John Powell - Wicked Part One (2024)

[Jay 40,305]

Cool!

 

01 Opening Build (0:37)
02 Green Childhood (2:28)
03 Glinda’s Entrance (2:07)
04 Our Heroes Meet (1:54)
05 Go With Her (1:03)
06 Meet the Faculty (3:46)
07 The Other Daughter / Wheelchair / Volunteering (3:35)
08 Reluctant Roomates (2:40)
09 Off to Class (0:43)
10 History Lesson (3:48)
11 Levitate the Coin (2:17)
12 Elphaba Follows / Something Bad / Tea with Dillamond / You’d Better Go (4:29)
13 Fiyero Meets Elphaba / Glinda Readies / Book Place (5:15)
14 Glinda Prepping (1:44)
15 Elphaba’s Entrance (1:05)
16 The Hat / Humiliation Together (2:10)
17 Sharing Secrets (2:00)
18 Look at You (1:18)
19 Dillamond Detained (4:18)
20 Cub Rescue (1:44)
21 Forest Feelings (2:01)
22 Ozian Invitation / Train Station (5:59)
23 Sendoff (2:17)
24 Hall of Grandiosity (2:18)
25 His Ozness / Yellow Brick Road (4:22)
26 The Grimmerie (2:05)
27 Levitation / No Real Power (8:09)
28 Monkey Mayhem / Balloon Escape (3:38)
29 Open Your Eyes (0:28)
30 Propaganda Speech (1:07)
31 The Broom (1:27)
32 The Cape (1:45)
33 Leap of Faith (1:26)
34 End Titles (5:44)
TOTAL TIME - 1:31:47

 

EDIT: Because we're on a new page, here's the link:

 

https://awards.universalpictures.com/wicked/score

 

Thanks Universal!

[bossnass77 7]

Monkey Mayhem and Leap of Faith are incredible.

[Luka 275]

Does anyone know how to extract the audio files?

[Loert 2,786]

9 minutes ago, Luka said:

Does anyone know how to extract the audio files?

 

Spoiler

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/opening-build.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/green-childhood.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/glindas-entrance.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/our-heroes-meet.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/go-with-her.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/meet-the-faculty.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/the-other-daughter-wheelchair-volunteering.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/reluctant-roomates.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/off-to-class.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/history-lesson.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/levitate-the-coin.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/elphaba-follows-something-bad-tea-with-dillamond-youd-better-go.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/fiyero-meets-elphaba-glinda-readies-book-place.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/glinda-prepping.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/elphabas-entrance.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/the-hat-humiliation-together.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/sharing-secrets.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/look-at-you.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/dillamond-detained.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/cub-rescue.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/forest-feelings.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/ozian-invitation-train-station.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/sendoff.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/hall-of-grandiosity.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/his-ozness-yellow-brick-road.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/the-grimmerie.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/levitation-no-real-power.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/monkey-mayhem-balloon-escape.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/open-your-eyes.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/propaganda-speech.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/the-broom.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/the-cape.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/leap-of-faith.mp3

https://awards.universalpictures.com/assets/audio/wicked/score/end-titles.mp3

 

[Tydirium 1,421]

Seems like most of the end credits music is actually comprised of earlier cues, so I understand now why it’s not included on the commercial score album.

[Tydirium 1,421]

I’ve spotted a new/unknown theme or motif that seems to represent the Wicked Witch (or something dark):

 

“Opening Build” at 0:09

“Green Childhood” at 1:46

“The Other Daughter / Wheelchair / Volunteering” at 0:49, 2:32

“Hall of Grandiosity” at 0:50

“Monkey Mayhem / Balloon Escape” at 0:24, 2:06, 2:24

 

Not sure if this is a new theme by Powell, or a reference to a song that I haven’t yet recognized. There will be two new Schwartz songs in Part 2, so it’s always possible that any new themes in this one are actually references to those new songs.

 

Like for example, the new apparent friendship theme that is clearly based on “If I Only Had a Brain”:

 

“Sharing Secrets” at 1:22

“Sendoff” at 0:38

 

EDIT: I love that the Wizard’s music box tune at 0:33 in “Ozian Invitation / Train Station” is the theme of his song “Wonderful” from Act 2/Part 2!

 

EDIT 2: LOL! Sauron’s theme at 1:15 of “Levitate the Coin”???

[PrayodiBA 775]

I can't wait to create themes breakdown for this score!

 

One of the highlight for me is the evolution of Madam Morrible's theme,

as @Tydirium has noted before, it's not a new theme by Powell, but rather taken from the first notes of Morrible's song in "The Wizard and I" (Anyway, this theme really fits perfectly with the gracefulness of Michelle Yeoh).

 

What I found out after listening FYC score, Morrible's theme is scattered in many tracks, often as a 'foreshadow' element in the background. If you have seen the movie, you'll see that this character becomes the central part of the story and presumably the key person behind the 'government program' that drives the story of this movie.

 

And yes , as @Tydirium has just mentioned above, one of the original themes that Powell created represents the 'wickedness/evil'

 

 

 

[Tarci4096 23]

 

I compiled the first 2 tracks (Opening Build & Green Childhood) with "No One Mourns the Wicked". The entire track together with John Powell's score would have been 10 minutes long. The underscore during the parts where Glinda sings "Isn't it nice to know" was of course edited out of the soundtrack album.

[Tarci4096 23]

The Official Score album omits (i think):
Opening Build, Green Childhood, Off to Class, Glinda Prepping, Open Your Eyes, and End Titles.

 

The Rest with selected cues matching the album titles:
1. Arrival at Shiz University (Glinda's Entrance)
2. Our Heroes Meet
3. Nessarose (Go With Her)
4. Meet the Faculty
5. Elphaba’s Power (Other Daughter / Wheelchair / Volunteering)
6. How to Loathe Your Roommate (Reluctant Roomates)
7. History Lesson
8. Levitate the Coin
9. All Around Something Bad ( Elphaba Follows / Something Bad, or Tea with Dillamond / You'd Better Go)
10. Prince Fiyero of Winkie Country (Fiyero Meets Elphaba / Glinda Readies) 
11. The Book Place 
12. Elphaba at Ozdust (Elphaba's Entrance / The Hat / Humiliation Together)
13. Sharing Secrets
14. Look at You
15. Replacement Teacher ( Dillamond Detained [Album Edit] )
16. Cub Rescue
17. Forest Feelings
18. Ozian Invitation
19. Galinda Becomes Glinda (Train Station)
20. Train to Emerald City (Sendoff)
21. Hall of Grandiosity
22. A Wizard’s Plan (His Ozness / Yellow Brick Road)
23. The Grimmerie
24. Transformations (Levitation / No Real Power)
25. Monkey Mayhem (Monkey Mayhem / Balloon Escape)
26. All Around Defying Gravity (Propaganda Speech / The Broom / The Cape / Leap of Faith)

[Tydirium 1,421]

“How to Loathe Your Roommate” is about a minute longer than “Reluctant Roomates,” so it’s possible “Off to Class” is included.

[Dr. Know 373]

Can someone indicate where the songs and Ozdust Duet would be inserted into the FYC playlist for a chronological presentation?

[Tydirium 1,421]

This is about as close as you’re going to get, I think:

 

01 Opening Build

01 No One Mourns the Wicked
02 Green Childhood (occurs within No One Mourns the Wicked)
03 Glinda’s Entrance

02 Dear Old Shiz (uses beginning of Glinda’s Entrance for OST edit)
04 Our Heroes Meet
05 Go With Her
06 Meet the Faculty
07 The Other Daughter - Wheelchair - Volunteering

03 The Wizard and I
08 Reluctant Roomates

04 What Is This Feeling?
09 Off to Class
10 History Lesson
11 Levitate the Coin
12 Elphaba Follows - Something Bad - Tea with Dillamond - You’d Better Go

05 Something Bad (occurs within Elphaba Follows - Something Bad - Tea with Dillamond - You’d Better Go)
13 Fiyero Meets Elphaba - Glinda Readies - Book Place

06 Dancing Through Life
14 Glinda Prepping (occurs within Dancing Through Life)
15 Elphaba’s Entrance (occurs within Dancing Through Life)
16 The Hat - Humiliation Together (occurs within Dancing Through Life)

12 Ozdust Duet (occurs within Dancing Through Life)
17 Sharing Secrets
18 Look at You (occurs within Popular)

07 Popular
19 Dillamond Detained
20 Cub Rescue
21 Forest Feelings

08 I’m Not That Girl
22 Ozian Invitation - Train Station
23 Sendoff

09 One Short Day
24 Hall of Grandiosity
25 His Ozness - Yellow Brick Road

10 A Sentimental Man
26 The Grimmerie
27 Levitation - No Real Power
28 Monkey Mayhem - Balloon Escape
29 Open Your Eyes
30 Propaganda Speech (occurs within Defying Gravity)
31 The Broom (occurs within Defying Gravity)
32 The Cape (occurs within Defying Gravity)
33 Leap of Faith (occurs within Defying Gravity)

11 Defying Gravity
34 End Titles

 

Some of the score cues occur within songs, so I made judgement calls on where to place them. For example, “Glinda Prepping,” “Elphaba’s Entrance,” “The Hat - Humiliation Together,” and the OST track “Ozdust Duet” all happen within “Dancing Through Life.” There’s not really a good way to put them, but maybe someone will find a better way than what I did.

 

In general, though, whenever this was the case I tended to put the songs after the score cues, since putting the score afterwards tends to ruin the climaxes of the songs. (In the above example, the ending of “Ozdust Duet” is basically the same as “Dancing Through Life” minus vocals, so you still effectively get the song ending there.) One exception is putting “No One Mourns the Wicked” right after “Opening Build”; even though “Green Childhood” occurs within “No One Mourns the Wicked,” I feel like it ruins the flow to put it before that track, since “Opening Build” is intended to lead right into the song.

[Taikomochi 1,262]

I think your logic of placement is perfect.

[Tydirium 1,421]

Thanks! For anyone interested, last night I also figured out how I’ll probably handle the official score release interspersed with the OST songs:

 

1. No One Mourns the Wicked

1. Arrival at Shiz University

2. Dear Old Shiz

2. Our Heroes Meet

3. Nessarose

4. Meet the Faculty

5. Elphaba’s Power

3. The Wizard and I

6. How to Loathe Your Roommate

4. What Is This Feeling?

7. History Lesson

8. Levitate the Coin

9. All Around Something Bad

5. Something Bad

10. Prince Fiyero of Winkie Country

11. The Book Place

6. Dancing Through Life

12. Elphaba at Ozdust

12. Ozdust Duet

13. Sharing Secrets

14. Look at You

7. Popular

15. Replacement Teacher

16. Cub Rescue

17. Forest Feelings

8. I’m Not that Girl

18. Ozian Invitation

19. Galinda Becomes Glinda

20. Train to Emerald City

9. One Short Day

21. Hall of Grandiosity

22. A Wizard’s Plan

10. A Sentimental Man

23. The Grimmerie

24. Transformations

25. Monkey Mayhem

26. All Around Defying Gravity

11. Defying Gravity

[Jay 40,305]

Is it possible to use a WAV editor and craft an expanded album of songs and score that doesn't repeat score material?  IE chopping up the OST-edits of songs into the right pieces to go in between the FYC score tracks in the right spots?

[Tydirium 1,421]

It may be possible, but certainly wouldn’t be too easy; some of the songs have been altered so they have sound effects/dialogue in the wrong places, for example. The song album was constructed to more closely mirror the Original Broadway Cast album.

[Jay 40,305]

Ah, I see.

[Tydirium 1,421]

Wow! We first heard this cue weeks before the film was released, but I had never noticed that 3:07, 3:31, and 4:05 of “Ozian Invitation / Train Station” are “I’m Not That Girl.”

[Tydirium 1,421]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDFYx05vrpr/

[Knight of Ren 1,125]

Just watched the film and I really enjoyed it! The perfect escapist entertainment that I needed right now. It wasn't perfect but kept me hooked all through and I really enjoyed the story overall and the vocal performances. The two leads were perfectly cast and played by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, playing off each other greatly. Powell's score feels at some points like it's filling the gaps between the songs, but even then in the way it constantly uses the songs' melodies to represent different aspects of the story, like how the "i loathe it all" from What Is This Feeling is quoted when they two characters clash in some way, and I'm sure there are a lot more examples that will reveal itself in further relistens.

 

It's going to be a bit of a nightmare to assemble a proper chronological order, because as mentioned above by @Tydirium, some score cues are introduced in the middle of a song, the most clear examples being Dancing Throug Life and Defying Gravity, which have several minutes of underscore interspersed between the song.

[Tydirium 1,421]

Would love somebody else’s opinion on this, but I just realized that the new “If I Only Had a Brain” friendship theme (0:38 of “Sendoff” for example) seems like it might actually be based on “What Is This Feeling”!? Check out 1:27 in the song:

 

 

It would make sense, and would be a genius move to use the theme of them “loathing” one another as a friendship theme later in the film.

[Marian Schedenig 9,387]

1 hour ago, Knight of Ren said:

Just watched the film and I really enjoyed it! The perfect escapist entertainment that I needed right now.

 

I haven't seen it yet (looking forward do it, but it doesn't start here until the 12th), but one label I definitely wouldn't apply to Wicked is "escapist". The film would be an utter failure if it is that.

[Mr. Who 998]

Great work by Powell on this score! Am not interested in the movie but it’s great to get two Powell scores within such a short time period!

 

Is it just me or does the cue The Cape sound a lot like the last cue from MOS with some 90s Zimmer added in the final third.

[Leia Sees Ghosts 322]

The more I listen to this score the more I want John Powell to score another Star Wars movie as if that desire could get any higher.

Also, some cues for the third act wouldn't feel out of place in a Batman movie and I want that to happen so bad. No disrespect to Benjamin Wallfisch who would do a great job, but who do I have to pay to get Andy Muschietti to hire John Powell to score The Brave and the Bold?

 

[Knight of Ren 1,125]

1 hour ago, Marian Schedenig said:

 

I haven't seen it yet (looking forward do it, but it doesn't start here until the 12th), but one label I definitely wouldn't apply to Wicked is "escapist". The film would be an utter failure if it is that.

Perhaps I didn't word that properly. I meant that it made me forget my own problems for a couple of hours so that's why I said escapist. But yeah, the movie is pretty strong on its social and political commentary and succeds at it, in my opinion. As relevant today as when the book was first published I think!

[Tydirium 1,421]

Starting to dive deep into theme identification… Here are the recurring themes/ideas so far that I am not able to trace back to any songs:

 

New theme 1

Opening Build 0:09

Green Childhood 1:46

The Other Daughter / Wheelchair / Volunteering 0:49, 2:32

Hall of Grandiosity 0:50

Monkey Mayhem / Balloon Escape 0:24, 2:06, 2:24

 

New theme 2

Go With Her 0:35

The Hat / Humiliation Together 1:36

His Ozness / Yellow Brick Road 2:54

Leap of Faith 0:49

 

New theme 3

History Lesson 1:37, 2:33

Dillamond Detained 1:32

Monkey Mayhem / Balloon Escape 3:07

The Broom 0:55

Leap of Faith 0:13

 

New theme 4

History Lesson 3:15

His Ozness / Yellow Brick Road 3:52

 

New theme 5

The Hat / Humiliation Together 0:09

The Broom 0:16

The Cape 0:12

 

I’m probably missing some appearances, but that should give a decent overview. It’s definitely possible (maybe even probable) that some of these are still references to songs, but I’m just not hearing it yet. As a side note, I found it particularly interesting to see that the 5th one appears in cues titled “The Hat,” “The Broom,” and “The Cape,” accompanying Elphaba’s first time wearing/using those things… Makes me wonder if it might be a theme/motif associated with her becoming the Wicked Witch.

[CT-7567 115]

3 hours ago, Leia Sees Ghosts said:

The more I listen to this score the more I want John Powell to score another Star Wars movie so badly. 

Also, some cues for the third act wouldn't feel out of place in a Batman movie and I want that to happen so bad. No disrespect to Benjamin Wallfisch who would do a great job, but who do I have to pay to get Andy Muschietti to hire John Powell to score The Brave and the Bold?

 

The most ironic thing about Powell is him doesn´t liking to do Superhero movies, seriously.

 

Powell make music that fit superheroes in every movie he does, see this 

 

And this that i literally made now  

 

 

 

 

 

[Luka 275]

1 hour ago, Tydirium said:

New theme 5

The Hat / Humiliation Together 0:09

The Broom 0:16

The Cape 0:12

 

Those intervals make me think of Defying Gravity when she sings "It's time to…" or "Tell them how…" etc. And then the second time it plays with a higher note, that note sounds like the higher "deFYing".

[Jay 40,305]

Wow, wasn't expecting five new themes from Powell. So cool!

[Luka 275]

2 hours ago, Tydirium said:

New theme 1

Opening Build 0:09

Green Childhood 1:46

The Other Daughter / Wheelchair / Volunteering 0:49, 2:32

Hall of Grandiosity 0:50

Monkey Mayhem / Balloon Escape 0:24, 2:06, 2:24

 

This one kind of makes me think of an inverted Dies Irae. Although it's not quite that, it gives me the Dies Irae vibes.

 

 

2 hours ago, Tydirium said:

New theme 2

Go With Her 0:35

The Hat / Humiliation Together 1:36

His Ozness / Yellow Brick Road 2:54

Leap of Faith 0:49

 

That one is certainly my personal favorite new theme from the ones you listed. I hope we find a meaning / link to it!

[Tydirium 1,421]

Found another:

 

1:35 The Other Daughter / Wheelchair / Volunteering

0:31 Levitate the Coin

 

Assuming it’s related to Elphaba’s magic.

 

EDIT: Wait, both times it leads directly into Morrible’s theme, so it’s probably something he came up with for that.

 

5 minutes ago, Luka said:

That one is certainly my personal favorite new theme from the ones you listed. I hope we find a meaning / link to it!

 

I love that one!

[Luka 275]

3 minutes ago, Tydirium said:

Found another:

 

1:35 The Other Daughter / Wheelchair / Volunteering

0:31 Levitate the Coin

 

I couldn't help but think of this when I heard that one 😆:

 

 

[Tydirium 1,421]

3 minutes ago, Luka said:

 

I couldn't help but think of this when I heard that one 😆:

 

 

 

Lol, knew it sounded familiar!

 

I’ve gotten so used to hearing this one since the clip(s) that came out weeks before the film, that I sort of forgot whether we even know what theme it is, lol:

 

2:40 Meet the Faculty

2:27 Ozian Invitation / Train Station

 

I figured maybe “Dear Old Shiz,” but I’m not really finding a match… Is it another new theme?

[jjstarA113 16]

3 hours ago, Tydirium said:

New theme 3

History Lesson 1:37, 2:33

Dillamond Detained 1:32

Monkey Mayhem / Balloon Escape 3:07

The Broom 0:55

Leap of Faith 0:13

 

This is the fanfare that kicks off the musical, at the very start of "No One Mourns the Wicked":

 

 

[Tydirium 1,421]

53 minutes ago, jjstarA113 said:

 

This is the fanfare that kicks off the musical, at the very start of "No One Mourns the Wicked":

 

 

 

Hm, could be! The harmonies are definitely the same… The main thing is that the theme in the score is missing the rhythmic element of NOMTW. I was going to say that the fourth note is also missing from the NOMTW fanfare, but I think I can barely hear it buried in the chord.

 

EDIT: Check out 0:43 in “The Broom” and you’ll hear what I mean. I don’t hear the lower fourth note of “New theme 3” in there. Still, the harmonies and the first three notes do make me think you could be right. I’m wondering if that cue (or even just that particular spot in that cue) was done by Schwartz, or if Powell just decided to be unambiguous and quote the theme more directly that time.

 

EDIT 2: Okay, now I’m getting more convinced… I think you may be onto something. The rhythm in 0:13 of “Leap of Faith” is definitely similar to the NOMTW opening. This may be another case like with Morrible’s theme and the friendship theme, which are based on “The Wizard and I” and “What Is This Feeling?” respectively, but still have some new notes thrown in.

[Knight of Ren 1,125]

1:22 of Glinda's Entrance and 2:59 of Meet the Faculty have the same motif, but I don't know if it's derived from any of the songs. I think it's associated with Glinda, but I'm not sure if it perhaps comes from Popular or if it's a new motif?

 

EDIT: It also appears at 1:34 of Reluctant Roommates!

[Tydirium 1,421]

5 hours ago, Knight of Ren said:

1:22 of Glinda's Entrance and 2:59 of Meet the Faculty have the same motif, but I don't know if it's derived from any of the songs. I think it's associated with Glinda, but I'm not sure if it perhaps comes from Popular or if it's a new motif?

 

EDIT: It also appears at 1:34 of Reluctant Roommates!

I noticed those first two appearances but not the third! Good catch. I don’t recognize it in Popular but I wouldn’t rule it out yet!

[Tydirium 1,421]

@Knight of Ren Took another listen to those spots; it’s “Popular”! Listen to the plucked strings (especially the first 4 notes) and then compare to 0:25 of “Reluctant Roomates.” These all correspond to “La la, la la” at 2:10 in “Popular.” Powell even uses the bells to imitate the little raised note she sings between her third and fourth “la”s.

[Jay 40,305]

So wait are all of Powell's "new themes" just secretly parts of the songs?

[Meredith McKay 7,071]

[Tydirium 1,421]

2 minutes ago, Jay said:

So wait are all of Powell's "new themes" just secretly parts of the songs?

 

At least a couple of them so far, but like I said in my post, there was always a good chance this was going to be the case. He’s hidden some of them pretty well.

[AzOutcast 128]

2 hours ago, Tydirium said:

 

At least a couple of them so far, but like I said in my post, there was always a good chance this was going to be the case. He’s hidden some of them pretty well.

 

That's gotta be a tricky act - to write score in between songs and uitlize some of the themes without blatantly copy-pasting what we hear during the songs. I'd say in that regard, the score is a resounding success.

[Tydirium 1,421]

Found another idea that pops up a couple times:

 

1:05 Green Childhood

0:00 Meet the Faculty

 

I have not yet figured out which song, if any.

[Knight of Ren 1,125]

Listened to the score a couple of times and I think I identified most of the melodies appearances, but sometimes they're so disguised and modified that they aren't as easy to pick up, which makes me discover something new with each listen! I think all the main melodies from the songs have at least one appearance in the score cues in one way or another with the exception of A Sentimental Man.

 

Also, I compared the End Credits suite and indeed it's comprised of several score cues:

-From 0:00 to 1:35 is a shortened version of the section from 0:51 to 2:56 of Ozian Invitation/Train Station, although the bit starting at 1:19 of the end credits is a bit different to its score counterpart with a different ending that segues into

-Sendoff, that remains pretty much the same

-At 3:45, it segues into Look at You, which is a bit shorter, and misses the last few seconds to transition into

-The Friendship theme in an arrangement that sounds pretty similar to the one heard at 2:54 of His Ozness/Yellow Brick Road, but it's not quite the same

-And then ends with a statement one of Elphaba's main motifs at 5:08 which I think it's just an instrumental rendition of one of its many appearances in Defying Gravity

[Jay 40,305]

I listened to the FYC album this morning - WOW!  What a score!  The orchestrations are quite catching, and I liked the suspense music in the middle third-ish of the album.

 

As someone who has never seen the musical nor listened to any of its songs, I have no clue what's Schwartz and what's Powell, but the first listen really grabbed me.  I look forward to subsequent listens, as well as Powell's score album!  Not sure yet if I'll check out the song album...

[Tydirium 1,421]

2 hours ago, Jay said:

I listened to the FYC album this morning - WOW!  What a score!  The orchestrations are quite catching, and I liked the suspense music in the middle third-ish of the album.

 

As someone who has never seen the musical nor listened to any of its songs, I have no clue what's Schwartz and what's Powell, but the first listen really grabbed me.  I look forward to subsequent listens, as well as Powell's score album!  Not sure yet if I'll check out the song album...

 

I would absolutely recommend the song album! It will only increase your appreciation for Powell’s score and how he handles the themes. The orchestra is massive, and as Powell said in the Dolby interview, Schwartz’s tunes are a “goldmine.” 

 

Check out the first minute (the overture) of “No One Mourns the Wicked” and you’ll see:

 

 

In that overture, you’ve got:

 

0:01 Wicked Witch theme

0:20 Flying monkeys theme

0:36 “Unlimited” ostinato

0:41 “Unlimited” theme

 

Speaking of which, one of the things I love about Wicked is that it scratches my film score fan itch in that it’s a leitmotivic musical. For example, that “Unlimited” theme (which is probably one of my favorite themes in anything) runs through multiple different songs:

 

3:59:

 

3:17:

 

And it shows up in Act 2 (and thus Part 2) as well. That song, “Defying Gravity,” also references two other songs during it (“A Sentimental Man” and “No One Mourns the Wicked”), the movie version of “One Short Day” cleverly references the theme of a song sung by the Wizard in Act 2 (Powell’s score does, as well), etc.

 

And then you’ve just got infectious stuff like 5:08 to the end of this, the “Wizomania” show-within-a-show, which I had been desperately wanting a film version of ever since I first heard the Original Broadway Cast album back in 2012:

 

 

The counterpoint at 5:33 in that is genius (using the main “One Short Day” theme from earlier in the song, against the Wizomania theme). Anyways, I could go on and on. I’m not really a fan of most modern Broadway musicals (if Wicked even qualifies as “modern,” lol, as it’s over 20 years old), but Wicked is pretty high up there for me. It’s definitely worth at least one listen, IMO!

[Jay 40,305]

2 minutes ago, Tydirium said:

 

I would absolutely recommend the song album! It will only increase your appreciation for Powell’s score and how he handles the themes. The orchestra is massive, and as Powell said in the Dolby interview, Schwartz’s tunes are a “goldmine.” 

 

Check out the first minute (the overture) of “No One Mourns the Wicked” and you’ll see:

 

In that overture, you’ve got:

 

0:01 Wicked Witch theme

0:20 Flying monkeys theme

0:36 “Unlimited” ostinato

0:41 “Unlimited” theme

 

Wait, is the first minute of the song album not in the film, and therefore not on the FYC album?  Is it something recorded just for the song album? Will it be on Powell's score album?

[Tydirium 1,421]

5 minutes ago, Jay said:

 

Wait, is the first minute of the song album not in the film, and therefore not on the FYC album?  Is it something recorded just for the song album? Will it be on Powell's score album?

 

It won’t be on Powell’s score album, just the song album. It’s in the film, and it’s part of the song “No One Mourns the Wicked.” It’s part of the song on the Broadway cast album too:

 

 

[Jay 40,305]

Ah I understand now.  So the FYC doesn't include stretches of purely orchestral music if its really parts of the songs and not underscore

[Tydirium 1,421]

Yep, exactly.