Podcast: In Conversation With Tommy Pearson.

In this episode, I speak to broadcaster and film music expert Tommy Pearson. This episode was recorded 16th November 2021, via Zoom. Apologies for any issues with the sound quality.

Podcast: In Conversation With Ben Palmer.

In this edition, I talk to conductor Ben Palmer about working in film. This episode was recorded in Berlin, October 24th 2021, prior to a screening of Charlie Chaplin’s “The Kid” (1921) at the Babylon cinema.

New Podcast! In Conversation With Günter A. Buchwald.

In this episode I speak to composer, conductor and silent film accompanist Günter A. Buchwald. It was recorded on Friday October 8th, 2021. At the Le Giornate Del Cinema Muto Festival in Pordenone, Italy.

Film Score Junkie Podcast: First Edition, Featuring Neil Brand.

In this first edition of the Film Score Junkie podcast, I talk to composer, writer, broadcaster and film music expert Neil Brand. This episode was recorded over two days (October 6th and 7th) at the 2021 Le Giornate Del Cinema Muto Festival in Pordenone, Italy.

BBC Proms 2021: John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London.

Last Saturday I had the opportunity to meet one of my idols, the conductor, John Wilson. I attended the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall, in London. John Wilson and his new orchestra, the Sinfonia of London, were performing works by mainly Austrian composers. The highlight of the concert for me, was the “Symphony in F sharp” by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, who was from the Viennese School of Composers, and studied under Richard Strauss and Alexander von Zemlinsky. He made a name for himself scoring many golden-age Hollywood films, such as “Captain Blood” (1935) and “The Adventures of Robin Hood” (1938) both starring Errol Flynn.

John Wilson.

The first half opened with the overture from “Der Fledermaus” by Johann Strauss II. Like a lot of well known compositions, you may know what it sounds like, but not what it’s called. That was the case with me. I knew it as the music that accompanied “Tom and Jerry at the Hollywood Bowl” and crashing cars during the opening of Disney’s “The Love Bug“. The operetta the overture was written for, was based on a play entitled “the prison“ by Roderich Benedix.

Strauss’s overture was followed by “Seven Early Songs“ by Alban Berg, and sung wonderfully by soprano Francesca Chiejina. The songs were originally written over three years from 1905 to 1908, but were not orchestrated by the composer until 1928.

Francesca Chiejina.

This was followed by Ravel’s “La Valse”, a piece described as a tribute to the Viennese waltz. At first I thought it was Strauss, but the seemingly chaotic tones and rhythms at the end are said to reflect the descent of Vienna after the Great War.

The Korngold “Symphony in F Sharp” is a piece I have never heard in full. The symphony began with a quiet and mysterious passage, played on percussion with pizzicato strings and piano. Then, as the peace progressed, it started to sound more cinematic. At various points I was reminded of the scores from “Jaws” and “Indiana Jones”. It seems to me (and has also been commented on by others) that John Williams was influenced by Korngold. It’s my loss, but the only pieces of Korngold that I am familiar with are his “Theme and Variations” and, of course, his film scores.

The concert wound up with a piece by Korngold’s teacher, Zemlinsky, as the deserved encore, a piece that predates film scores but sounded, for all the world, just like one.

I, myself, am passionate about film music, and this is how I became familiar with John Wilson’s work, as he is often associated with music from the stage and screen. In fact I attended this particular Prom because I am familiar with film music history and how it has its roots in the music played at this concert. I imagine that John Wilson chose these pieces because he wanted to show what preceded Hollywood film scoring, to enable the audience to understand the evolution of golden-age film music.

John Wilson (with mask on) after the concert.

Autographs from John Wilson (large signature on right) and members of the Sinfonia of London.

I very much enjoyed the concert and felt so lucky to be able to have a short discussion with John as he left the Albert Hall. His parting words to me were, “Study the music you enjoy!” Wise words indeed.

Watch the full concert on BBC iPlayer: https://bbc.in/3tGu6MF

Listen on BBC Sounds: https://bbc.in/3nhkwOO

Review: "A Grand Night For Singing" at the Edinburgh International Festival.

When I set up this blog, I originally wanted to talk about film music and film music only. However I have decided to make an exception to that rule (sort of). Last Friday, I went to the Edinburgh International Festival to see a performance of a revue celebrating the musicals of Rogers and Hammerstein, entitled A Grand Night for Singing. It was written by Walter Bobbie and was first performed on Broadway in 1993. This semi-staged and slightly updated version of the show was conceived by American singer and actress Kim Criswell. Those who are familiar with the John Wilson Orchestra, may be reminded of Kim’s wonderful interpretations of Judy Garland classics such as, “The Trolley Song”, “Over The Rainbow” and “Get Happy”. The music was directed by British pianist, conductor and organist Wayne Marshall OBE, Kim’s long-term collaborator. The cast consisted of Kim Criswell, Danielle de Niese, Damian Humbley and fellow John Wilson veterans Anna-Jane Casey and Richard Morrison.

When the show began, Andrew Moore, the festival’s director of music made an announcement. He told us that Danielle de Niese had gone down with laryngitis and was unable to sing... I feared the whole event would need to be cancelled and that I may have travelled to Edinburgh in vain... But, that Jessica Leary would stand in for her singing parts! Phew! This worked so seamlessly, I forgot that Jessica was on the side of the stage, unless I looked at her directly. Because of this I have not had the pleasure of hearing Danielle sing, but it was a real pleasure to hear Jessica sing the part and watch Danielle act it.

(Jessica Leary)

The show got underway with a medley that consisted of the waltz from “Carousel“ and “So Far“ from Allegro before the cast finished their medley with the song that the show was named after, “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” from State Fair. The band, led by Wayne Marshall, provided a superb and whimsical accompaniment. Kim Criswell treated us to a lively rendition of “I Can’t Say No“ from Oklahoma!. To continue with the Oklahoma! theme, Richard Morrison opened the second act giving us a rather energised arrangement of “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’”. Anna-Jane Casey treated us to spectacular dancing as well as singing when she performed “It’s me” from Me and Juliet.

Other songs featured included “It Might As Well Be Spring” from State Fair, “Love, Look Away” (Flower Drum Song), “A Lovely Night” (Cinderella) and “This Nearly Was Mine” (South Pacific). They closed with “I Have Dreamed” from The King and I. Some of these songs I knew, but others I was hearing for the first time.

After the show had ended I waited outside the stage door, despite the unseasonably cold weather. Wayne Marshall, the musical director was the first to come out, probably because he had less make-up to remove, and no costume to change, but he was shortly followed by the singers. I was lucky enough to both meet and chat to them, and they were kind enough to spend some time with me.

(Me with Wayne Marshall.)

(Me with Richard Morrison.)

(Me with Damian Humbley.)

(Me with Anna-Jane Casey.)

(Me with Danielle de Niese.)

(Me with Kim Criswell.)

So all in all, this was a lively revue-style show featuring a variety of songs from some of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s better and lesser known musicals, sung by some of the best performers around. There is something in it for every lover of musical theatre, whether you are familiar with all the works or not. As this was put together for the main Edinburgh Festival, you might not have an opportunity to see this in the near future, but if it should it later tour, or reappear at a later date, I would warmly recommend that you try to see it.

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: 50 years on

(Original poster)

50 years ago, on June 30th, 1971, the movie musical “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” was released. This is a movie that I have grown up with and I have never got bored with watching it or listening to the music.

The film was based on the book by Roald Dahl called “Charlie and the chocolate factory”. It was directed by Mel Stuart based on the screen play by Roald Dahl. Stuart had been introduced to the book by his daughter. David Seltzer was brought in to adapt Dahl’s screen play and bolster it with more drama and music. It has been said that Dahl did not like the result because it did not stick to his original story. However, Dahl did spend a lot of time on set during the filming, so it is not clear how true his criticism of Seltzer’s adaptations was. Dahl did initially suggest Spike Milligan as Willy Wonka because it fitted the image inside his head, but, as we all know Gene Wilder fitted the role fantastically. The name of the film differs from the book because it was actually made to promote a new product by Quaker Oats. The company sponsored a lot of Wolper’s TV programmes and planned to make and sell Wonka Bars, hence Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. However, this backfired because the Wonka bars had a flaw that cause them to melt on the sweet shop shelves. They were a flop! Surprisingly, the film also flopped at the box office, but since then it has been shown over and over on TV and has built up a massive fan-base.

During pre-production Stuart and Wolper decided that the film should be a musical. Wolper drafted in his friends, the songwriters Anthony Newly and Leslie Bricusse. Newly and Bricusse had worked together before on numerous projects, such as the title song from Goldfinger with music by John Barry and sung by Shirley Bassey. Walter Scharf was enlisted to arrange and orchestrate the music the film - bringing together the songs and creating pieces (e.g., incidental music) that resulted in a holistic score. Scharf had previously worked with both Wolper and Stuart on documentaries and films, such as The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau, If It’s Tuesday This Must Be Belgium and numerous TV programmes for the National Geographic Society, but he had fallen out with Stuart and was reluctant to fly out to Munich to join the rest of the cast. However, he did decide to go and was impressed by the Munich-based orchestra that had been employed to work with him.

(Anthony Newly and Leslie Bricusse)

(Walter Scharf)

The opening titles of the film roll with the Overture which consists of two songs, Golden Ticket and Pure Imagination. This is one of my favourite parts of the score, because of its orchestration and the huge sound that it makes. This gives the impression that it is a big budget film, even though it wasn’t. The music creates a sense of anticipation at the wonderful story that is about to unfold, whilst the titles consist of a montage of chocolate making which ramps-up the excitement. The footage for this sequence was shot at the Toblerone factory in Switzerland.

(Overture, arranged by Scharf)

(Walter Scharf's arrangement of "The Candy Man" song)

Almost immediately after the opening titles we hear The Candy Man song, sung by veteran British stage performer Aubrey Woods, although it would be Sammy Davis Jr who would later make the song famous. Woods played Bill the sweet shop owner, who doesn’t seem interested in making any money because he’s just giving all his candy away during the number! The scene shows how important candies are to kids; confectioners like Wonka and Slugworth are like gods in their eyes. But, as the upbeat song tails off, Charlie Bucket is shown outside the shop looking in. He has the same desires as the other kids but is unable to access the wonderful treats on offer because he is poor. Here begins the story of the divide between the haves and the have not's.

The next song accentuates this trope as it stands in binary opposition to The Candy Man. Cheer up, Charlie is a downbeat ballad sung by Charlie’s mother after Charlie expresses his upset at the unfairness of life after Wonka announces a competition to find 5 golden tickets hidden in Wonka bars; the poverty of the Bucket family means he has virtually no chance of finding a ticket as he can’t afford to buy the chocolate.

But Charlie finds a coin and is able to buy another Wonka bar. At this point we hear a reprise of The Candy Man music as he finds himself outside the sweet shop. As he leaves the shop we see a commotion around the newsstand and a crowd gathering; ticket number five was a fake! Charlie takes the unopened bar of chocolate from his pocket…..and we hear a harp, tremoring strings, and, with a glint of gold, we hear a piccolo. Throughout the film repetition of pieces of incidental music provide cues to the audience for similar situations. Magical moments are often preceded by bells, chimes and harps, accentuating the wondrousness about to happen.

Finding the golden ticket is heralded by a trumpeting of I’ve Got a Golden Ticket and this plays out in an upbeat and dramatic style as he runs home. This piece harks back to the overture, but also provides us with a hint of the song Grandpa and Charlie are about to sing. Suddenly, however, the music stops abruptly as the baddie, Slugworth, enters the scene and the music switches to Slugworth’s leitmotif, which differs with the child, but is always sinister in nature. Slugworth explains to Charlie that he will make him rich, so he can buy “A new house for your family, and good food and comfort for the rest of their lives”, but only if he steals an everlasting gobstopper from Wonka. When Charlie arrives home at his tiny shack, he reveals to his family that he has found the last ticket and wants Grandpa Joe to go with him to the factory. The Golden Ticket duet song plays, with scenes of slapstick and the mimicking of top hat and tails with his regular hat and walking stick.

On the day of the factory visit, as all the children gather outside the gates, the brass band plays what resembles the Old Comrades March. It gives the feeling of a grand occasion, with all the pomp and ceremony we come to expect with important and official events. This gives the feeling that Wonka is seen as a very important man and the children are very privileged to be allowed into his secretive world. As the guests enter The Chocolate Room we hear the harp play as the door opens and it is revealed to the audience. During the song Pure Imagination we hear ticking chimes, which seem to signal the passing of time as if Wonka knows his time is running out to find a child that he feels can be trusted and who is worthy of taking over his factory. Later in the factory visit, Charlie and Grandpa Joe steal fizzy lifting drink and float around, swimming in the bubbles. The music reminds me of Scharf’s scores for Jacques Cousteau. I wonder if this this was written solely by Scharf, rather than being an adaptation of Newley and Bricusse’s music.

Apart from Charlie, Verruca Salt is the only child with her own song. Just before she starts to sing, she demands her father buy her a golden goose. When she is told by Wonka “They’re not for sale” she kicks-off because Verruca is not used to being refused; she is a total brat! During filming the actress, Julie Dawn Cole, was asked over and over by Mel Stuart to be “nastier!”, and “even nastier!” Her song - I Want It Now – is reminiscent of My Favourite Things from The Sound of Music....but nastier! The Oopalumpa’s songs provide a link between all the children except Charlie. These songs are sung after each child has broken the rules and the Oompalumpa’s are asked by Wonka to deal the problem. The doleful rhymes tell of how the naughty, greedy, and brattish behaviour of children leads to their downfall.

The original ending of the screenplay had Wonka shouting “Yippee” when Charlie returned the everlasting gobstopper and agrees to take over the factory. However, Stuart felt this was a lame line and refused to end the film with his main character shouting “Yippee!” He tracked down Seltzer, who had gone on vacation, to come up with a better ending. Thinking on his feet, Seltzer came up with the wonderful line, “Charlie, don’t forget what happened to the man who suddenly got everything he wanted. He lived happily ever after.” And, with that line, the music of Pure Imagination swelled, the choir joined in telling us that if we wanted to view Paradise all we had to do was look around us and we are convinced that the world would really a better place if we could only see it as Willy and Charlie do.

Every time I watch this film my understanding of the contribution the music made to the narrative grows. Even for a small child, the music, whether it be the songs of Newly and Bricusse, or the orchestral colours of Scharf, works to create a sensation of wonder, hope and confectionary. And those are three things I hope never to tire of.

Thank you to John Altman, who has provided me with some interesting anecdotes about Walter Scharf.

10 minute extract from 4K restoration of Willy Wonka: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72vLikHT5OE