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This wonderful score by Shirley Walker has a theme for Batman that has what sounds like lyrics, as opposed to vocalise.
What are they singing?
thx!
bruce r. marshall
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Posted: |
Jun 9, 2007 - 6:06 PM
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By: |
Squiddybop
(Member)
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I just did a search and found someting in an old review of the score from Cinemusic.net that should explain it:
For those who want the "Latin" lyrics used in Mask of the Phantasm, there is an amusing and fascinating anecdote. Shirley Walker tells the story.
"As you know, the music team is rushing to the finish line as a film is in its final dub phase. Even the known orchestrators are not always given the credit they so justly deserve for insuring the timely execution (so to speak) of the score. I've become tired of fighting for credits for the support team that helps pull me through the final throes of recording and mixing my scores.
The choir for Masks gave me the opportunity to rectify this terrible situation. I made a chart by number of syllables of every music persons name backwards to use in creating the language you hear. 'Oh Nahlim Mot!', the phrase the score begins with, is Tom Milano, the music editor of most of my features, whom I originally worked with doing the Flash TV series.
You get the idea. It was working so well, I realized that I would need to include some of the film producers and executives at Warner Bros. After all, they were paying for my little inside joke. People do like to be included in these sorts of things. I had to lie to the Warner Bros. legal department person who called to ask me what the language was and what was being said.
They certainly didn't want to be a party to me saying "screw Warner Bros." in Danish. I told them it was an obscure nonsensical choral language that existed only in out of print orchestration books.
I think I actually spent more time on my plot than I did on the score during the week I was preparing the choral cues. It was quite fun to see the looks on peoples faces, as they realized what they were hearing. Only two people had deciphered the puzzle by the time we recorded the choir. It was very difficult for the singers to sing the strange words. I'm sure they would
have had more fun doing it, had I been able to include them in the joke too.
While I was mixing the score, I had Bobby Fernandez (Zed-nahn-fur E-Bob) record the choir accappella onto a seperate DAT, ostensibly for my sample reel. The look on Tom's face as he began to suspect what I had done was well worth the whole deception. He finally turned to me and said "You didn't do what I think you've done, did you?".
The rest is history. Everyone on the music team has a tape of the singing of their names (we transfered to 1/4" tape and played it backwards; the old "back-masking" trick)."
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Thanks Squiidman!
I must now go and play my cd backwards...
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Before her untimely passing, Mrs. Walker sent me a scan of the original backwards-name-chart she made to assemble her MOTP lyrics. This chart was supposed to appear as an attachment to the FSM interview I conducted with her last fall, but was mistakenly left off. I have plans to post it online in the near future, and will be sure to throw up a link to it in this thread.
Do you still have the name-chart? I've spent hours wondering what they are singing, ever since I found out that it's not in Latin (which I, as many others, thought at first). The last one has to be Richard Bronskill (Lik-Snorb Drah-Cir) and the third last one must be Eric Radomski (Ik-Smo-Dar Cire), but the rest is pretty hard to interpret! It's getting kind of annoying, because I really want to know what they are singing! Will you upload it for me? I would be -so very- grateful! Thank you in advance! =)
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Posted: |
Aug 6, 2011 - 9:34 PM
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By: |
Wedge
(Member)
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Yes, the name chart (along with other exclusive supplemental materials) was ultimately included in the third part of my "Music of the Knight" feature, back in April 2009 (FSMO Volume 14, No. 4).
The name chart doesn't spell out which names were used where, however ... barring a peek at the original choral parts, that still has to be done by ear. I sat down to try to figure out the "Main Title" once, and here's what I came up with:
Intro:
[Hard to tell, but ends with a "J" sound, so probably either NILK-CAN-URF LOGE (Joel Franklin) or EE-DRUCK-AHM NEEJ (Jean MacCurdy)]
KNAURF GUD, KNAURF GUD (Doug Frank x2)
[Indecipherable beneath the orchestra]
Main Theme, first phrase:
OH-NAH-LIM MOT (Tom Milano)
EAT-IM-UZ EE-TAP (Patti Zimmitti)
EE-DRUCK-AHM NEEJ (Jean MacCurdy)
--> [The interstitial phrase *seems* to borrow syllables from the above and below names]
RUR MIS NEH (Hans Zimmer)
Main Theme, second phrase:
NAHT-SHICK-UM KIME (Mike McCuistion)
IX-MAH-DEER KI-RARE (Erik Radomski)
NILK-CAN-URF LOGE (Joel Franklin)
LICK-SNAHRB DRA-CHEER (Richard Bronskill)
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Yes, the name chart (along with other exclusive supplemental materials) was ultimately included in the third part of my "Music of the Knight" feature, back in April 2009 (FSMO Volume 14, No. 4).
The name chart doesn't spell out which names were used where, however ... barring a peek at the original choral parts, that still has to be done by ear. I sat down to try to figure out the "Main Title" once, and here's what I came up with:
Intro:
[Hard to tell, but ends with a "J" sound, so probably either NILK-CAN-URF LOGE (Joel Franklin) or EE-DRUCK-AHM NEEJ (Jean MacCurdy)]
KNAURF GUD, KNAURF GUD (Doug Frank x2)
[Indecipherable beneath the orchestra]
Main Theme, first phrase:
OH-NAH-LIM MOT (Tom Milano)
EAT-IM-UZ EE-TAP (Patti Zimmitti)
EE-DRUCK-AHM NEEJ (Jean MacCurdy)
--> [The interstitial phrase *seems* to borrow syllables from the above and below names]
RUR MIS NEH (Hans Zimmer)
Main Theme, second phrase:
NAHT-SHICK-UM KIME (Mike McCuistion)
IX-MAH-DEER KI-RARE (Erik Radomski)
NILK-CAN-URF LOGE (Joel Franklin)
LICK-SNAHRB DRA-CHEER (Richard Bronskill)
Now it's becoming much, much clearer! Some of the names you mentioned didn't I even know of (stupid me), maybe that's why I was never able to solve it. ยด=S
I don't understand why Shirley Walker mentioned Robert Fernandez name like that (Zed-Nahn-Fur E-Bob) when she was telling the story though. Did she just want to confuse us, or did she just say it for fun's sake? That's irritating, 'cause I tried to insert his name everywhere but it never fit in. =P
But anyhow, thanks for your analysis - it is much appreciated! I think you did a fantastic job on that!
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In any case, she made the chart before she wrote the "lyrics," so it's no guarantee that they were all actually used.