I was surprised to see Newman handled the score, since I associate him primarily with Fox. Perhaps his contract with them had ended. The work is beautiful, perhaps relatively more subdued than some of his other work. The lovely, full string passages are beautiful. No one could make strings sound the way he did. Is there a soundtrack recording hiding somewhere?
shareAfter 20 years, Newman's contract at 20th-Fox was not renewed and he left the studio, effective 1960. His brother Lionel replaced him (for less money, I suspect).
For the remainder of his career Alfred freelanced, and very successfully, except for the debacle over 'The Greatest Story Ever Told' (which was nevertheless an outstanding score).
Newman's association with 'Traitor' producer Perlberg and director Seaton extended back to the 1940s, most notably with 'The Song of Bernadette', so it is no surprise that they secured the freelancer for 'The Pleasure of His Company' (1961, Paramount), 'Traitor', and Alfred capped his tremendous career with Seaton's 'Airport' (Universal), released posthumously in 1970.
Different effects in 'Traitor' score are noticeable, as the familiar 20th-Fox orchestra sound is missing, but none of the composer's profundity is. Indeed, 'Traitor's score reaches heights of great and moving power, especially in the scenes with Lili Palmer's character.
This score is an outstanding example of late Newman: strong, lean, romantic, truthful, and profound.
(I'm not aware of a soundtrack album.)