel by James Hilton
  • Vanessa (Dec 10)
    novel by Hugh Walpole
  • There's Always a Woman (Dec 17)
    story by Gladys Lehman
  • A Christmas Carol (Dec 24)
    story by Charles Dickens
  • Come and Get It* (Dec 31)
    novel by Edna Ferber
  • Vanity Fair (Jan 7, 1940)
    novel by William Makepeace Thackeray
  • Theodora Goes Wild* (Jan 14)
    from a story by Mary McCarthy and screenplay by Sidney Buchman
  • The Citadel (Jan 21)
    novel by A.J. Cronin
  • It Happened One Night (Jan 28)
    from the story "Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams and screenplay by Robert Riskin
  • Broome Stages (Feb 4)
    book by Clemence Dane
  • Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Fab 11)
    from the story "Opera Hat" by Clarence Budington Kelland and screenplay by Robert Riskin
  • Dinner at Eight (Feb 18)
    play by Edna Ferber and George S. Kaufman
  • Only Angels Have Wings (Feb 25)
    story and screenplay by Howard Hawks and Jules Furthman
  • Rabble at Arms* (March 3)
    book by Kenneth Roberts
  • Craig's Wife* (March 10)
    play by George Kelly
  • Huckleberry Finn (March 17)
    novel by Mark Twain
  • June Moon* (March 24)
    play by Ring Lardner and George S. Kaufman
  • Jane Eyre (March 31)
    novel by Charlotte Bronte

note: For episodes marked with an asterisk (*) the amount of original music is unknown.
ref.: The Mercury Theater on the Air, 1938
ref: SCS-B / PB-B
1939

R Ellery Queen (CBS) 1939
theme and scores

episodes: Episodes:
  • The Last Man Club
  • Fallen Angel (July 2)
  • Mystery of Napoleon's Razor (July 9)
  • Impossible Cure (July 16)
ref: BK

R "So This is Radio" (July-September) 1939

episodes: Parts:
  • One (July 24)
  • Two (July 31)
  • Three (August 14)
  • Four (August 21)
  • Five (September 7)
ref: JD-B
1940

P Johnny Appleseed (not completed) 1940
a cantata

P Fiddle Concerto (no score survives) 1940

R Macbeth (Orson Welles; no score survives) 1940

note: Not exactly radio, this play was adapted and recorded for album release in the Mercury Text Records series.
ref: PB-B
1941

P Symphony (October 1939 - March 1941) 1941

R Samson (Norman Corwin; 26 by Corwin) 1941

F Citizen Kane (Orson Welles; summer 1940; RKO; [AAN]) 1941

pic.: Poster: "It's Terrific" (big)
pic.: Poster: "Everybody's Talking About It!" (big)
pic.: Herrmann and Welles on the set
pic.: "Snow ball"
pic.: The election

F All That Money Can Buy (William Dieterle; July; RKO; [AA]) 1941
aka: The Devil and Daniel Webster

ref.: The Devil and Daniel Webster (suite), 1942

pic.: The devil

R Orson Welles Show (Orson Welles; CBS radio show; Sept. 15, 1941 - Feb. 1, 1942) 1941

episodes: Episodes:
  • *Almanac: Sredni Vashtar/Hidalgo/An Irishman and a Jew (+ Boogie Woogie) (Sept 15, 1941)
  • *Almanac: The Right Side/The Sexes/Murder in the Bank/Golden Honeymoon (Sept 22)
  • *Almanac: The Interlopers/I'm a Fool (+ Song of Solomon) (Sept 29)
  • *The Black Pearl (+ There's a Full Moon Tonight/Annabel Lee) (Oct 6)
  • *Almanac: It in Years to Come (+ Noah Webster's Library/poems by Dorothy Parker) (Oct 13)
  • *Almanac: Romance/The Prisoner of Assiout (+ Shakespeare sonnet) (Oct 20)
  • *Almanac: Wild Oranges (Nov 3)
  • *That's Why I Left You/The Maysville Minstrel (Nov 10)
  • The Hitch Hiker (Nov 17)
    radioplay by Lucille Fletcher, Herrmann's wife; later performed on Suspense in 1942, and The Mercury Summer Theatre in 1946
  • A Farewell to Arms (Nov 24)
    from the novel by Ernest Hemingway
  • *Something's Going to Happen to Henry/Wilbur Brown, Habitat: Brooklyn (Dec 1)
  • *(Symptoms of Being 35/Leaves of Grass) (Dec 7)
  • The Happy Prince (+ Saint Luke: the Nativity/Christmas poem) (Dec 22)
    story by Oscar Wilde
  • *There Are Frenchmen and Frenchmen (Dec 29)
  • *The Garden of Allah (Jan 5, 1942)
  • *(The Apple Tree) (Jan 22)
  • *(My Little Boy) (Jan 19)
  • *The Happy Hypocrite (Jan 26)
  • *Between Americans (Feb 1)
    by Norman Corwin

note: For episodes marked with an asterisk (*) the amount of original music is unknown.
note: Episodes or segments inside parenthesis () is probably without music or without music by Herrmann.
note: This series continued in 1944 as Orson Welles Almanac.
ref: PB-B

R We Hold These Truths (Norman Corwin; December 15) 1941
an hour-long special

R Forecast (CBS radio series) 1941
theme and score

episodes: The music for one 15-minute episode was written by Herrman:
  • Ever After
ref: BK
1942

F The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles; January-February; RKO) 1942

note: Herrmann refused to be credited
note: Additional music for recut version by Roy Webb
ref.: Welles Raises Kane (suite), 1943

P The Fantasticks (March) 1942

f The Devil and Daniel Webster (completed July 10) 1942
suite for orchestra

note: This is a suite of the music from the film All That Money Can Buy
ref.: All That Money Can Buy (film), 1941

R "Suspense" (CBS) 1942

note: Long-running mystery series

episodes: Episodes:
  • The Burning Court (June 17, 1942)
  • The Cave of Ali Baba (Aug 18)
  • The Hitch Hiker (Sept 2)
    by Lucille Fletcher; originally aired on the Orson Welles Show, Nov. 17, 1941
  • The Kettler Method (Sept 16)
  • A Passage to Benares (Sept 23)
  • One Hundred in the Dark (Sept 30)
  • Lord of the Witchdoctors (Oct 27)
  • Devil in the Summerhouse (Nov 3)
  • Will You Make a Bet With Death (Nov 11)
  • Menace in Wax (Nov 17)
  • August Heat
  • Till Death Do Us Part (Dec 15)
  • The Customers Like Murder (March 23, 1943)
  • The Dead Sleep Lightly (March 30)
  • Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble (April 6)
  • *The Most Dangerous Game (Sept 23)
  • *The Lost World (Sept 30)
  • *The Philomel Cottage (Oct 7)
  • *Lazarus Walks (Oct 14)
  • Wet Saturday (Dec 16)
  • *Donovan's Brain (May 18 and May 25)
  • The Search for Henri LeFevre (July 6, 1944)

note: For episodes marked with an asterisk (*) Herrmann's participation in uncertain
ref.: Suspense (TV series), 1949 (stocks & sequels)
ref: SCS-B / JD-B / PB-B

R "Ceiling Unlimited" (CBS) 1942

note: Wartime propaganda series presenting dramatizations of various aspects of air travel.

episodes: Episodes:
The Flying Fortress (Nov 9, 1942) ; Air Transport Command (Nov 16) ; The Navigator (Nov 23) ; Wind, Sand and Stars (Nov 30) ; The Ballad of Bataan (Dec 7) ; (War Workers) (Dec 14) ; Gremlins (Dec 21; by Lucille Fletcher) ; Pan American Airlines (Dec 28) ; Anti-Submarine Partol (Jan 4, 1943) ; Finger in the Wind (Jan 11) ; Letter to Mother (Jan 18) ; Flyer Come Home with Your Wings/Mrs. James and the Pot of Tea (Jan 25) ; The Future (Fab 1)
ref: PB-B

R "Hello Americans" (CBS) 1942

episodes: Episode:
  • Deed to the World (c. 1942)
ref: JD-B
1943

R America Salutes the President's Birthday Party (January 30) 1943
ref: JD-B

R "Transatlantic Call" 1943

episodes: Episodes:
New England (Feb 14) ; Washington D.C. (Feb 18) ; Midwest: Breadbasket and Arsenal (March 14)
ref: JD-B

f Welles Raises Kane (March) 1943
suite

note: This is a suite of music from Citizen Kane and The Magnificent Ambersons
ref.: Citizen Kane (film), 1941
ref.: The Magnificent Ambersons (film), 1942

F Jane Eyre (Robert Stevenson; July-August; Fox) 1943

pic.: Title frame
pic.: First meeting

R "Passport for Adams" 1943

note: Introduction (August 24, 1943)
ref: JD-B

P For the Fallen (November 6) 1943
a berceuse
1944

R "Columbia Presents Corwin" (Norman Corwin) 1944

episodes: Episodes:
  • Savage Encounter (March 28)
  • Untitled (April 18)
  • Tel Aviv (May 23; conductor only)
  • Sandburg (June 6)
  • Wolfe (June 13)
  • Whitman (June 20)
  • Home for the Forth (July 4)
  • The Moat Farm Murder (July 18)
    based on a true story; re-broadcast on the Mercury Summer Theatre, 1946
  • There Will Be Time Later (Aug 15)
  • An American Trilogy
ref: SCS-B / JD-B

R War Loan Drive Special (May 20) 1944
ref: JD-B

F Hangover Square (John Brahm; July-December 1944; Fox) 1944

R "Philco Hall of Fame" (Orson Welles; John Brahm; July-December 1944; Fox) 1944

episodes: Episode using music by Herrmann:
  • The Happy Prince (Dec 24, 1944)
    originally broadcast on the Orson Welles Show, Dec. 22, 1941; this time conducted by Victor Young and featuring Bing Crosby
  • The Happy Prince (Dec 25, 1944)
    condensed version
ref: PB-B
1945

R Ode on the Victory (NBC, May 7) 1945
for narrator and orchestra

note: This melodram to a poem by Robert Hillyer was broadcast on NBC, May 7, 1945, at 10 pm in a half-hour music program in honor of the end of the war in Europe. It was read by Roger DeKoven, and the Blue Network Orchestra was conducted by Robert Stepak.
ref: BK

R On a Note of Triumph (Norman Corwin; May 8, and May 13) 1945

note: Hour-long celebration of V-E Day.
note: The show was repeated on May 13 with some changes in the score.

R Stars in the Afternoon (September 16) 1945
ref: JD-B
1946

F Anna and the King of Siam (John Cromwell; February-April; Fox; [AAN]) 1946

pic.: Poster

R "Mercury Summer Theatre" (Orson Welles; John Cromwell; February-April; Fox; [AAN]) 1946

note: Mostly reprises of the 1938 and 1939 shows.

episodes: Episodes:
  • Around the World in 80 Days (June 7)
  • The Count of Monte Cristo (June 14)
  • The Hitchhiker (June 21)
    by Lucille Fletcher; the third broadcast of this story which originally aired on the Orson Welles Show, Nov. 17, 1941
  • Jane Eyre (June 28)
  • A Passenger to Bali (July 5)
  • The Search for Henry Le Fevre (July 12)
    by Lucille Fletcher
  • Life with Adam (July 19)
    conductor only
  • The Moat Farm Murder (July 26)
    by Norman Corwin; originally aired on Columbia Presents Corwin, 1944
  • The Golden Honeymoon (Aug 2)
  • Hell on Ice (Aug 9)
  • *Abednego the Slave (Aug 16)
  • *I'm a Fool/The Tell-Tale Heart (Aug 23)
  • *Moby Dick (Aug 30)
  • (The Apple Tree) (Sept 6)
  • *Scenes from King Lear (Sept 13)
ref: PD-B / JD-B
1947

F The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (Joseph L. Mankiewicz; January-April; Fox) 1947
1948

F Portrait of Jennie (William Dieterle; Selznick) 1948

note: Herrmann composed Jennie's theme only; the remainder of the score was adapted from Debussy by Dimitri Tiomkin
note: No existing score
1949

R Mind in the Shadow 1949
ref: JD-B

R House of Hope 1949
ref: JD-B
1950

R Red Cross Special: Across the Street, Across the Nation (February 28) 1950
ref: JD-B

R Like Everybody Else (October 6) 1950
ref: JD-B

F On Dangerous Ground (Nicholas Ray; November-December 1950; RKO) 1950
1951

P Wuthering Heights (April 1943 - June 1951) 1951
an opera

F The Day the Earth Stood Still (Robert Wise; June-July; Fox) 1951

pic.: Poster, landscape
pic.: Poster, portrait
1952

F Five Fingers (Joseph L. Mankiewicz; October-December 1951; Fox) 1952

F The Snows of Kilimanjaro (Henry King; May-June; Fox) 1952

R "Crime Classics" (Elliott Lewis; CBS; 1952-1954) 1952
a thirty minute series

note: Herrmann used a maximum of four musicians.

episodes: Episodes:
The Crime of Bathsheba Spooner (Dec 3, 1952; audition show) ; The Crime of Bathsheba Spooner (June 15, 1953; first show of series) ; The Shockingly Peaceful Passing of Thomas Edwin Bartlett, Greengrocer (June 22) ; The Checkered Life and Sudden Death of Colonel James Fiske, Jr. (June 29) ; The Shrapnelled Bosom of Charles Drew, Sr (July 6) ; The Terrible Deed of Dr. Webster (July 13) ; Death of a Picture Hanger (July 20) ; The Final Days of General Ketchum and How He Died (July 27) ; Mr Trower's Hammer (Aug 3) ; The Axe and the Droot Family: How They Fared (Aug 10) ; The Incredible Trial of Laura D. Fair (Aug 17) ; The Alsop Family: How it Diminished and Grew Again (Aug 24) ; Your Loving Son, Nero (Aug 31) ; The Torment of Henrietta Robinson and Why She Killed (Sept 7) ; The Bloody Bloody Banks of Fall River (c. Sept 30) ; The Hangman and William Palmer: Who Won (Oct 7) ; The Seven Layered Arsenic Cake of Madam LaFarge (Oct 14) ; John Hayes, His Head, and How They Were Parted (Oct 18) ; Billy Bonny Bloodletter, Also Known as The Kid (Oct 21) ; Raschi Among the Crocodiles and the Prank He Played (c. Nov 14) ; A Triangle on the Round Table (Nov 18) ; Blackbeard's 14th Wife: Why She Was No Good For Him (c. Nov 18) ; The Killing Story of William Corder and the Farmer's Daughter (Nov 25) ; If a Body Need a Body, Just Call Burke and Hare (Dec 2) ; The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Dec 9) ; John and Judith: Their Crime and Why They Didn't Get to Enjoy It (Dec 16) ; Coyle and Richardson: Why They Hung in a Spanking Breeze (Dec 30) ; The Younger Brothers: Why Some of Them Grew No Older (Jan 6, 1954) ; How Supan Got the Hook Outside Bombay (Jan 13) ; Madeline Smith, Maid or Murderess, Which? (Jan 20) ; The Boorn Brothers and the Hangman: A Study in Nip and Tuck (Jan 27) ; The Incredible History of John Shepard (Feb 3) ; Twenty-Three Knives Against Ceasar (Feb 10) ; Jean-Baptiste Truppmann: Killer of Many (Feb 17) ; The Good Ship Jane: Why She Became Flotsam (Feb 24) ; Roger Nems: How He, Though Dead, Won (March 3) ; New Hampshire, The Tiger, and Brad Ferguson: What Happened Then (March 10) ; Old Sixtoes: How He Stopped Construction on the B.B.C. & I (March 17) ; Francisco Pizarro: His Heart on a Golden Knife (c. March 14) ; Robby-Boy Balfour: How He Wrecked A Big Prison's Reputation (March 31) ; The General's Daughter, The Czar's Lt. and the Linen Closet: A Russian Tragedy (April 7) ; James Evans, Fireman: How He Extinguished a Human Torch (April 14) ; Cesare Borgia: His Most Diffcult Murder (April 21) ; Widow Magill and the Three Gypsies: A Vermont Fandango (April 28) ; Bunny Baumler: His Close Brush with Fame (May 5) ; Mr. Clark's Skeleton in Mr. Adam's Closet: The Noise it Made (May 12) ; Mr. Johnathon Jewett: How Most Peculiarly He Cheated the Hangman (May 26) ; The Lethal Habit of the Marquis de Brinvillier (June 2) ; The Assasination of Leon Trotsky (June 9) ; The Death of Baltimore Birdie and Friend (June 16) ; Ali Pasha, A Turkish Delight (June 23) ; Good Evening, My Name is Jack the Ripper (June 30)
ref: SCS-B / JD-B
1953

F White Witch Doctor (Henry Hathaway; February-March; Fox) 1953

F Beneath the Twelve Mile Reef (Robert D. Webb; July-August; Fox; stereo) 1953

F King of the Khyber Rifles (Henry King; October-November; Fox; stereo) 1953
1954

F The Egyptian (Michael Curtiz; May-June; Fox; stereo) 1954

note: Composed in collaboration with Alfred Newman

F Garden of Evil (Henry Hathaway; March-April; Fox; stereo) 1954

F Prince of Players (Philip Dunne; November; Fox; stereo) 1954

t A Christmas Carol (CBS) 1954
an hour-long TV opera

note: Lyrics by Maxwell Anderson.
note: Shown on Chrysler Shower of Stars, December 24, 1954.

pic.: "On This Darkest Day of Winter"
pic.: Title frame
pic.: Music credit
pic.: Marley's ghost
1955

F The Trouble with Harry (Alfred Hitchcock; December 1954 - January 1955; Paramount) 1955

pic.: Poster
pic.: Music credits
pic.: Harry without shoes

F The Kentuckian (Burt Lancaster; Paramount) 1955

t A Child Is Born (presented on G.E.Theater) 1955
an half-hour TV opera
1956

R Brave New World (William Froug; CBS; January 27 and February 3) 1956

note: Hour-long broadcast of the CBS Radio Workshop (two parts).

F The Man Who Knew Too Much (Alfred Hitchcock; Paramount) 1956

note: Herrmann appears as the conductor in the Albert Hall sequence; score lost

pic.: Herrmann and Hitchcock on the set of The Man Who Knew Too Much
pic.: Poster
pic.: Poster: "Bernard Herrmann conducting the Storm Cloud Cantata"
pic.: The message
pic.: Conducting (Albert Hall sequence) #1
pic.: Conducting #2
pic.: Conducting #3
pic.: Conducting #4 (b/w)
pic.: Music credits

T The Ethan Allen Story (CBS TV-pilot) 1956
theme and score

note: When the pilot 'failed', the music became part of the CBS music library and was later used in the Have Gun, Will Travel TV series.

T Western Suite (CBS cue music) 1956

T Western Saga (CBS cue music) 1956

T The Desert Suite (CBS cue music) 1956

T "Gunsmoke" (CBS TV series (western); Sept. 1955 - Sept. 1975) 1956
original scores

episodes: Episodes:
  • Harriet (1960)
  • The Tall Trapper
  • Kitty Shot

note: Other composers: Franz Waxman

F The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit (Nunnally Johnson; February; Fox; stereo) 1956

pic.: Poster

F The Wrong Man (Alfred Hitchcock; September-October; Warner) 1956

pic.: Poster

F Williamsburg - The Story of a Patriot (George Seaton; November; Paramount documentary) 1956

T "Studio One" (TV series; Nov. 1948 - Sept. 1958) 1956
scores

note: Herrmann's involvement with this series started in 1956.
note: The series later changed name to Westinghouse Studio One
note: Other composers: Jerry Goldsmith

pic.: Title frame
1957

F A Hatful of Rain (Fred Zinnemann; March-April; Fox) 1957

T The Outer Space Suite (CBS cue music) 1957

T The Indian Suite (CBS cue music) 1957

T "Have Gun - Will Travel" (CBS TV series (western); Sept. 1957 - Sept. 1963) 1957
theme and original score

episodes: Episode (original score):
  • Three Bells to Perdido (pilot)

episodes: Episodes using Herrmann stock music:
The Strange Vendetta ; A Matter of Ethics ; The Great Mojave Chase ; The Outlaw ; The Englishman ; No Visitors ; McNally's Folly ; Show of Force ; and more

note: Other composers: Jerry Goldsmith
ref.: Have Gun Will Travel (radio series), 1958 (stocks & sequels)

T "Perry Mason" (TV-series; Sept. 1957 - 1966) 1957
original and stock scores
ref: JD-B / RF
1958

F Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock; January-Fabruary; Paramount) 1958

pic.: Poster #1
pic.: Poster #2
pic.: Music credit
pic.: Cliffhanger
pic.: Stuart & Novak
pic.: The ocean
pic.: The stairs

F The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (Nathan Juran; May-June; Columbia) 1958

pic.: Poster

F The Naked and the Dead (Raoul Walsh; March-April; RKO) 1958

T "Pursuit" (TV-series; Oct. 1958 - Jan. 1959) 1958
theme and score
1959

F Journey to the Center of the Earth (Henry Levin; September-November; Fox; stereo) 1959

F North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock; January-March; MGM) 1959

note: The soundtrack was originally recorded in stereo

pic.: Poster
pic.: Title
pic.: Music credit
pic.: Hitchcock missing the bus
pic.: Crop duster sequence

F Blue Denim (Philip Dunne; May-June; Fox; stereo) 1959

F The Three Worlds of Gulliver (Jack Sher; Columbia) 1959

pic.: Poster

T "Rawhide" (CBS TV series; Jan. 1959 - Jan. 1966) 1959
original and stock scores

episodes: Episodes (original scores):
  • Pursuit (1965)
  • possibly more

episodes: Episodes using Herrmann stock music:
Incident of the Coyote Weed (1959) ; Incident of the Cubasco (1959) ; Incident of the Curios Street (1959; cues) ; Incident of the Judas Trap (1959; cues) ; Incident at Dangerfield Dip (1959; cues) ; Incident at Jacob's Well (1959; cues) ; Incident of the Valley in Shadow (1959; cues) ; Incident of the Haunted Hills (1959; cues) ; Incident of the Tinker's Dam (1959; cues) ; Incident of the Sharpshooter (1959; cues) ; Incident at Sulphur Creek (1959; cues) ; Incident of the Stargazer (1959; cues) ; Incident of the Day of the Dead (1959; cues) ; Incident of the 100 Amulets (1959) ; Incident at the Buffalo Smokehouse (1959) ; Incident of the Portrait (1962) ; Incident of the Reluctant Bridegroom (1962; cues) ; Incident at Sugar Creek (1962; cues) ; Incident of the Querencias (1962; cues) ; Incident of the Murder Steer (1962) ; Incident of the Night Visitor (1962; cues) ; Incident on the Top of the World (1962; cues) ; Incident of the Running Iron (1962; cues) ; Incident of the Gallows Tree (1962; cues) ; Incident of the Comanchero (1963; cues) ; Incident of the Clown (1963; cues) ; Incident of the White Eyes (1963; cues) ; Incident of the Travelin Man (1963; cues) ; Brush War at Buford (1965) ; Incident at Barker Springs (cues) ; Incident of the Golden Calf (cues)

note: Other composers: Fred Steiner, Leith Stevens, Jerry Goldsmith, Leon Klatzkin, Nathan Scott, Billy May
ref: RF

T "The Twilight Zone" (Rod Serling; CBS TV series; Oct. 1959 - Sept. 1965) 1959
original theme and scores

episodes: Episodes (original scores):
  • Where Is Everybody? (October 2, 1959; pilot)
  • Walking Distance (October 30, 1959)
  • The Lonely (November 13, 1959)
  • The Eye of the Beholder (November 11, 1960)
  • Little Girl Lost (March 16, 1962)
  • Living Doll (November 1, 1963)
  • Ninety Years Without Slumbering (December 20, 1963)

note: Herrmann also composed the original main and end title themes, and several alternate main and end title themes

episodes: Episodes using Herrmann stock music:
Mr. Denton on Doomsday ; One for the Angels ; Judgement Night ; I Shot an Arrow ; The Hitchhiker ; The Last Flight ; Third from the Sun ; A World of His Own ; Mirror Image ; A Nice Place to Visit ; The After Hours ; The Howling Man ; The Lateness of the Hour ; Nick of Time ; The Mind and the Matter ; It's a Good Life ; Nothing in the Dark ; The Rip Van Winkle Caper ; The Fugitive ; The Trade-ins ; Nightmare at 20,000 Feet ; Last Night of a Jockey ; The Old Man in the Cave ; Night Call ; The 7th is Made Up of Phantoms ; Number 12 Looks Just Like You ; On Thursday We Leave For Home ; Queen of the Nile ((one cue)) ; I Am the Night - Color Me Black ; The Bewitchin' Pool

note: Other composers: Jerry Goldsmith, Franz Waxman

pic.: "Where Is Everybody?"
pic.: "Walking Distance"
pic.: "The Lonely"
pic.: "The Eye of the Beholder"
pic.: "Little Girl Lost"
pic.: "Living Doll"

T "The House on K Street" (pilot for TV-series) 1959
original theme and score

episodes: The title of the pilot episode was:
  • Hammer Fist
ref: GK / JD-B
1960

F Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock; February-March; Paramount) 1960

ref.: Psycho II, 1983 (stocks & sequels)
ref.: Psycho IV, 1990 (stocks & sequels)

pic.: Poster
pic.: The drive
pic.: Home
1961

F Tender Is the Night (Henry King; late 1961; Fox; stereo) 1961

F Mysterious Island (Cy Endfield; January-February; Columbia) 1961

pic.: Poster
pic.: Ad

F Cape Fear (J. Lee Thompson; August-December; Universal) 1961

ref.: Cape Fear, 1991 (stocks & sequels)

pic.: Poster
pic.: Robert Mitchum
1962

T "The Virginian" (TV series; Sept. 1962 - Sept. 1971) 1962
original score

episodes: Episode:
  • The Last Grave at Socorro Creek
  • possibly more

note: Other composers: Franz Waxman, John Williams
1963

F The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock; July-December 1962; Universal) 1963

note: Herrmann was credited as sound consultant (the film had no music)

F Jason and the Argonauts (Don Chaffey; June-August 1962; Columbia) 1963

pic.: Poster
pic.: Ad

T "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (Universal-MCA TV series; Oct. 1962 - May 1965) 1963
original scores

episodes: Episodes (original scores), second season (Oct. 1963 - June 1964):
  • A Home Away from Home
  • Terror at Northfield
  • You'll Be the Death of Me
  • Nothing Ever Happens in Linvale
  • The Jar
  • Behind the Locked Door
  • Body in the Barn

episodes: Episodes (original scores), third season (Oct. 1964 - May 1965)
  • Change of Address
  • Water's Edge
  • The Life Work of Juan Diaz
  • The McGregor Affair
  • Misadventure
  • Consider Her Ways
  • Where the Woodbine Twineth
  • An Unlocked Window
  • Wally the Beard
  • Death Scene

note: Herrmann also arranged the opening and closing theme for 2nd and 3rd seasons

episodes: Episodes using Herrmann stock music:
The Cadaver (2nd season) ; Beyond the Sea of Death ; Night Caller ; Anyone for Murder? ; The Ordeal of Mrs. Snow ; Bed of Roses ; Isabel ; Return of Verge Likens (3rd season) ; Final Performance ; The Trap ; The Photographer and the Undertaker ; Thou Still Unravished Bride ; Completely Foolproof ; Power of Attorney ; Second Wife ; Night Fever ; Off Season

note: See also:
The Alfred Hitchcock Hour: an introcution
Interview with Norman Lloyd

pic.: Title
pic.: Music credit

ref: TD

T "The Chrysler Theater" (TV series; Sept. 1963 - Sept. 1967) 1963

episodes: Episodes (original or stock):
  • Escape into Jeopardy
  • The War of Erick Kurtz
  • Blind Man's Bluff
  • Nightmare
  • The Fatale Mistake
  • The Safe House

note: Other composers: Jerry Goldsmith

T "The Great Adventure" (CBS TV series; Sept. 1963 - April 1965) 1963
original scores

episodes: Episodes:
  • The Secret
  • Nathan Hale (Moment of Crisis)
ref: JD-B / RF / CBS-L

T "Kraft Suspense Theatre" (TV series; Oct. 1963 - Sept. 1965) 1963
score

episodes: Episode:
  • A Lion Amongst Men

note: Other composers: Franz Waxman, John Williams
1964

F Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock; Universal) 1964

pic.: Poster
pic.: Ad

F Joy in the Morning (Alex Segal; MGM) 1964
1965

T "Convoy" (TV-series (war); Sept. 1965 - Dec. 1965) 1965
theme and scores
ref: IMDB

P Echoes 1965
string quartet

note: Performed as the ballet Ante Room in 1971
1966

F Fahrenheit 451 (Francois Truffaut; May-June; Universal) 1966

pic.: Poster (b/w)

F Torn Curtain (for Alfred Hitchcock's film; January-March) 1966

note: The score was rejected
note: See also: Interview with Norman Lloyd

pic.: Poster
1967

F La Mariee etait en noir (Francois Truffaut; September-October; Lopert) 1967
aka: The Bride Wore Black

pic.: Poster: "The Bride Wore Black"
pic.: Poster: "La Mariee etait en noir

P Souvenirs de voyage 1967
clarinet quintet

T "Cimarron Strip" (CBS western TV-series; Sept. 1967 - Sept. 1971) 1967
original score

episodes: Episode (original score):
  • Knife in the Darkness

episodes: Episode using Herrmann stock music:
The Deputy
ref: JD-B / RF
1968

F Twisted Nerve (Roy Boulting; Rank) 1968

T Companions in Nightmare (Norman Lloyd; Universal-MCA TV movie) 1968

P The King of Schnorrers 1968
a musical comedy

note: Lyrics by Diane Lampert, libretto by Shimon Wencelberg
1969

F The Battle of Neretva (Veljko Bilajic; AIP) 1969
1971

F The Road Builder (Alastair Reid; January; MGM) 1971
aka: The Night Digger

pic.: Title
pic.: Music credit

F Endless Night (Sidney Gilliat; October-November; Rank) 1971
1972

F Sisters (Brian de Palma; May-June; AIP) 1972
aka: Blood Sisters
1974

F It's Alive (Larry Cohen; November-December 1973; Warner) 1974

ref.: It's Alive 2, 1978 (stocks & sequels)

pic.: Ad
1975

F Obsession (Brian de Palma; June-July; Columbia) 1975

P Silent Noon (September 14; revision of Aubade 1933) 1975
an idyll

ref.: Aubade, 1933

F Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese; October-December; Columbia) 1975

pic.: Poster #1
pic.: Poster #2
pic.: Dedication

P Organ Symphony (only sketches) 1975
"after Four Visions by John Martin"
Unknown

R Orchestral arrangement of Lovely to Look At (no date) ????

note: This is a song from Jerome Kern's show 'Roberta'.
ref: BK

T "Collector's Item" (pilot for TV-series) ????
original theme and score

note: This music became part of the CBS music library and was used as stock music for other TV series.
ref: JD-B / RF

T "Landmark" (proposed documentary TV-series) ????
original theme and cues
ref: JD-B

T Various music for television ????

note: The following list of TV-series and shows have Herrmann music. Whether it's original or stock is not known.
The Americans (1961; action/civil-war)
CBS Fanfare
Climax (Oct. 1954 - June 1958)
Forecast (theme and score)
The Line Up (Oct. 1954 - Jan. 1960)
Pitfall
Playhouse 90 (Oct. 1956 - Sept. 1961)
Police Force
Westinghouse (theme; Oct. 1958 - Jan. 1960)
ref: JD-B / RF


The music of Bernard Herrmann


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