The Exorcist Soundtrack CD
The Exorcist.
1973, Warner Bros.
Various.
Warner Bros, CD, 1998, 16177-00-CD.
Rating: 
Unsurprisingly, given the disturbing subject matter, the soundtrack for William Friedkin’s film based on the novel by William Peter Blatty is a pretty unsettling experience; not least because Mike Oldfield’s ‘Tubular Bells’ has been omitted in favour of darker material. Though Lalo Schifrin wrote an original, rejected, score for the film, some of which is featured here, Friedkin instead opted for a selection of modern classical compositions from the likes of Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki and Austrian Anton Webern which are sometimes little more than barely audible sound effects outside the movie – disappointing considering this is a restored and remastered edition. ‘Beginnings From Wind And Harp’ progresses almost silently for nearly fifty seconds before slowly coming alive. ‘Polymorphia’, running to nearly twelve minutes covers the gamut from silence to staccato strings and clattering percussion and ‘Kanon For Orchestra And Tape’ offers much the same blend. Luckily, Henze’s ‘Fantasia For Strings’, which ran over the film’s end credits, offers up a powerfully dramatic finale (save Lalo Schifrin’s unused and ineffective offerings) to an interesting, if ill-conceived album.
The Exorcist Movie Soundtrack. Review: Tim Mowbray.
Track Listing:
1. Iraq.
2. Five Pieces For Orchestra (Webern).
3. Polymorphia (Penderecki).
4. String Quartet No. 1 (Penderecki).
5. Beginnings From “The Wind Harp” (Bee).
6. Kanon For Orchestra And Tape (Penderecki).
7. Fantasia For Strings (Henze).
8. Music From The Unused Trailer (Schifrin).
9. Suite from the Unused Score To ‘The Exorcist’ (Schifrin).
10. Rock Ballad (Unused Theme From ‘The Exorcist’ (Schifrin).
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