| The Fall of the House of Usher | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1991 | |||
| Genre | Art rock, rock opera | |||
| Label | Some Bizzare/Fie! Records | |||
| Peter Hammill chronology | ||||
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The Fall of the House of Usher is an opera by Peter Hammill (music) and Chris Judge Smith (libretto). It is based on the 1839 short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe.
Hammill and Smith, two of the co-founders of Van der Graaf Generator, worked sporadically on the opera from 1973 until its first recording was released on Some Bizzare Records (the only instance of Hammill's work appearing on the label) in November 1991. The album was released on CD, cassette and a limited edition of 500 double vinyl LPs.
Smith's libretto takes certain liberties with Poe's source text. The House itself becomes a vocal part, to be sung by the same performer who sings the role of Roderick Usher. The narrator, unnamed in the story, is given the name Montresor (the name of the narrator of another tale by Poe, "The Cask of Amontillado"), and a romantic attachment between Montresor and Madeline Usher is hinted at.
In 1999, Hammill regained the rights to the music from Some Bizzare and set about revising the piece. He re-recorded some of his own vocals, although the parts of the other singers were untouched. He also removed the percussion, added more electric guitar and remixed the entire recording. The results were released as The Fall of the House of Usher (Deconstructed & Rebuilt) on Hammill's own Fie! label in November 1999. Hammill regards this version as the definitive recorded version of the opera. [1]
The opera has never been performed live in its entirety. In the 1980s Hammill performed "The Sleeper" a capella at a Poetry reading festival in Amsterdam in October 1983, and in New York in July 1986. At live concerts in 1991 and 1992 Hammill frequently sang a suite of songs from the opera, officially released on the video/DVD In The Passionskirche .
| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [2] |
Paul Stump, in his History of Progressive Rock, commented of The Fall of the House of Usher that "what might be seen as possibly the most appropriate vessel for a Hammill chef d'oeuvre is merely seventy-five minutes of excruciating mannerism ... meandering, formless, electronic non-opera at its warbling worst." [3]
Music composed by Peter Hammill; Libretto lyrics written by Chris Judge Smith; except where noted.
The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) is a short silent horror film adaptation of the 1839 short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. The movie was co-directed by James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber, and starred Herbert Stern, Hildegarde Watson, and Melville Webber. It tells the story of a brother and sister who live under a family curse. An avant-garde experimental film running only 13 minutes, the visual element predominates, including shots through prisms to create optical distortion. There is no dialogue in the film, though one sequence features letters written in the air moving across the screen.
Tales of Mystery and Imagination (Edgar Allan Poe) is the debut studio album by British rock band The Alan Parsons Project. It was released on 25 June 1976 in the United Kingdom by Charisma Records. The lyrical and musical themes of the album, which are retellings of horror stories and poetry by Edgar Allan Poe, attracted a cult audience. The title of the album is taken from the title of a collection of Poe's macabre stories of the same name.
"The Cask of Amontillado" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the November 1846 issue of Godey's Lady's Book. The story, set in an unnamed Italian city at carnival time in an unspecified year, is about a man taking fatal revenge on a friend who, he believes, has insulted him. Like several of Poe's stories, and in keeping with the 19th-century fascination with the subject, the narrative revolves around a person being buried alive – in this case, by immurement. As in "The Black Cat" and "The Tell-Tale Heart", Poe conveys the story from the murderer's perspective.
Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer-songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and produces his own recordings and occasionally those of other artists. In 2012, he was recognised with the Visionary award at the first Progressive Music Awards.
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1839 in Burton's Gentleman's Magazine, then included in the collection Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque in 1840. The short story, a work of Gothic fiction, includes themes of madness, family, isolation, and metaphysical identities.
The Raven is the nineteenth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released on January 28, 2003 by Sire Records. It is a concept album, recounting the short stories and poems of Edgar Allan Poe through word and song, and was based on his 2000 opera co-written with Robert Wilson, POEtry.
The influence of Edgar Allan Poe on the art of music has been considerable and long-standing, with the works, life and image of the horror fiction writer and poet inspiring composers and musicians from diverse genres for more than a century.
Christopher John Judge Smith, is an English songwriter, author, composer and performer, and a founder member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Initially working under the name Chris Judge Smith, he has been known simply as Judge Smith since 1994. After Van der Graaf Generator, he has written songs, stage musicals and operas, and from the early 1990s on he has released a number of solo CDs, including three "Songstories".
House of Usher is a 1960 American horror film directed by Roger Corman and written by Richard Matheson from the 1839 short story "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe. The film was the first of eight Corman/Poe feature films and stars Vincent Price, Myrna Fahey, Mark Damon and Harry Ellerbe.
The Fall of the House of Usher is a 1928 French horror film directed by Jean Epstein, one of several films based on the 1839 Gothic short story The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe.
American poet and short story writer Edgar Allan Poe has had significant influence in television and film. Many are adaptations of Poe's work, others merely reference it.
"The Haunted Palace" is a poem by Edgar Allan Poe. The 48-line poem was first released in the April 1839 issue of Nathan Brooks' American Museum magazine. It was eventually incorporated into "The Fall of the House of Usher" as a song written by Roderick Usher.
The House of Usher is a 2006 American drama thriller film based on the 1839 Edgar Allan Poe short story, "The Fall of the House of Usher". The film was directed by Hayley Cloake and written by Collin Chang. It stars Austin Nichols, Izabella Miko, and Beth Grant.
La chute de la maison Usher is an unfinished opera in one act by Claude Debussy to his own libretto, based on Edgar Allan Poe's 1839 short story "The Fall of the House of Usher". The composer worked on the score between 1908 and 1917 but it was never completed.
"The Fall of the House of Usher" is an 1839 short story by Edgar Allan Poe.
Curly's Airships is a double CD by Judge Smith, released in October 2000. Smith regards the album as a new form of narrative rock music, which he calls "songstory". Curly's Airships tells about the R101 airship, crashing in France during its maiden overseas voyage in 1930. Amongst many others, Peter Hammill, Hugh Banton, Arthur Brown, David Jackson, John Ellis and Pete Brown perform on the project.
Lene Lovich is an English-American singer, songwriter and musician. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single "Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Singles Chart and made her a leading figure of the new wave music scene.
The Fall of the House of Usher is a 1950 British horror film directed by Ivan Barnett and starring Gwendoline Watford, Kaye Tendeter and Irving Steen. It is an adaptation of the 1839 short story of the same title by Edgar Allan Poe.
The Fall of the House of Usher is a 1988 opera by Philip Glass to a libretto based on Edgar Allan Poe's 1839 short story by Arthur Yorinks who also worked with Glass on The Juniper Tree.
The Fall of the House of Usher is an upcoming horror drama miniseries created by Mike Flanagan. Based on the short story of the same name and other works by Edgar Allan Poe, it is set to premiere on Netflix.
