Sir Arthur Bliss' score for the movie Things to Come (1936) was a landmark in film music: it was the first time in the sound era that a major composer from the concert hall had contributed a score to a dramatic (i.e. non-musical) feature film. Bliss was reluctant to take the assignment until he received the reassurances of H.G. Wells, whose writings were to serve as the basis for the movie, that the music would be well treated. He accepted and wrote his score based on what was presumed to be the final shooting script of the movie. After that point, however, sections of the script were dropped or rewritten. Bliss was left in a quandry, as he had prepared a concert suite from the music as he'd written it. He felt obliged to conform the suite to the content of the film, and so some sections of the music were lost. During the late 1960s, scholar/editor Christopher Palmer received Bliss' permission to prepare an expanded version of the suite, but even that missed some of the lost music. Finally, in the 1990s, Philip Lane prepared a 32-minute suite entitled Things to Come: Concert Music From the Film that assembled all of Bliss' music that survived, from autograph score and recording sessions. The resulting 11-movement work opens with a profound "Prologue" played maestoso, highlighted by a dark part for the strings and intermittent trumpet flourishes. The charming second movement, the "Ballet for Children," played allegro moderato, is the most characteristic of Bliss' style, a light, faux-French piece evocative of the late 1920s, with beautiful wind parts all capturing the playful spirit of the film's innocent opening section. The third movement, "March," is the most-famous section of the score, an ominous rush to doom punctuated by the trumpets. The fourth movement, "Attack," played allegro con fuoco, is heavy on the brass, horns, and percussion, representing the fury of battle. The fifth, "The World in Ruins," done lento doloroso, is a darkly atmospheric piece dominated by the horns and percussion; the sixth movement, "Pestilence," done molto sustenuto, is an extension of the previous movement in mood and tone. The seventh, "Excavation," played moderato e pesante, may be the greatest showpiece for the percussion section of an orchestra this side of "The Anvil Chorus," though the sweeping parts for horns, brass, and strings hold their own. The eighth movement, "The Building of the New World," allegro moderato molto deciso, is a sweeping, rushed showcase for the whole orchestra with special movements for the winds, horns, and brass; "Machines," the ninth movement, done moderato, is a gorgeous workout for the flutes and reeds. "Attack on the Moon Gun," molto allegro fuoco, is similar in character to "Attack"; finally, the "Epilogue," done maestoso, gathers together the most noble and uplifting parts of Bliss' score, including a ravishing horn and string fanfare depicting the entry of the airmen that was "lost" for 60 years, all ending on a note of triumph.

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