A VISIT TO PRAGUE’S KING OF KINGS RECORDING
(La version française est sur http://www.underscores.fr/. Les élément qu'ils ont supprimés sont reroduits ici, après la version anglaise. )
I started a Bucket List.
At the very top: I want to learn how to fly.
Next, I want to hug a mountain gorilla.
Also, I’d love to hand him a Rubix Cube and see how fast he can solve it.
I never could myself, solve it.
And then, there’s attending the recording sessions of a favorite movie score. Thanks to James Fitzpatrick of Tadlow records, this has just been ticked off the list.
The Prague Philarmonic Ochestra at Smecky Sudio.
THE MIRACLES OF CROWDFUNDING:
There are currently four specialized film music labels who have produced rerecordings of classic scores in the last decade:
Tadlow was the first to use Kickstarter as a means to finance one, first with a “Moonraker” project in 2015, which was abandoned because of some unsolved rights issue, and now “King of Kings”. At this stage, they have no intention of releasing more projects.
Intrada was the second with “Dial M for Murder” by Dimitri Tiomkin, which, like “King of Kings”, was also successful and will be released as a CD in june 2019. More such releases by them are being considered.
Prometheus has no plans to use crowdfunding. They’ve just released their latest offering, “Vikings” by Mario Nascimbene.
Rumors seem to indicate Tribute Film Classics, silent since 2012, might soon make a return via crowdfunding.
Quartet, a fifth label, just released Herrmann’s “The Bride Wore Black”, their first rerecording ever, so the prospects of seeing more rerecordings financed by crowdfunding, or simply rerecordings, actually just got better, but are still limited.
This being said, we are extremely grateful to James’ Fitzpatrick work in the field in the last three decades.
He has amply deserved to take some rest and, possibly, pass the baton.
When he launched the campaign for Miklos Rozsa’s “King of Kings” in November 2017, he was aiming to receive roughly 52.000 $ (40.000 £) from the campaign, half of what he needed to complete the production of the CD, and he got 60.000 $!
(La version française est sur http://www.underscores.fr/. Les élément qu'ils ont supprimés sont reroduits ici, après la version anglaise. )
I started a Bucket List.
At the very top: I want to learn how to fly.
Next, I want to hug a mountain gorilla.
Also, I’d love to hand him a Rubix Cube and see how fast he can solve it.
I never could myself, solve it.
And then, there’s attending the recording sessions of a favorite movie score. Thanks to James Fitzpatrick of Tadlow records, this has just been ticked off the list.
The Prague Philarmonic Ochestra at Smecky Sudio.THE MIRACLES OF CROWDFUNDING:
There are currently four specialized film music labels who have produced rerecordings of classic scores in the last decade:
Tadlow was the first to use Kickstarter as a means to finance one, first with a “Moonraker” project in 2015, which was abandoned because of some unsolved rights issue, and now “King of Kings”. At this stage, they have no intention of releasing more projects.
Intrada was the second with “Dial M for Murder” by Dimitri Tiomkin, which, like “King of Kings”, was also successful and will be released as a CD in june 2019. More such releases by them are being considered.
Prometheus has no plans to use crowdfunding. They’ve just released their latest offering, “Vikings” by Mario Nascimbene.
Rumors seem to indicate Tribute Film Classics, silent since 2012, might soon make a return via crowdfunding.
Quartet, a fifth label, just released Herrmann’s “The Bride Wore Black”, their first rerecording ever, so the prospects of seeing more rerecordings financed by crowdfunding, or simply rerecordings, actually just got better, but are still limited.
This being said, we are extremely grateful to James’ Fitzpatrick work in the field in the last three decades.
He has amply deserved to take some rest and, possibly, pass the baton.
When he launched the campaign for Miklos Rozsa’s “King of Kings” in November 2017, he was aiming to receive roughly 52.000 $ (40.000 £) from the campaign, half of what he needed to complete the production of the CD, and he got 60.000 $!
352 individuals contributed to this campaign.
Twenty-four film music lovers contributed 670 $ or more, which granted them exclusive access to the recording sessions, and fifteen of them showed up in Prague.
As mentioned earlier, the total cost of production on such a project is said to be 100.000 $.
Tadlow need to sell at least 5000 CDs to recoup their costs and they rarely do.
Luc Van de Ven, head of Prometheus and film soundtracks distributor, once admitted to me he never expects to make a profit on these recordings, hoping that the release of a rerecording of a “Sodom and Gomorah” or a “Fall of the Roman Empire” will simply help sell more Rozsas and Tiomkins from his back catalogue.
As for James Fitzpatrick: “In the earlier days of these recordings we might expect to sell between 3000 and 5000. Certainly “El Cid” achieved those figures. Now we are lucky to sell 1500 ... “Is Paris Burning?”, one of my all-time favorite recordings, has yet to approach anywhere near this figure.”
Leigh Phillips (orchestrator and producing assistant at Tadlow) firmly believes future projects such as this one won’t be possible in the future without fan financing.
Clearly, this implies that these initiatives will then be dependent on the fans desire to see some titles be rerecorded and others not.
But then, labels will also be able to self-finance more obscure or less fan friendly scores at their discretion thanks to the financially more successful ones supported by fans.
THE FILM AND THE SCORE
“King of Kings” is an MGM production from 1961 about the life of Jesus directed by Nicholas Ray.
In the career of Miklos Rozsa, it is one of his last grand scale epics and one of the last films he’ll score for MGM.
On CD, the music was notably released by Rhino in 2002 as a 133:34 minutes 2 CD edition.
Tadlow’s version will be 150 minutes long, and will include two unused cues: “Herod the Great” and “The Madman”.
Some other cues will differ from the Rhino edition, as Tadlow went back to Rozsa’s original versions of these.
Left to right: Jan Holzner, Frank deWald, Leih Phillips an James Fitzpaztrick.
THE PROCESS:
Recording sessions were booked at Smecky Studio in Prague from Sunday November 25 to Wednesday 28, but the recording for the score proper by the full orchestra of 80 musicians actually ended Tuesday 27, and only 2 hours on Wednesday afternoon were devoted to record source music, mostly exotic dances, plus a few overdubs involving at first a reduced version of the orchestra , around 30-40 players, then gradually less players.
Choral parts were recorded at a future date but, unfortunately, they were not proposed to Kickstarter contributors.
Leigh Phillips (photo: Volker Hannemann)
Smecky Studio consists mainly of two rooms: the control room, from which five men operate: James Fitzpatrick (producer), Leigh Phillips (orchestrator and producing assistant) Frank deWald (booklet writer) Jan Holzner (sound engineer) and Michael Hradisky (sound assistant).
In the second room, the recording studio, Nic Raine conducts the orchestra with the assistance of Stanja Vomackova, who translates in Czech all instructions coming from the control room to the orchestra.
Each cue was played and recorded without any prior rehearsals.
On the second take, Fitzpatrick and Phillips would either consider it good enough, or ask for more takes. This happened only on the few of the simpler and shorter cues.
In most cases, a third take was necessary to arrive to a result satisfactory to all, by which time James asked for a final fourth take, “for safety”.
Some cues required as many as 7 or 8 takes. One required 10.
James, Leigh and Nic were always supportive to the orchestra, complimenting them even when their performance, or parts of it, wasn’t entirely satisfactory. They never showed any signs of being frustrated or stressed.
Here’s a sample of comments that came from the Three of the Wise Men:
Fitzpatrick: “Drums, as loud as they can, and the timpani: whack!” (It did.) “Timpani, more! Just think Richard Strauss!” “Strings more welly. Molto espressivo!” “This is spot on.” “A chair is squeaking. I don’t know where. Be careful.”
For a second, I feared it might be mine!
DeWald: “I get really emotional with this piece.”
Nic Raine: “Frodo, wake up!” The lead trumpet player had indeed fallen asleep, his hoodie over his head making him look like a hobbit.
“You are playing beautifully today…. Even the trumpets!”
On one cue, the violins had to be doubled: the whole violin section replayed a cue to be overdubbed over a previous take.
Peter Greenhill (a donator) reports that on the first day one of the six horns disappeared during the lunch break. Nic Raine suggested that they could manage with 5, but James wouldn’t have it. A sixth horn player was called in and the session proceeded.
On one of “Salome’s Dances” take, the Cor Anglais couldn’t play to the end of the piece, she was so exhausted. An extra take was recorded almost immediately, and successfully.
“The part is extremely challenging, due to the protracted length of the solo line” says Leigh Phillips.
For a source cue, “Herod’s Feast”, an acoustic guitar was called in. The player stayed on for the next cues, sometimes being overdubbed on cues already recorded.
The harp also doubled on one cue.
At this point, you might start wondering: what’s so great about attending the recording sessions for a symphonic classic soundtrack? Is it like sitting next to the orchestra in a concert hall? Well, yes and no.
Going in, I was concerned it might be too loud for my delicate ears, thinking of some recent concert experiences, but… no.
This is due to the specific acoustics of a recording studio.
The horns and percussions are not only way back, but placed behind glass shields, and so are some other instruments, such as the harp or the piano, these so they benefit from optimal recording conditions.
Left to right: Nic Raine, Stanja Vomackova
(on phone) and Lucie Svehlova (lead violin). (photo: Volker Hannemann)
James Fitzpatrick: “I like recording at Smecky Music Studios because like a film soundstage it is very dry with just a slight natural acoustic...this means we can achieve a detail of orchestral color that is so vital in any film music recording. I have done recording in the Dvorak Hall of the Rudolfinum, ((a Concert Hall in Prague)) and in fact we did a whole Rozsa concert there a few years ago. But I truly believe that the overly "live" concert hall sound, with a natural delay of over 6 seconds, is wrong for this style of music. Plus hiring that hall costs a lot more than the studio! “
In the studio, it’s almost like you’re listening to the finished product, except that… you are there.
So, is it magic? You bet.
PRIZES:
Twenty-four film music lovers contributed 670 $ or more, which granted them exclusive access to the recording sessions, and fifteen of them showed up in Prague.
As mentioned earlier, the total cost of production on such a project is said to be 100.000 $.
Tadlow need to sell at least 5000 CDs to recoup their costs and they rarely do.
Luc Van de Ven, head of Prometheus and film soundtracks distributor, once admitted to me he never expects to make a profit on these recordings, hoping that the release of a rerecording of a “Sodom and Gomorah” or a “Fall of the Roman Empire” will simply help sell more Rozsas and Tiomkins from his back catalogue.
As for James Fitzpatrick: “In the earlier days of these recordings we might expect to sell between 3000 and 5000. Certainly “El Cid” achieved those figures. Now we are lucky to sell 1500 ... “Is Paris Burning?”, one of my all-time favorite recordings, has yet to approach anywhere near this figure.”
Leigh Phillips (orchestrator and producing assistant at Tadlow) firmly believes future projects such as this one won’t be possible in the future without fan financing.
Clearly, this implies that these initiatives will then be dependent on the fans desire to see some titles be rerecorded and others not.
But then, labels will also be able to self-finance more obscure or less fan friendly scores at their discretion thanks to the financially more successful ones supported by fans.
THE FILM AND THE SCORE
“King of Kings” is an MGM production from 1961 about the life of Jesus directed by Nicholas Ray.
In the career of Miklos Rozsa, it is one of his last grand scale epics and one of the last films he’ll score for MGM.
On CD, the music was notably released by Rhino in 2002 as a 133:34 minutes 2 CD edition.
Tadlow’s version will be 150 minutes long, and will include two unused cues: “Herod the Great” and “The Madman”.
Some other cues will differ from the Rhino edition, as Tadlow went back to Rozsa’s original versions of these.
Left to right: Jan Holzner, Frank deWald, Leih Phillips an James Fitzpaztrick.THE PROCESS:
Recording sessions were booked at Smecky Studio in Prague from Sunday November 25 to Wednesday 28, but the recording for the score proper by the full orchestra of 80 musicians actually ended Tuesday 27, and only 2 hours on Wednesday afternoon were devoted to record source music, mostly exotic dances, plus a few overdubs involving at first a reduced version of the orchestra , around 30-40 players, then gradually less players.
Choral parts were recorded at a future date but, unfortunately, they were not proposed to Kickstarter contributors.
Leigh Phillips (photo: Volker Hannemann)Smecky Studio consists mainly of two rooms: the control room, from which five men operate: James Fitzpatrick (producer), Leigh Phillips (orchestrator and producing assistant) Frank deWald (booklet writer) Jan Holzner (sound engineer) and Michael Hradisky (sound assistant).
In the second room, the recording studio, Nic Raine conducts the orchestra with the assistance of Stanja Vomackova, who translates in Czech all instructions coming from the control room to the orchestra.
Each cue was played and recorded without any prior rehearsals.
On the second take, Fitzpatrick and Phillips would either consider it good enough, or ask for more takes. This happened only on the few of the simpler and shorter cues.
In most cases, a third take was necessary to arrive to a result satisfactory to all, by which time James asked for a final fourth take, “for safety”.
Some cues required as many as 7 or 8 takes. One required 10.
James, Leigh and Nic were always supportive to the orchestra, complimenting them even when their performance, or parts of it, wasn’t entirely satisfactory. They never showed any signs of being frustrated or stressed.
Here’s a sample of comments that came from the Three of the Wise Men:
Fitzpatrick: “Drums, as loud as they can, and the timpani: whack!” (It did.) “Timpani, more! Just think Richard Strauss!” “Strings more welly. Molto espressivo!” “This is spot on.” “A chair is squeaking. I don’t know where. Be careful.”
For a second, I feared it might be mine!
DeWald: “I get really emotional with this piece.”
Nic Raine: “Frodo, wake up!” The lead trumpet player had indeed fallen asleep, his hoodie over his head making him look like a hobbit.
“You are playing beautifully today…. Even the trumpets!”
On one cue, the violins had to be doubled: the whole violin section replayed a cue to be overdubbed over a previous take.
Peter Greenhill (a donator) reports that on the first day one of the six horns disappeared during the lunch break. Nic Raine suggested that they could manage with 5, but James wouldn’t have it. A sixth horn player was called in and the session proceeded.
On one of “Salome’s Dances” take, the Cor Anglais couldn’t play to the end of the piece, she was so exhausted. An extra take was recorded almost immediately, and successfully.
“The part is extremely challenging, due to the protracted length of the solo line” says Leigh Phillips.
For a source cue, “Herod’s Feast”, an acoustic guitar was called in. The player stayed on for the next cues, sometimes being overdubbed on cues already recorded.
The harp also doubled on one cue.
At this point, you might start wondering: what’s so great about attending the recording sessions for a symphonic classic soundtrack? Is it like sitting next to the orchestra in a concert hall? Well, yes and no.
Going in, I was concerned it might be too loud for my delicate ears, thinking of some recent concert experiences, but… no.
This is due to the specific acoustics of a recording studio.
The horns and percussions are not only way back, but placed behind glass shields, and so are some other instruments, such as the harp or the piano, these so they benefit from optimal recording conditions.
Left to right: Nic Raine, Stanja Vomackova
(on phone) and Lucie Svehlova (lead violin). (photo: Volker Hannemann)James Fitzpatrick: “I like recording at Smecky Music Studios because like a film soundstage it is very dry with just a slight natural acoustic...this means we can achieve a detail of orchestral color that is so vital in any film music recording. I have done recording in the Dvorak Hall of the Rudolfinum, ((a Concert Hall in Prague)) and in fact we did a whole Rozsa concert there a few years ago. But I truly believe that the overly "live" concert hall sound, with a natural delay of over 6 seconds, is wrong for this style of music. Plus hiring that hall costs a lot more than the studio! “
In the studio, it’s almost like you’re listening to the finished product, except that… you are there.
So, is it magic? You bet.
PRIZES:
At the end of recording “King of Kings”, Fitzpatrick
mentioned he would need to tape some clapping at a later date.
Nic Raine suggested he and the remaining musicians perform this clapping right away.
I jumped from my chair:
“I can do it too!”
Over the speakers, James shouted:
“Who said that?”
“Jerome! Jerome wants to do it,” replied Nic.
But James vetoed it, probably eager to call it a day.
But the idea remains: labels operating within crowdfunding campaigns could, in the future, offer premium donors to contribute creatively on some of the takes.
It may seem a little unreasonable, but bear with me.
Let’s say some of these donors already play adequately of an instrument.
And what of the simpler instruments of the orchestra, such as the triangle, the tambourine, or a drum?
Anyone with a musical ear, the help of a previously available recording and a little coaching, should be able to learn a simple percussion line.
Choral singing could also be one of the potential prizes.
If on the day of the recording the result is a complete disaster, then so be it. No big loss.
If, however, the playing or singing is adequate or better, it could be included in the main part of the recording or as a bonus, with a mention of the donator’s contribution in the CD’s booklet.
Imagine how film music fans would react if their talent were included on a future CDs.
To them that would be, dare I say it… priceless.
His name is Raine, Nic Raine. (photo: Volker Hannemann)
THE LAST SUPPER:
On the last day of recording, James Fitzpatrick and C° invited the three remaining donators to dinner.
I have to mention here that they were very generous with their after work time during these session days.
Several similar offers were made in the previous days.
During this meal, I found that Nic Raine was in a particularly good form.
As Frank DeWald noted:
“He is the Raining King of one-liners!”
Two deserving Raine samples:
“Hollywood remakes are like Botox on women. They keep doing them and they look like shit.”
Someone asked what will happen to collectors' music collection after they die. Shouldn't they donate them to Museums?
"One day, a dead whale will wash ashore; they'll open it up, and it will be full of soundtracks."
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +
“KING OF KINGS” A PRAGUE. (les bouts supprimés par underscores.fr)
LES MIRACLES DU FINANCEMENT PARTICIPATIF
Quatre labels spécialisés ont produit des réenregistrements de BO pendant la décennie écoulée. (etc...)
LE FILM ET SA MUSIQUE
“King of Kings” est un film réalisé (etc...)
LE DERNIER SOUPER:
Le dernier jour des enregistrements, Fitzpatrick et Cie ont invité les donateurs encore présents au restaurant, ce qui était bien sympa.
Pendant le repas, Nic Raine, en grande forme, a multiplié les anecdotes et les bons mots, ce qui a fait dire à Frank DeWald « Nic is the raining King of one-liners ! » un jeu de mot intraduisible, mais savoureux.
Deux saillies de Nic Raine en guise de conclusion :
“Les remakes sont à Hollywood ce que le Botox est aux femmes. C’est merdique, mais ils continuent à en faire. »
Un fan s’est inquiété de ce qu’il adviendrait de toutes les collections de musiques de films après la mort de leurs propriétaires. Ne devraient pas en faire don à des musées ?
Nic Raine :
« Un jour, une baleine s’échouera sur une plage. On lui ouvrira le ventre, et il en sortira plein de musiques de films.”
Nic Raine suggested he and the remaining musicians perform this clapping right away.
I jumped from my chair:
“I can do it too!”
Over the speakers, James shouted:
“Who said that?”
“Jerome! Jerome wants to do it,” replied Nic.
But James vetoed it, probably eager to call it a day.
But the idea remains: labels operating within crowdfunding campaigns could, in the future, offer premium donors to contribute creatively on some of the takes.
It may seem a little unreasonable, but bear with me.
Let’s say some of these donors already play adequately of an instrument.
And what of the simpler instruments of the orchestra, such as the triangle, the tambourine, or a drum?
Anyone with a musical ear, the help of a previously available recording and a little coaching, should be able to learn a simple percussion line.
Choral singing could also be one of the potential prizes.
If on the day of the recording the result is a complete disaster, then so be it. No big loss.
If, however, the playing or singing is adequate or better, it could be included in the main part of the recording or as a bonus, with a mention of the donator’s contribution in the CD’s booklet.
Imagine how film music fans would react if their talent were included on a future CDs.
To them that would be, dare I say it… priceless.
His name is Raine, Nic Raine. (photo: Volker Hannemann)THE LAST SUPPER:
On the last day of recording, James Fitzpatrick and C° invited the three remaining donators to dinner.
I have to mention here that they were very generous with their after work time during these session days.
Several similar offers were made in the previous days.
During this meal, I found that Nic Raine was in a particularly good form.
As Frank DeWald noted:
“He is the Raining King of one-liners!”
Two deserving Raine samples:
“Hollywood remakes are like Botox on women. They keep doing them and they look like shit.”
Someone asked what will happen to collectors' music collection after they die. Shouldn't they donate them to Museums?
"One day, a dead whale will wash ashore; they'll open it up, and it will be full of soundtracks."
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +
“KING OF KINGS” A PRAGUE. (les bouts supprimés par underscores.fr)
LES MIRACLES DU FINANCEMENT PARTICIPATIF
Quatre labels spécialisés ont produit des réenregistrements de BO pendant la décennie écoulée. (etc...)
LE FILM ET SA MUSIQUE
“King of Kings” est un film réalisé (etc...)
LES CADEAUX:
A la fin des enregistrements de “King of Kings”,
(etc...)LE DERNIER SOUPER:
Le dernier jour des enregistrements, Fitzpatrick et Cie ont invité les donateurs encore présents au restaurant, ce qui était bien sympa.
Pendant le repas, Nic Raine, en grande forme, a multiplié les anecdotes et les bons mots, ce qui a fait dire à Frank DeWald « Nic is the raining King of one-liners ! » un jeu de mot intraduisible, mais savoureux.
Deux saillies de Nic Raine en guise de conclusion :
“Les remakes sont à Hollywood ce que le Botox est aux femmes. C’est merdique, mais ils continuent à en faire. »
Un fan s’est inquiété de ce qu’il adviendrait de toutes les collections de musiques de films après la mort de leurs propriétaires. Ne devraient pas en faire don à des musées ?
Nic Raine :
« Un jour, une baleine s’échouera sur une plage. On lui ouvrira le ventre, et il en sortira plein de musiques de films.”
