The RPO was founded in 1946 by Thomas Beecham and played its first concert in Croydon on September 15, 1946. Beecham was principal conductor until his death in 1961. He was followed by then assistant conductor Rudolf Kempe, who was given the title of Conductor for Life in 1970. Subsequent musical directors and principal conductors have been Antal Doráti (1975-78), Walter Weller (1980-85), André Previn (1985-92), Vladimir Ashkenazy (1987-94). Yuri Temirkanov was appointed principal conductor in 1992, and Daniele Gatti music director in 1996.
The orchestra toured the United States in 1950, thus becoming the first British orchestra to visit America since the London Symphony Orchestra in 1912.
As well as performing works from the classical repertoire, the RPO has recorded a number of film scores, including those for Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's The Red Shoes.
Associated with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra is the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, which is devoted to playing lighter classics. It was formed in 1987.
They had a single in the summer of 1981 called Hooked On Classics and also another single which was the BBC Grandstand Theme in 1982.
Torn
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He was warm - he came around like
He was dignified
He showed me what it was to cry
Well you couldn't be that man I adored
You don't seem to know - don't seem to care
What your heart is for
No I don't know him anymore
There's nothin' where we used to lie
Conversation has run dry
That's what's going on
Nothing's fine
I'm torn
I'm all out of faith
This is how I feel
I'm cold and I am chained
Lying naked on the floor
Illusion never changed
Into something real
I'm cold and I am shamed and bound
And broken on the floor
And I can see the perfect sky is torn
You're a little late
I'm already torn
So I guess the fortune teller's right
I should have seen just what was there
And not some holy light
But you crawled beneath my veins
And now I don't care
I have no luck
I don't miss it all that much
There's just so many things
That I can't touch
There's nothing where he used to lie
My conversation has run dry
That's what is goin' on
Nothin's right
I'm torn
I'm all out of faith
This is how I feel
I'm cold and I am shamed
Lying naked on the floor
Illusion never changed
Into something real
I'm wide awake
And I can see the perfect sky is torn
You're a little late
I'm already torn
The lyrics to "Torn" by The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra depict a sense of vulnerability, heartbreak, and disillusionment in a relationship. The singer begins by describing a man who appeared to be full of life and dignity, but later realizes that he is not the person they once adored. There is a disconnect between them, as the man seems indifferent and unaware of the emotions and purpose of his own heart. The singer expresses a feeling of being torn apart, out of faith, and emotionally cold and chained. They feel exposed and ashamed, as if their illusions of love have never materialized into a true and genuine connection. The reference to the "perfect sky" being torn suggests that the idealistic image they had of their relationship has been shattered. The mention of being "already torn" implies that the singer has accepted the reality of their situation, even if it is painful.
Line by Line Meaning
I thought I saw a man brought to life
I believed I witnessed a man transformed and given a new lease on life
He was warm - he came around like
He exuded a comforting warmth - he approached me with kindness
He was dignified
He carried himself with grace and poise
He showed me what it was to cry
He demonstrated the depth of emotional pain and vulnerability
Well you couldn't be that man I adored
However, you cannot fulfill the qualities and traits of the man I deeply admired
You don't seem to know - don't seem to care
You appear oblivious and indifferent to the concerns and emotions at hand
What your heart is for
You lack understanding of the purpose and capacity of your own emotions
No I don't know him anymore
No, the person I once knew and loved is no longer recognizable to me
There's nothin' where we used to lie
The place where we were intimate and shared a connection is now empty and devoid of meaning
Conversation has run dry
Our ability to engage in meaningful dialogue has reached a point of exhaustion
That's what's going on
This is the current state of affairs
Nothing's fine
Everything is far from satisfactory
I'm torn
I am deeply conflicted and emotionally distraught
I'm all out of faith
I have completely lost my trust and belief in something greater
This is how I feel
These sentiments encapsulate my true emotional state
I'm cold and I am chained
I feel emotionally detached and restricted, trapped in my own predicament
Lying naked on the floor
Metaphorically exposed and vulnerable, devoid of any disguises or defenses
Illusion never changed
The false perception or fantasy I once held onto remains unaltered
Into something real
Unable to transform into a tangible reality
I'm cold and I am shamed and bound
I am emotionally distant, filled with disgrace, and constrained by circumstances
And broken on the floor
Emotionally shattered and shattered physically, reduced to a state of despair
And I can see the perfect sky is torn
I can perceive that the once flawless and beautiful universe is now in disarray and torn apart
You're a little late
Your arrival or response is delayed and no longer relevant
I'm already torn
I am already emotionally damaged and torn apart
So I guess the fortune teller's right
Therefore, it seems the predictions of the fortune teller were accurate
I should have seen just what was there
I ought to have recognized and acknowledged the reality of the situation
And not some holy light
Rather than being enamored by a divine or pure presence
But you crawled beneath my veins
However, you insidiously infiltrated and deeply affected me
And now I don't care
And now, I have become apathetic and indifferent
I have no luck
I possess no fortune or favorable circumstances
I don't miss it all that much
I do not deeply long for or desire it
There's just so many things
There are numerous matters and factors
That I can't touch
That I am unable to grasp or influence
There's nothing where he used to lie
The place where he once resided is now empty and devoid of his presence
My conversation has run dry
My ability to engage in meaningful dialogue has reached a point of exhaustion
That's what is goin' on
This is the current state of affairs
Nothin's right
Everything is far from satisfactory
I'm torn
I am deeply conflicted and emotionally distraught
I'm all out of faith
I have completely lost my trust and belief in something greater
This is how I feel
These sentiments encapsulate my true emotional state
I'm cold and I am shamed
I feel emotionally detached and filled with disgrace
Lying naked on the floor
Metaphorically exposed and vulnerable, devoid of any disguises or defenses
Illusion never changed
The false perception or fantasy I once held onto remains unaltered
Into something real
Unable to transform into a tangible reality
I'm wide awake
I am fully conscious and alert
And I can see the perfect sky is torn
I perceive that the once flawless and beautiful universe is now in disarray and torn apart
You're a little late
Your arrival or response is delayed and no longer relevant
I'm already torn
I am already emotionally damaged and torn apart
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Gary Anthony Webb
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joseph Pendleton
Thanks for uploading this. From what I know of, Bernard Herrmann was able to record 9 cues before he was fired. They were Prelude, Ship, Radiogram, Hotel, Bookstore, Book, Travel Desk, Blurring, and the Killing.
Bernard Herrmann's score for Torn Curtain is perfect. The problem was Hitchcock had too much pressure from Universal Pictures not to hire Bernard Herrmann. Norman Lloyd explained the whole situation.
In a Norman Lloyd and Steve Smith 1996 Interview, Lloyd revealed that he was there during the break-up of the Sir Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann partnership. Lloyd said that there was great pressure on Hitchcock not to hire Bernard Herrmann. That pressure came from the front office at Universal Pictures, most notably from its Music Department. The reason given was that Herrmann couldn't write a hit song. Universal Pictures was talking about getting Henry Mancini, but Hitchcock decided to go with Herrmann, but because of the pressure he was getting from Universal Pictures, he laid very specifically to Herrmann what he wanted in the score. Herrmann wrote the score after receiving this directive. When Hitchcock heard the score, he said, in effect, "I don't want to hear another note. This is not what I asked for in the cable. This is a complete violation of my requests." He walked off the stage, had the orchestra dismissed, cancelled the next day, and never heard another note of the score. Herrmann tried to get to see Hitchcock, but Hitchcock wouldn't see him. He felt that Herrmann had deliberately ignored his directive. Lloyd went on to say, "Hitch took the violation as a personal insult, because he had been so careful to lay out his instructions. Then you must also realize that he had hired Benny over the objections of the front office. So the whole situation contributed to Hitch's feeling that Benny had betrayed him."
Dan Auiler's book "Hitchcock's Notebooks" (Pages 526 to 528) contains Alfred Hitchcock's notes to Composer Bernard Herrmann concerning the music score for Torn Curtain. In these notes, it is revealed that Hitchcock wanted music for the scene where Gromek is killed (Scene 111). Here are Hitchcock's music notes on Scene 111. Music Starts: Scene 111 - As soup smashed against telephone on the wall. Music Ends: Scene 111 - As gas jets are turned on by P.W. (Peasant Woman)
Bernard Herrmann composed the music cue exactly as instructed above. Dan Auiler also points out (in Page 528) that Hitchcock's increasing irritation with Universal's interference is readily apparent in a series of memos in March and June 1966.
As you know, what happened to Bernard Herrmann also later happened to Henry Mancini as well. Mancini's score for Frenzy (1972) was rejected. Mancini's original recording for Frenzy is excellent and it has lots of Herrmannesque feel to it. Mancini's original recording for Frenzy (along with Goodwin's original recording) was recently released by Quartet Records.
Gary Scheele
Thank you very much for this beautiful piece. I just watched Torn Curtain for the first time yesterday, and what intially struck me was how inappropriate John Addison's music was ... very lightweight. And when I found out that this recording was available, I jyust had to listen. Very sad that Hitchcock and Herrmann had a falling out that lasted for the rest of their lives. Again, thank you.
Tector Gorch
@Chuck Knowles I mostly agree but think of how great Frenzy and The Family Plot would've been with Herrmann on board. Even Topaz (ouch!) had its moments, especially the alternate ending, the one with the antagonists both boarding planes for home.
Miguel Catarino
@Chuck Knowles Thank you very much too. I totally agree, and I couldn't have said it better.
Chuck Knowles
@Miguel Catarino Thank you for your fine insights. The funny thing is, had Hitchcock continued his film relations with Herrmann, well, he'd probably have to give in to BH 'making' the film via music. None of AH's work, after the abrupt dismissal of BH, ever lived-up to what had been done before...and, essentially, marked the end of AH's career.
Miguel Catarino
You're welcome. Always willingly. The film itself is a mirror of Hitchcock's mediocrity and partisan political pettiness. The music that John Addison wrote had to live up to the film, when Herrmann wanted the music to strip the film of all the mediocrity it had, but Hitchcock didn't want it, and it revealed his real personality. And when art is mixed with politics, it always gives a bad result. Thank you also very much for your attention.
Jeroen R.
I always found it a shame that this music wasn't used for the movie and meant the breakup between Hitchcock and Hermann.
But fortunately this music wasn't lost although this happenend unfortunately to the scene with the brother of Gromek.
Nevertheless, the movie is great but this music even more!
Miguel Catarino
I fully agree. In my humble opinion, Hitchcock had already proved that he was capable of doing much better, but the music that Herrmann wrote is truly brilliant, and could have saved the film from mediocrity, as happened with the Portuguese film "As Duas Causas" by Henrique Campos, whose music by Tavares Belo, the Portuguese Rachmaninoff, saved the film from total mediocrity. Thank you, friend, for the excellent comment.
Maria Do Ceu
Olá, Miguel! O mundo do cinema e os seus enigmas em que nem sempre a reunião de talentos resulta numa obra-prima, isso em relação ao filme, porque em relação à trilha sonora, o talento do compositor Bernard Herrmann está ali presente e a execução dessa trilha pelo também compositor e maestro Elmer Bernstein à frente da The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra é ótima. Um grande abraço. Cesário.
Miguel Catarino
Olá, Cesário! Sem dúvida... Concordo plenamente. Um grande abraço. Miguel.
Joseph Pendleton
Thanks for uploading this. From what I know of, Bernard Herrmann was able to record 9 cues before he was fired. They were Prelude, Ship, Radiogram, Hotel, Bookstore, Book, Travel Desk, Blurring, and the Killing.
Bernard Herrmann's score for Torn Curtain is perfect. The problem was Hitchcock had too much pressure from Universal Pictures not to hire Bernard Herrmann. Norman Lloyd explained the whole situation.
In a Norman Lloyd and Steve Smith 1996 Interview, Lloyd revealed that he was there during the break-up of the Sir Alfred Hitchcock and Bernard Herrmann partnership. Lloyd said that there was great pressure on Hitchcock not to hire Bernard Herrmann. That pressure came from the front office at Universal Pictures, most notably from its Music Department. The reason given was that Herrmann couldn't write a hit song. Universal Pictures was talking about getting Henry Mancini, but Hitchcock decided to go with Herrmann, but because of the pressure he was getting from Universal Pictures, he laid very specifically to Herrmann what he wanted in the score. Herrmann wrote the score after receiving this directive. When Hitchcock heard the score, he said, in effect, "I don't want to hear another note. This is not what I asked for in the cable. This is a complete violation of my requests." He walked off the stage, had the orchestra dismissed, cancelled the next day, and never heard another note of the score. Herrmann tried to get to see Hitchcock, but Hitchcock wouldn't see him. He felt that Herrmann had deliberately ignored his directive. Lloyd went on to say, "Hitch took the violation as a personal insult, because he had been so careful to lay out his instructions. Then you must also realize that he had hired Benny over the objections of the front office. So the whole situation contributed to Hitch's feeling that Benny had betrayed him."
Dan Auiler's book "Hitchcock's Notebooks" (Pages 526 to 528) contains Alfred Hitchcock's notes to Composer Bernard Herrmann concerning the music score for Torn Curtain. In these notes, it is revealed that Hitchcock wanted music for the scene where Gromek is killed (Scene 111). Here are Hitchcock's music notes on Scene 111. Music Starts: Scene 111 - As soup smashed against telephone on the wall. Music Ends: Scene 111 - As gas jets are turned on by P.W. (Peasant Woman)
Bernard Herrmann composed the music cue exactly as instructed above. Dan Auiler also points out (in Page 528) that Hitchcock's increasing irritation with Universal's interference is readily apparent in a series of memos in March and June 1966.
As you know, what happened to Bernard Herrmann also later happened to Henry Mancini as well. Mancini's score for Frenzy (1972) was rejected. Mancini's original recording for Frenzy is excellent and it has lots of Herrmannesque feel to it. Mancini's original recording for Frenzy (along with Goodwin's original recording) was recently released by Quartet Records.