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Film Score Blogs by Bill Wrobel Day off today. This is lucky for me since it happens to be a rather rainy day, the first (early) major storm of the season (although it rained quite moderately on Sunday). This morning at 8 I went to my chiropractor for a final regular session. The neck injury from the bike accident is healing very well, although I will be making follow-up sessions once a month for the next six months perhaps. I phoned Batjac Productions (John Wayne estate) again today and returned the phone message from a gentleman there who contacted my wife last week while I was at work. I told him (read earlier blogs) how I had started research on Tiomkin’s score to The High & The Mighty, a john Wayne movie that will be released this coming spring. The Parts, the sketch score, and the Conductor score were all available at USC, but not the full score (fully orchestrated score). So I asked him if he knew offhand if the full score was there (John Wayne Estate). He did not know at the moment because they are now in the process of digging up all the archival materials on the movie from various sites in the Estate). He would let me know and submit my request to higher officials in the Estate to allow me to inspect and research the full score (if it is there) and to possibly let me xerox at least the title page of each cue (to check who orchestrated each cue, how the instrumentation was setup, etc).I also asked him if any decision was made yet to include the music to be part of any Making Of documentary for the dvd, or a commentary track, etc. No final decisions yet. “The Skulls” cue from White Witch Doctor is now playing as I type (12:12 pm). The unusual Serpent instrument is featured here (also used later for the giant lizard sequences of Journey To The Center of the Earth). First, however, three muted “C” trumpets play ff < sfff four 32nd grace notes to Line 2 D/F/A (D minor) rinforzando whole notes. After a quarter rest, three horns follow with the same pattern to I believe Eb/Gb/Bb dotted half notes in stopped fashion. After a half rest, muted trombones play the same pattern of 32nd notes to I believe F#/A/middle C# half notes. After a half and quarter rest, three bass clarinets sound off on the 32nd grace notes to small octave D/F/A quarter notes tied to whole notes in Bar 2. Etc. In Bar 3, the Serpent plays p < sff small octave Eb half note to E rinforzando 8th note (followed by an 8th and quarter rest). In Bar 4, it plays Eb half note to Db 8th note, and so forth. Right now (12:22 pm) “The Past” cue is being played as the Susan Haywood character talks painfully about, well, the past! Andante cantabile in C time. Three clarinets, 2 bass clarinets, 2 Fags, 3 horns, 12 violins, 4 viole, 4 celli, 2 CB. It appears that a lot of the cue was not used. It was supposed to last 1:35 but fell far short of that duration. Earlier I contacted Craig at Safire Solutions that will be the new host for the Film Score Rundowns site. I gave my credit card information for a year’s service at only $15 a month (plus $30 initial setup fee). Sarah (the new web designer) will probably be transferring the files from the old host, and rework the look of the site as she creatively wishes. I will finish this newest blog (#11) and send the blogs to her within an hour or so. The new site files for the update will be ready for her after I send the blogs, and I am looking forward to the reincarnation of the site! Once again, I thank Matt for the great work he has done for the site up to now, and for the free site. The “Finale” cue is now playing (12:36). Allegro maestoso in 3/2 time, 5 bars, about 12 or 13 seconds. Herrmann then writes on the right margin the completion date of March 20, 1953 from 5119 Bluebell Ave in Hollywood. The Finale ends on the D major (D/F#/A) chord. According to the Music Notes for the movie dated February 5, 1953, the Finale (Reel 13/Part 2): “Start on Dissolve to river. End with Fade Out of picture.” It was indicated at 42 seconds, so evidently it differs from the actual music composed and used at under 13 seconds. I was able to research the “End Title” written music to Jerry Goldsmith’s SUPERGIRL. On the Silva expanded cd, it is located on Track #23 starting at 7:35. The written music as given is exactly as heard on the cd ("End Title-Short Version." The cue is in 6/8 time for most of the instruments initially, except for the violas and violins I set in 2/4 time as they play contrary motion repeated 32nd note figures (depicting a flying motion). Violins I play forte descending to ascending 32nd notes starting Line 3 C-Line 2 Bb-A-G-F-E-D-C to ascending Line 1 Bb-Line 2 C-D-E-F-G-A-Bb (repeat thru Bar 12). Violas play ascending to descending 32nd note figures starting on Line 1 C-D-E-F-G-A-Bb-Line 2 C to descending D-C-Bb-A-G-F-E-D. Repeat thru Bar 12. Violins II are fingered trem from Line 2 C dotted half note to divisi Bb/D dotted half notes repeated thru Bar 12. Etc. In Bar 3, Goldsmith uses at least three synths to play descending gliss from Lines 3 & 4 C. The DX7 is used, GSI, and so forth. In Bar 5, three trumpets start to play the familiar Supergirl motif. The Bb trumpets play fortissimo Line 1 Bb-Bb-A 8th notes to Bb dotted quarter note tied to 8th note next bar (followed by rests). In Bar 7, they play Bb-D-Bb 8ths to C dotted quarter note tied to 8th note next bar. In Bar 25, the trumpets play the Supergirl theme forte on Lines 1 & 2 A dotted quarter note tied to 8th note to G to F# 8ths to (Bar 26) D dotted quarter note to unison Line 1 A dotted quarter note to (Bar 27) G-F#-G 8ths to Lines 1 & 2 D dotted quarter notes to (Bar 28) C up to G dotted quarter notes. Back in Bar 25, violins play Line 1 A/Line 2 D/F#/A (D maj) dotted half notes tied to next bar, and then (in Bar 27) G/C/E/G (C maj) dotted half notes tied to next bar. So Goldsmith was quite tonal in this particular work overall. In other scores, he has gone atonal (for example, Planet of the Apes). I much prefer his tonal works. However, he is known for his experimental ventures, and his characteristic manner of “switching frameworks,” so to speak. Herrmann did not go atonal except in his early works a bit. Herrmann pretty much stayed consistently tonal in his framework. He would have fun with polychords (superimposed triads) but kept tonal. I tentatively decided to work on Herrmann’s The Wrong Man for the next rundown update sometime in the winter. I assembled together all of my hand-copied notes and also xeroxes that I had been allowed to make several years ago. There were several cues I did not have yet, so I returned to Warner Bros Archives a few weeks ago to work on them (hand-copying). If I have time, I will also include Rozsa’s Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid. I was motivated to do Hitchcock’s movie because the dvd was finally released about 3 weeks ago. I made a review on it at Talking Herrmann. Now that I have initiated this BLOG feature, I may not post at Talking Herrmann as nearly as much as I formerly did. We shall see. I bid you all a fond good afternoon! By the way, I saw a clip on CNN or MSNBC yesterday of an interview with the comic, George Carlin. He stated he didn’t like to use “Have a nice day!” when saying goodbye to people. He likes to have fun with variations of it since very few people actually have a whole day being nice! So he says, “Have a nice mid-morning!” or “Have a nice quarter of a hour!” |