DANNY ELFMAN&

SERENADA SCHIZOPHRANA

By Arthur M. Taylor

Danny’s Early Years• Daniel Robert “Danny”

Elfman was born in Los Angeles, California, on May 29, 1953.

• Danny grew up watching movies.

• He loved the music of movie composers Bernard Herrman, Franz Waxman, Dimitri Tiomkin, and Max Steiner.

Teenage Adventures• At the age of 18, he

travelled to France to live with his older brother Richard.

• He spent a year playing violin for a music group Le Grand Magic Circus with Richard.

• He spent another year travelling across Africa.

The Mystic Knights of Oingo Boingo

• In 1972, Danny joined Richard in the eccentric musical-theatrical troupe, The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo.

• In 1976, Richard made a career shift into filmmaking, and gave leadership of the troupe up to Danny.

Oingo Boingo• In 1978, Danny reformed the

troupe into the music group “Oingo Boingo.”

• In 1980, they performed in Richard Elfman film “Forbidden Zone.”

• Their first major album, Only a Lad, came out in 1981.

• Between 1980 and 2002 they released 17 albums.

Into The Movies• In 1985, Danny started

what would become a tradition of writing scores for Tim Burton’s movies.

• He started to catch the attention of moviemakers, especially after his work on Batman(1989).

• Since 1985, he has written the scores or themes for over 6 dozen movies.

Recent Events• In 1994, Danny reorganized

Oingo Boingo once again into a 5-man group renamed “Boingo.”

• In 2003, He married the actress Bridget Fonda.

• In 2005, Danny wrote Serenada Schizophrana

Serenada SchizophranaSerenada Schizophrana was Danny Elfman’s first major composition intended for concert

hall performance.

Carnegie Hall PerformanceThe premiere of the composition was at the

American Composers Orchestra performance on February 23, 2005 at Carnegie Hall in New

York City.

Soundtrack Recording • It was also recorded as the

soundtrack for the IMAX film, Deep Sea 3D.

• It was recorded in early December of 2005

• It took over three days to record all six movements.

Movements of Schizophrana

II. Blue Strings(10min. 8sec.)

III. A Bass Thing(7min. 55sec.)

IV. The Quadruped

Patrol(2min. 55sec.)

V. “I Forget”(6min. 23sec.)

VI. Bells and Whistles(8min. 7sec.)

2• Discussion Item two• Add a second line of text

here

Movement I. Pianos(0:00 – 2:41)

• The movement starts out with the piano & the strings playing a suspenseful tune.

• Flutes, drums, and brass come in to add to a growing feeling of tension and excitement.

• A pattern of waxing and waning excitement follows ‘til it hits a climax at 2:41min.

Pianos(2:42 – 5:34)

• We return to just the pianos, now playing a more eerie tune.

• The other instruments start again to pop in & out with the piano, bringing a wild sound.

• For a brief time a sax a relaxing tune in the middle of it all.

Pianos(5:35 – 7:02)

• The music repeats what was played at the beginning.

• Tension and excitement start to build again.

• Before it reaches the full intensity, it pulls together and slows to a stop.

Movement V. “I Forget”(0:00 – 2:23)

• The rhythm gets started with a xylophone and strings

• Soon the singers start with an eerie, sad, and yet excited song in Spanish.

• The singing is accented by various instruments, including an organ, drums, and brass.

• All build up to a haunting climax, with the singers singing “Oohh” in series.

“I Forget”(2:24 – 3:16)

• The organ plays a rapid series of descending notes.

• The singers start again with each phrase being punctuated by a clamor from the other instruments.

• They build again to a haunting intensity, with the singers singing “Oohh” in series.

“I Forget”(3:17 – 3:58)

• A marimba and bells take off with a haunting yet lively rhythm.

• The strings start playing a heartbeat that build in intensity.

• The heartbeat ends with a series of long high notes from the woodwinds and the brass.

“I Forget”(3:59 – 6:23)

• The singing starts again, and the phrases get increasingly more abrupt.

• After a minute the singing begins to fade, and is replaced by a sad rolling tune from the brass.

• The brass fade to be replaced by flutes with the same tune. Then all fade away.

BibliographyWho is Elfman?,

http://elfman.filmmusic.com/about_elfman.htmlWho is Danny Elfman?,

http://www.bluntinstrument.org.uk/elfman/bio/index.htmlOINGO BOINGO The Complete History,

http://www.buzzine.com/2008/05/oingo-boingo/Danny Elfman’s profile,

http://www.facebook.com/dannyelfman?v=infoDanny Elfman,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Elfman#cite_note-3All World Premiere Concert Features Legendary Rock

Guitarist Andy Summers & Orchestral Debut of Hollywood Composer Danny Elfman,

http://www.americancomposers.org/rel20050223.htm Danny Elfman records his "Serenada Schizophrana",

http://www.scoringsessions.com/news/100/