Description
Peter Thomas Sound Orchester – Der Kommissar (CD)
Music from the original tv-series (1969-1972)
To mark the 100th birthday of composer Peter Thomas on December 1, 2025, Allscore is releasing a soundtrack premiere: for the first time, Thomas’ work for the crime series DER KOMMISSAR is being honored on an album. The series was launched by public television broadcaster ZDF in 1969 as a counterweight to the US crime series that were successful in Germany at the time.
The series DER KOMMISSAR, produced by Helmut Ringelmann, followed on from the ZDF crime series DAS KRIMINALMUSEUM (1963-1970) and in turn served as a model for its successors DERRICK and DER ALTE, which were also set in Munich. It ran for 97 episodes from 1969 to 1976, all in black and white. Thanks to its sophisticated integration of criminal cases into social developments and generational conflicts, the series is still considered a style-defining document of its time.
Not least because of this, DER KOMMISSAR also stands for the progressive use of current pop and rock music titles (The Rolling Stones, CAN, T. Rex…). But established film music composers also had their chance. Peter Thomas, for example, contributed music to 22 episodes. This ranged from simply using individual pre-produced music tracks (library music) to composing the entire film music for an episode (score). The best known is certainly Daisy Door’s song “Du lebst in deiner Welt (Highlights of My Dream)” from episode 39 (Als die Blumen Trauer trugen, 1971), which stormed the charts after it was broadcast, sold half a million singles, and led to three appearances by the singer on the TV show “ZDF Hitparade”.
Track list CD:
01 The World Is Gone from episode 8 „Der Tod fährt 1. Klasse“
02 Zuchthaus * from episode 9 „Geld von toten Kassierern“
03 Abschiedsvorstellung * from episode 10 „Schrei vor dem Fenster“
04 Corinna (instrumental) from episode 11 „Die Schrecklichen“
05 Nymphenburg-Soul * from episode 11 „Die Schrecklichen“
06 Corinna (vokal) * from episode 11 „Die Schrecklichen“
07 Raubzug * from episode 12 „Die Waggonspringer“
08 Tod am Bahndamm * from episode 12 „Die Waggonspringer“
09 Grausamer Fund * from episode 14 „Das Ungeheuer“
10 Melodie für eine Teekanne from episode 15 „Der Papierblumenmörder“
11 Papierblumenmörder from episode 15 „Der Papierblumenmörder“
12 Morbide Hausgemeinschaft * from episode 21 „… wie die Wölfe“
13 Peripherie-Beat * from episode 29 „Der Moormörder“
14 Jet-Set-Lady (Alt. Version) * from episode 29 „Der Moormörder“
15 Du lebst in deiner Welt (TV-Version) * from episode 39 „Als die Blumen Trauer trugen“
16 Dromedar Called Itzenplitz from episode 46 „Überlegungen eines Mörders“
CD-Bonus-Tracks:
17 Folksfest * from episode 11 „Die Schrecklichen“
18 Der Waggonspringer from episode 12 „Die Waggonspringer“
19 Der Kommissar tanzt * from episode 15 „Der Papierblumenmörder“
20 Fuga Astronautica from episode 23 „Tödlicher Irrtum“
21 Tour des Wucherers * from episode 40 „Der Tod des Herrn Kurusch“
22 Miethai an Land * from episode 40 „Der Tod des Herrn Kurusch“
* Previously unreleased
The more experimental the episode, the more experimental Peter Thomas’ compositions were. In episode 11 (Die Schrecklichen, 1969), for example, he combined folk music with beat, soul, and pop. The director was Zbyněk Brynych, with whom he later collaborated successfully on various films (including DIE WEIBCHEN) and TV series (DERRICK). The musical range of Thomas’ KOMMISSAR spanned from classical music to pop and rock music and sound collages. As always, he was able to draw on exquisite performers in the studio, such as Siegfried Schwab, Max Greger Jr., Lothar Meid, Jiggs Whigham, Jan Hammer, Olaf Kübler, Sylvester Levay, and many more.
Following Bruce Lee: The Big Boss, Winnetou und sein Freund Old Firehand, Steiner – Das Eiserne Kreuz 2, Edgar Wallace and Derrick & Der Alte this is the sixth LP/CD release in a series dedicated to German composer Peter Thomas (1925-2020).
