Yesterday, in writing about experimental composer Milton Babbitt on his birthday, I remarked upon his softer side, as “a frustrated show composer” (according to Stephen Sondheim, a Babbitt pupil), a lover of jazz, an admirer of the film scores of Bernard Herrmann, and a friend of John Williams. I was interested to discover that Babbitt himself had scored a film, “Into the Good Ground” (1949), which also includes selections from Handel’s “Messiah” performed by the First Methodist Church Choir of Germantown, PA (a neighborhood in Babbitt’s hometown of Philadelphia).

Whether or not you find the content agreeable – the film was produced by Pathescope for the Presbyterian Church and its publishing branch, Westminster Press, so you can expect a good sermon – it is very interesting to hear what Babbitt does with it. I find it very much in the tradition of the film work undertaken by Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson for the WPA and Richard Arnell for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

I would love to hear the score free from the film, perhaps worthy of inclusion in the series of music for short subjects recorded by the PostClassical Ensemble (so far documenting works by Aaron Copland, Silvestre Revueltas, and Virgil Thomson)? You’ll find the albums on CD and freshly-recorded scores issued with the films on DVD at the link, all highly recommended.

https://www.postclassical.com/discography

There’s certainly plenty of other material out there, including Richard Arnell’s music for Robert Flaherty’s “The Land” and Ulysses Kay’s score for “The Quiet One.” It’s niche market, to be sure, but a fascinating corner of our musical heritage, now largely forgotten.