Omnibus (fine arts, with host Alistair Cooke)
(CBS Sunday afternoons, 1952 - 1956;
ABC Sunday afternoons, 1956 - 1957;
NBC Sunday afternoons, 1957 - 1959)
[later revived as infrequent specials on NBC 1960 - 61;
and then a revival was attempted on ABC in 1980.]
Open Theme 1 (CBS, 1952): The Summer Fairy (No.
13), from Act I of the "Cinderella" Ballet, aka:"Cendrillon" (Op.
87)
["Cinderella" by Prokofiev was verified as a THEME
in the TV Guide article "What's The Name of That Theme Song?"
Feb. 19, 1954 on p.21;
The THEME was taken from a pastoral woodwind passage featuring
English Horn and string background; Many thanks to
contributor Steve Bell for identifying from which section of
the ballet it was taken. He writes, "It is from the end of
Act I of 'Cinderella.' It's the last few bars of a short solo
variation ... (one of four seasonal variations danced in the
ballet by four fairies attending Cinderella's Fairy Godmother,
before they send Cinderella off to the ball)..."]
Composer: Sergei Prokofiev (predates ASCAP & BMI)
Original Publisher: V.A.A.P. [in the Soviet Union], and
G. Schirmer, Inc. (ASCAP) [in the U.S.]
1998 Publisher: G. Schirmer, Inc. (ASCAP)
Composition Date: 1941
U.S. Copyright Date:
U.S. Renewal Date:
Recording:
LP:
Interlude Theme 2 (CBS, 1952): "Gateway To the
West"
[verified via TV aircheck of first Omnibus show, at The Museum
of Television and Radio in Beverly Hills. Although this tune
is more or less "bridge" music between the end of program
segments and commercials, it was used frequently enough
so that it became associated as a regular THEME for the CBS
series over the four years 1952 - 56.]
Composer: Robert Farnon (British PRS/ASCAP)
Original 1950 Publisher: Chappell & Co., Ltd., London (British PRS)
1978 Publisher: Chappell & Co. Inc. (ASCAP)
1998 Publisher: Jim Long Companies, Inc., Music Div. (ASCAP) of
Carrollton, TX
U.S. Copyright Date: Feb. 7, 1950; EFO 1880.
Recording:
LP: "Gateway to the West"
Robert Farnon and his orchestra
MGM E/SE-3804 (1961)
LP RE-ISSUED AS: "Portrait of the West"
Robert Farnon and his orchestra
Polydor 2310 232 SUPER (1963)
CD: "British Light Music/Robert Farnon"
Czecho-Slovak Radio Orchestra, cond. by Adrian Leaper
Marco Polo 8 223401 (1991)
Closing Credits Theme 2 (CBS, 1952): The
Epilogue, from "The Age Of Anxiety"
(Symphony No. 2 For Piano And Orchestra)
[aka: "Symphony No. 2, Pt. 2 - Epilogue";
A piece called "Epilogue" by "Vaughn Williams" was listed as
an Omnibus THEME in the TV Guide article "What's The Name of
That Theme Song?", Feb. 19, 1954 on p.21; But the composer
cited was incorrect.
Ralph Vaughan-Williams did often used that title in Symphonies,
but a fruitless search listening to his "Epilogues" yielded
nothing that sounded like the piece used on this series.
Contributor Steve Bell was kind enough to solve the long-standing
mystery by verify that the "Omnibus" End Credits music was from
Bernstein's programmatic Symphony No. 2, sub-titled "The Age of
Anxiety" after a W. H. Auden poem -- which includes a piano with
the orchestra. "The Epilogue" is the final section of "Part Two"
of Bernstein's two-part Symphony, which was composed between
conducting assignments in New York and Israel in 1948 and 1949]
Composer: Leonard Bernstein (ASCAP)
1978 Publishers: Amberson Enterprises, Inc. (ASCAP) and
G. Schirmer, Inc. (ASCAP)
2003 Publisher: The Leonard Bernstein Music Company, LLC (ASCAP)
c/o Universal Music Publishing Group
div. of Universal Studios, Inc.
of Los Angeles, CA
Composition Date: 1948 - 1949
Published Copyright Date: Apr. 28, 1960; EP 140 387.
Published Renewal Date: Feb. 11, 1988; RE-376-108.
Recording:
LP: Symphony No. 2 "The Age of Anxiety" (1950)
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted
by Leonard Bernstein
Theme 4 (CBS, 1954): "Toward a Bright Day" --
(First movement "Reel")
[aka: "The Lyrical Reel"...which was the composer's name for
this melody; The original THEME piece was commissioned by
The Ford Foundation in 1954 for use on the CBS Omnibus, and
was recorded under the baton of conductor Lehman Engel;
Wm. Lichtenwanger writes in his book "The Music of Henry
Cowell" that the composer also re-used the same melody
in his Guatemalan fantasy "Chiaroscuro" (no. 892) in 1961]
Composer: Henry Cowell (ASCAP/BMI)
Original Publisher: [unknown]
1998 Publisher: [may be G.F. Peters or
Associated Music Publishers/G. Schirmer --
currently under investigation]
Publisher (of "Chiaroscuro", 1961): Associated Music Publishers/
G. Schirmer, Inc. (ASCAP)
of New York, NY
Composition Date: December, 1954 [according to reference above]
Copyright Date:
Renewal Date:
Recording:
LP:
Theme 5: "Omnibus Fanfare"
[I might be mistaken, but I seem to remember this was a solo
piece for Bach trumpet, reminiscent of Reiche's Fanfare
"Albason" which is the THEME used on "CBS Sunday Morning".]
Composer: Hershy Kay (ASCAP)
1978 Publisher: [listed without Publisher]
1998 Publisher: [listed without Publisher]
Copyright Date:
Renewal Date:
Recording:
Theme 6 (ABC, 1956 - 1957): "ABC Omnibus
Theme"
Composers: Tamara L. Kline (ASCAP), and
Richard ("Dick") Lavsky (ASCAP)
1978 Publishers: [not listed]
2000 Publishers: American Broadcasting Music, INC. (ASCAP),
of New York, NY; and
Music House Publishing Co. (ASCAP),
of New York, NY
Copyright Date:
Renewal Date:
Recording:
Theme 7 (ABC, 1958 - 1959): "Manhattan Silhouette"
[identified in the wire service article "Song Familiar?
It May Be a TV Theme", published in several newspapers
including The Daily Inter Lake, Kalispell, MT
on December 5, 1958.]
Composer: Philip E. J. Lang (ASCAP)
Original Publishers: Lawson-Gould Music Publishers, Inc. (ASCAP)
2018 Publishers: Lawson-Gould Music Publishers, Inc. (BMI)
c/o Warner Brothers Music
of Los Angeles, CA
Copyright Date: July 11, 1958; EU 532 656.
Renewal Date: Jan. 21, 1986; RE 287 547.
Recording:
Theme 8 (ABC, 1980): "Omnibus Theme (from the TV
show Omibus)"
Composer: Marvin Hamlisch (ASCAP)
1980 Publishers: Chappell & Company, Inc. (ASCAP),
Welbeck Music Corporation, and
Red Bullet Music.
1998 Publishers: Chappell & Co. Inc. (ASCAP),
Famous Music Corporation (ASCAP), and
EMI/April Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
Copyright Date: June 9, 1980; PAu-205-838.
Renewal Date:
Recording:
Copyright 1960 - 2018 by The Media
Management Group. All Rights Reserved