More about the Wicked movie recordings–Updates from the world of Broadway and film composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz and author Carol de Giere — a fan newsletter.
INSET UPPER LEFT: Stephen Oremus (left) and Wicked composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz (right). FULL PHOTO: In London at the AIR Studios Stephen Oremus and Stephen Schwartz stand at the podium at the center of a Wicked Soundtrack recording session. Stephen Oremus is the Executive Music Producer on the film and is producing the soundtrack with Schwartz and Greg Wells. Photo courtesy of Stephen Schwartz.
1) Welcome from Carol de Giere
The Wicked movie part I has taken the world by storm. In this special issue, we share an interview that had been held back (from the Summer 2024 issue) until the soundtrack was released (November).
2) Stephen Schwartz Q & A
In an email interview from June 2024 Stephen wrote, “I just spent the past week recording the live orchestra for all the song cues, and two weeks from now, John Powell will be coming to London to record the scoring cues. (I can’t be there for that because of conflicts with The Queen of Versailles rehearsals.)” He added that his efforts were mainly on “intros to songs and, for the most part but not entirely, music within songs. We have of course consulted closely with one another throughout the process.”
Wicked Movie Score Q and A
The following is the continuation of our email Q and A about recording sessions for the movie soundtrack:
Carol de Giere: How much is film scoring a different type of storytelling from writing an original musical? Do you have the image of the film in front of you?
Stephen Schwartz: I didn’t find the kind of scoring I did very different from underscoring a show. John Powell, as an experienced movie score composer, has a somewhat different approach, but we believe the two will meld seamlessly. And yes, of course, it’s impossible to score the film without watching it. I got and learned a new computer program (Logic) in order to allow me to score to picture.
de Giere: Did you expand the musical themes you already created or create new ones? What was it like writing for and working with a full orchestra compared with a Broadway orchestra?
Schwartz: I basically used the existing themes. John Powell may wind up creating some new themes, but I didn’t. The orchestrations for the songs are by Jeff Atmajian, whom I found to be enormously gifted and who really seemed to get my style and intentions. They were based in most cases on the original Broadway orchestrations, but of course an orchestra of eighty or so musicians is going to have much more richness of sound than is achievable on Broadway.
The orchestra, made up of superb British musicians, was conducted by Stephen Oremus for the song cues, assisted by Dominic Amendum, and since both of them have spent years conducting and supervising the Broadway and touring shows, they know very well what is needed. The recording was done in the famous AIR Studios in London, which is a reconverted church with magnificent acoustics, especially for strings.
For the official Soundtrack and Original Motion Picture Score sites go to:
https://shop.republicrecords.com/pages/wickedthesoundtrack with SONGS
and https://shop.republicrecords.com/products/wicked-the-original-motion-picture-score with underscore: before and between the songs.
Wicked Movie Soundtrack and Score – Dolby Creator Talk – in-Depth Interview
Nov 27, 2024 on YouTube: Academy Award® and Grammy Award®-winning songwriter Stephen Schwartz, Tony Award®-winning musical director Stephen Oremus, and Oscar-nominated composer John Powell join guest host Jon Burlingame for an in-depth discussion about bringing “Wicked” to the big screen. This includes challenges of blending live and pre-recorded vocal performances, and the ways in which they expanded the orchestral arrangements to match the scale of this massive Hollywood movie musical.
Essential Reading about Wicked’s music and creation.
Defying Gravity, the Stephen Schwartz biography, is the most complete source for behind-the-scenes stories for the making of Wicked as a stage musical. Read about your favorite Wicked songs.
Defying Gravity also takes readers through the making of Godspell, Pippin, The Prince of Egypt, and other Stephen Schwartz shows and movies. It includes photos from Stephen’s archives, “Creativity Notes,” and more.
The 2nd edition includes new chapters and features a Foreword by Schwartz’s frequent collaborator, composer Alan Menken (that includes a story about Wicked‘s opening night). https://caroldegiere.com/defying-gravity/
About The Schwartz Scene
For back issues visit our Back issue archive.
The Schwartz Scene is an independent publication written for musical theater and film enthusiasts who appreciate the work of American composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz. It does not formally represent Mr. Schwartz, although Carol de Giere is in regular contact with the Schwartz office for updates and approval of his quotations. Send questions or comments to Carol by email to carol1@caroldegiere.com or if you have direct questions for the Schwartz office go to Stephenschwartz.com
Copyright 2024 by Carol de Giere. Journalists are asked to cite “The Schwartz Scene” newsletter if quoting, in brief, from this issue. Carol de Giere has exclusive rights, unless otherwise specified, for all materials included in the newsletter. Permission must be secured in writing before any part of it may be reprinted, except for the printing of one copy for the subscriber’s private use. Editor: Carol de Giere, 10 Library Place #909, Bethel CT 06801-0909.
