The Complete Inspector Morse
Page 39
APPENDIX 5:
MORSE MERCHANDISE
Inspector Morse has inspired a multitude of different merchandise over the years, ranging from tiny toy replicas of his car to part-work magazines delving into the character’s appeal. What follows is a guide to the best bits of official Morse merchandise...
MUSIC
INSPECTOR MORSE: ORIGINAL MUSIC FROM THE ITV SERIES BY BARRINGTON PHELOUNG was released in 1991 by Virgin Records Ltd. The LP stunned everyone by reaching number four in the pop chart, an unheard of achievement for a record of this type. It stayed in the chart for seven months and went platinum, selling hundreds of thousands of copies. The album features 17 tracks, of which 13 are incidental music composed for the series by Pheloung. The other four tracks are classical music extracts specially recorded for use on the TV show. Here is the full track listing, with the relevant episode noted afterwards, when known, for the classical music extracts, and the running time of each track.
Inspector Morse (Main Theme – Opening titles) 2.10
Oxfordshire Country Home 2.01
Overture from Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) [from ‘Masonic Mysteries’] 6.48
A Student’s Death 3.21
Morse’s Optimism 0.55
A Potential Murder 2.31
Morse on the Case 3.46
‘Laudate Dominum’ from Vesperae Solennes De Confessore K339 ‘[Fat Chance’] 4.25
Macabre Pursuit 2.05
Sad Discovery 2.25
‘Senza Mamma’ from Suor Angelica [‘Second Time Around’] 4.57
The Hunt 2.42
Oxford College 1.15
Lewis 1.02
Lieder ohne Worte (Songs Without Words) Op 67 No 6 in C Minor [‘Fat Chance’] 2.38
Gothic Ritual 1.59
Inspector Morse (Main Title – Closing Credits) 2.32
Total playing time: 48.20
INSPECTOR MORSE VOLUME 2 was released in 1992 by Virgin Records Ltd and came close to emulating its predecessor, reaching 18 in the pop album charts. It stayed in the chart for 12 weeks and went gold. The album features 18 tracks, of which eight are classical music extracts and the rest incidental music. Here is the full track listing, with the relevant episode noted afterwards, when known, for the classical music extracts.
Inspector Morse Theme – ITV Version 2.30
The Warmer Side of Morse 1.13
‘Che Faro Senza Eurydice’ from Orfeo et Eurydice [from ‘Cherubim & Seraphim’] 3.54
Gently Sinister Revelation 2.01
Concerto for 2 Mandolini in G [‘The Death of the Self’] 12.00
Sad Echoes 2.26
‘Mi Tradi Quell’ Alma Ingrata’ from Don Giovanni [‘Absolute Conviction’] 5.41
Gentle Loving 1.27
Andante from Piano Sonata in D 5.25
Lewis and Morse 5.30
Chorale ‘Er kenne mich mein Huter’ from St Matthew Passion [‘Absolute Conviction’] 1.15
Morse’s Sympathetic Ear 3.12
Excerpt from Adagio – Quintet in C [‘Dead On Time’] 4.33
Tenderness 1.13
‘Soave Sia Il Vento’ from Cosi Fan Tutte [‘Fat Chance’] 2.44
Morse’s Second Chance 4.41
‘Signore, Ascolta!’ from Turandot [‘The Death of the Self’] 2.47
Inspector Morse Theme – The Full Version 3.29
Total playing time: 66.32
INSPECTOR MORSE VOLUME 3 was released in 1993 by Virgin Records Ltd and peaked at number 20, staying in the pop album charts for 11 weeks. The album features 18 tracks, of which seven are classical music extracts and the rest incidental music. Here is the full track listing, with the relevant episode noted afterwards, when known, for the classical music extracts, and the running time.
Eirl Theme 3.40
Oxford 3.40
‘Bei Männern – Welche liebe Fühlen’ from Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) [from ‘Masonic Mysteries’] 2.44
Cryptic Contemplation 3.38
Andante from String Sextet No 1 in B [‘The Day of the Devil’] 9.19
Reflections 2.33
‘Traüme’ from Wesendonk-Lieder 5.07
Generic Morse Music 3.34
Dark Suspicion 2.29
Adagio from Piano Concerto K488 in A [‘Deadly Slumber’] 6.06
Apprehension – Confession – Resolution 3.06
Promised Land 1.52
‘Hab’ Mir’s Gelobt’ from Der Rosenkavalier [‘Promised Land’] 5.55
Painful Admissions 4.39
‘Adieu, Notre Petite Table’ from Manon [‘The Day of the Devil’] 3.49
Quiet Awakening 3.46
Brünnhilde’s Immolation from Götterdämmerung [‘Twilight of the Gods’] 1.37
Inspector Morse Theme 3.29
Total playing time is 71.12
INSPECTOR MORSE THEME (Full Length Version) was released as a single in 1993 by Virgin Records Ltd, with ‘Eirl Theme’ on the B-side. The record peaked at number 61, staying on the charts for two weeks.
THE ESSENTIAL INSPECTOR MORSE COLLECTION was released in 1995 by Virgin Records to coincide with Morse’s return to TV. The album features 18 tracks, of which seven are new and the rest recycled from the previous three volumes. Here is the full track listing, with the relevant episode noted afterwards, when known, for the classical music extracts. Running times are shown for new tracks, original album sources are noted for recycled tracks.
Inspector Morse Theme – Full Version (Vol 2)
An Evolving Mystery 4.26
Andantino from String Quartet Op 10 [‘The Way Through the Woods’] 8.18
Lewis and Morse (Vol 2)
‘Mi Tradi Quell’ Alma Ingrata’ from Don Giovanni (Vol. 2)
A Student’s Death (Vol 1)
Eirl’s Theme (Vol 3)
Dark Suspicion (Vol 3)
‘Adieu, Notre Petite Table’ from Manon (Vol 3)
A Worrying Dilemma 3.27
‘La Fille aux cheveux de lin’ from Preludes for Piano Book 1 [‘The Way Through the Woods’] 2.33
A Sad Discovery (Vol 1)
‘Senza Mamma’ from Suor Angelica (Vol 1)
Sad Echoes (Vol 2)
‘Soave Sia Il Vento’ from Cosi Fan Tutte (Vol 2)
Morse’s Remorse 3.36
String Quartet No 12 in C Minor [‘Absolute Conviction’] 8.57
Inspector Morse Theme – Solo Piano Version 2.31
Total playing time: 72.39
THE PASSION OF MORSE was released in 1997 by Tring International. It contains four of Pheloung’s favourite works for film and television (including Inspector Morse), each of which he developed into full symphonies. The recording features Pheloung conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. This album is quite hard to find.
THE MAGIC OF INSPECTOR MORSE was released as a two-CD set in 2000 by Virgin to coincide with Morse’s final TV appearance. The album features 29 tracks, of which seven are recycled from previous discs. Here is the full track listing, with the relevant episode noted afterwards, when known, for the classical music extracts. Running times are shown for new tracks, original album sources are noted for recycled tracks.
CD 1 – playing time 42.16
Yesterday is Here 3.31
Irish Connection 3.06
Adagio from Clarinet Concerto in A [‘The Wench is Dead’] 7.17
Canal Theme 2.55
Past Solutions – Old Crimes 6.24
Minuet from String Quartet Op 54 No 2 [‘The Wench is Dead’] 2.16
The Way Through the Woods 1.43
Excerpt from Adagio – Quintet in C (Vol 2)
Warm Thoughts 1.43
Arabesque No 1 in E Major from Preludes for Piano Book 1 [‘The Way Through the Woods’] 3.44
Best Endeavour 2.07
The Remorseful Day (A reading of A E Housman’s poem by Colin Dexter. Morse recites lines from the poem during the final TV story.) 2.37
CD 2 – play
ing time 57.54
Concerto for 2 Mandolini in G (Vol 2) (Takes up the first three tracks of CD 2.)
Mystery in the Woods 1.29
Chorale ‘Er kenne mich mein Huter’ from St Matthew Passion (Vol 2)
Stay of Execution 1.54
Andante from Piano Quartet in G Minor [‘Death is Now My Neighbour’] 3.46
Morse’s Second Chance (Vol 2)
‘Signore, Ascolta!’ from Turandot (Vol 2)
The Final Case 5.10
‘Laudate Dominum’ from Vesperae Solennes De Confessore K339 (Vol 1)
Mysterioso 3.36
‘Libera Me’ from Fauré’s Requiem [‘The Remorseful Day’] 5.01
Vigil and Waiting 2.20
‘In Paradisum’ from Fauré’s Requiem [‘The Remorseful Day’] 3.27
Goodbye Sir [‘The Remorseful Day’] 2.18
Inspector Morse Theme – The Full Theme (Vol. 2)
Total playing time: 100.10
Pheloung is obviously fond of Volume 2 – he has re-used half the 18 tracks from that album for subsequent compilations.
YESTERDAY IS HERE was released as a single when ‘The Remorseful Day’ was first broadcast in 2000. It features Barrington Pheloung’s familiar theme from Inspector Morse with lyrics written by Don Black and sung by Pat Treacy. The other tracks on the CD single were ‘The Remorseful Day’ and ‘Throwing It All Away’, an original composition by Pat Treacy and her producer, Graham Kearns.
THE VERY BEST OF INSPECTOR MORSE was released as a three-CD compilation in 2003. It features 33 tracks, of which only eight were featured in the televised episodes. The other 25 tracks are classical music compositions used in the show, but these versions have been extracted from recordings in EMI’s back catalogue. It’s a nice compilation, but feels like a rather tawdry cash-in at the same time.
THE BEST OF INSPECTOR MORSE was released as a two-CD set in 2005. This is a cheaper, shorter version of its predecessor, with only five tracks included from the televised episodes.
At the time of this book going to press, nearly all of the albums released by Virgin were available as downloads from iTunes. The sole exception was Inspector Morse Volume 1.
DVD
When the first edition of this book was written in early 2002, only two Morse episodes were available on Region 2 DVD. You can now buy a boxed set of all Morse’s TV tales for less than £40, thanks to the discount delights of online shopping. The 2008 version includes three documentaries – The Last Morse, The Mystery of Morse and Rest in Peace.
The boxed set boasts that it features full picture and sound restoration, although some purchasers have grumbled online about the quality. Of course, it’s worth remembering that much of Morse was filmed more than 20 years ago, before widescreen was common for television productions and far in advance of high definition TV. There seems little prospect of a Blu-Ray release for Inspector Morse at present, as significant and costly restoration work would be required.
AUDIO
All the Inspector Morse novels are available as audio books. Macmillan has issued three-hour abridged versions of the novels, read by Kevin Whately. The short story collection Morse’s Greatest Mystery is distilled into just five of the Morse tales – ‘The Inside Story’, ‘Morse’s Greatest Mystery’, ‘Dead as a Dodo’, ‘Last Call’ and ‘Neighbourhood Watch’ – but these are unabridged. Many of the novels are also available as uncut audio books, some read by author Colin Dexter.
In the 1990s, Music Collection International Ltd issued audio cassettes of more than half the television stories. These feature the dialogue and sounds from the TV productions, with additional narration to explain the more visual elements. This provides a useful audio alternative to the DVDs, but still seems somewhat superfluous. Do you really want an audio adaptation of a television adaptation of an original novel? These releases are now only available second hand, as with much Morse merchandise.
MAGAZINES
INSPECTOR MORSE: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION was a 33-issue magazine part-work published in the UK from August 2003 by DeAgostini. Each issue detailed the story in front of and behind the cameras for individual Morse episodes, and came with a DVD or VHS of the relevant episode. The series was massively successful, winning Launch of the Year at the ACE Press Awards and the British Video Association’s 2003 Award for Innovation in Industry. It inspired a host of imitators, all looking to replicate the success of the Morse project. The magazines are no longer available to buy from the publishers, but sets or individual issues can be obtained via online auction sites.
John Thaw as Chief Inspector Morse.
Oxford’s finest – Sergeant Lewis (Kevin Whately) and Morse.
Producer Kenny McBain and Morse creator Colin Dexter during the location filming of Last Seen Wearing in 1987.
John Thaw, filming The Dead of Jericho on location in summer 1986.
Morse and his rival Chief Inspector Patrick Dawson (Kenneth Colley) in Second Time Around.
Chief Superintendent Strange (James Grout) and Morse in The Way Through the Woods.
An early scene from Masonic Mysteries, with Colin Dexter standing in front of John Thaw.
Detective Constable Adrian Kershaw (Matthew Finney) and Morse in The Wench is Dead.
Lewis and Morse ponder a clue at the Pitt Rivers Museum in The Daughters of Cain.
‘Goodbye, sir.’ The Remorseful Day.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DAVID BISHOP is an award-winning screenwriter, dramatist and author of 20 published novels. His TV credits include scripts for Doctors (BBC One) and River City (BBC Scotland). He also writes children’s television, radio drama, graphic novels, and computer games. His non-fiction publications include books on the films of Michael Caine, the US TV series The Sopranos, and Thrill-Power Overload, an acclaimed history of iconic British comic 2000AD. He lectures on the innovative MA Creative Writing course at Edinburgh Napier University.