Categorical Records is excited to announce the release of the official soundtrack for the original 1920 horror classic, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, featuring a stunning orchestral score by Emmy®-winning composer Jeff Beal (House of Cards). This anticipated soundtrack is available today, alongside a meticulously restored 4K UHD + Blu-ray edition of the film, courtesy of Kino Lorber.
Beal’s score premiered at Carnegie Hall on June 3, 2024, bringing fresh life to this iconic silent film. The soundtrack captures the film’s haunting atmosphere and psychological depth, enhancing the eerie narrative.
Beal remarks on the score, “This summer I gave my Carnegie Hall debut, conducting the US premiere of my score to ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’. It was a real artistic and emotional high point for me. Now, thanks to Kino Lorber, those who weren’t there, can enjoy the score and film through this gorgeous new 4K edition. I’m also thrilled to be able to release the complete score as a standalone recording, featuring a who’s who of NY finest jazz artists, including Aaron Diehl, John Patitucci, Ted Nash, Obed Calivere, and the wonderful singers of the Fourth Wall Ensemble. The film is a haunting and timeless masterpiece – I hope new viewers might discover the film’s eerie relevance, cinematic influence through this release.”
“With its nuanced use of many styles of jazz against a choral tapestry influenced by the Second Viennese School, Beal’s beautifully crafted score nods as much to 1940 as to 1920. – The result was a skillfully composed and excellently performed jazz oratorio” – Classical Voice North America
ABOUT THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI
In 1920, one brilliant movie jolted the postwar masses and catapulted the German Expressionist film movement into history. That movie was The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, a plunge into the mind of insanity that severs all ties with the rational world. Director Robert Wiene and a team of visionary designers crafted a nightmare realm in which light, shadow and substance are abstracted, a world in which a demented doctor and a carnival sleepwalker perpetrate a series of ghastly murders in a small community.
ABOUT JEFF BEAL
Five-time EMMY® winner Jeff Beal’s improvisatory method, sense of timing, and sophistication have made him a favorite of directors including Ed Harris (POLLOCK and APPALOOSA), David Fincher (HOUSE OF CARDS), Oliver Stone (JFK REVISITED, THE PUTIN INTERVIEWS), Lauren Greenfeld (THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES, GENERATION WEALTH.) and Rob Reiner (SHOCK AND AWE). His work on documentaries BLACKFISH, THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM, Al Gore’s AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL, ATHLETE A, Frank Marshall’s RATHER and dramatic scores for HBO’s ROME, CARNIVÀLE, THE NEWSROOM, USA’s MONK, Netflix HOUSE OF CARDS, AppleTV+’s RAYMOND & RAY have shown him to be one of the most distinctive and recognizable composers working today.
His latest film, CAN YOU HEAR ME? will be released in the fall.
In addition to his distinguished scoring career, Beal is a prolific composer of concert music. Recent commissioned works include “The Paper-Lined Shack” for Leonard Slatkin, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and soprano Hila Plitmann, “Sunrise” for the The Los Angeles Master Chorale, A flute concerto for Sharon Bezaly / Minnesota Orchestra, and “Body in Motion”, a violin concerto for Kelly Hall-Tompkins.
Beal’s performing, conducting, and composing worlds converged in 2016 when he led the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in the premiere of HOUSE OF CARDS in concert, with further performances in Miami, Denmark, The Netherlands (Concertgebouw) and Jerusalem.
His latest recording, New York Etudes, is a collection of solo piano works, and has already had 4 million streams on Apple Classical. Beal was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 2006, and these compositions focus on the connection of music making, wellness and mindfulness. He has been featured on NPR, and BBC3 Radio performing and discussing the works, and has been named an official Steinway artist.
Beal has also conducted The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in his original score for Keaton’s silent film THE GENERAL, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra for the film score of BOSTON, as well as the Boston Pops Esplanade for the live-to-picture premiere of BOSTON. Beal gave his Carnegie Hall Debut in June leading the Silver Nitrate Big Band and Fourth Wall in a concert of his score to “The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari.” – presented as a part of Carnegie Hall’s 2024 Weimar Festival.
Beal lives in New York City.
TRACKLIST
- Caligari Overture
- Doctor Calgary
- The Fair
- Mysterious Murder
- Step Right up
- Caesare The Sleepwalker
- Alan Is Dead
- Surrender To Evil
- Ceasare Stalks His Victim
- The Asylum
- Enigmas
- Mania
- Unreliable Narrators
