Music Supervisor Christine Woodruff

Music

Proserpinawritten by John Duigan/Sarah de JongMusic Director Sarah de JongOrchestral performance by Sydney Youth Orchestra

Sleepy Lagoonwritten by Lawrence/Coates (Warner Chappell Music)performed by Harry James, courtesy CBS Records

Waspswritten by Vaughan-Williams (G. Schirmer & Co)performed by Queensland Symphony Orchestra,conducted by Patrick Thomascourtesy Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Johnny Get Angrywritten by David/Edwards (Jodi Music)performed by Joanie Sommers, courtesy Warner Bros Recordsby arrangement with Warner Special Products

Tutti Fruttiwritten by Penniman/La Bostrie/Lubin(ATV Music/EMI Music Publishling (sic))

I Just Wanna Make Love To Youwritten by Willie Dixon (Jewel Music, Aus)

The Moochewritten by Ellington/Mills (Belwin Mills Music/Leosong)performed by Sydney Bechet, courtesy BMG Arista Ariola

With A Girl Like Youwritten by R. Presley (Polygram Music Publishing)performed by The Troggs, courtesy Polygram Records

Little Egyptwritten by Lieber/Stoller(Elvis Presley Music/Trio Music/Progressive Music/EMI Music)

Big Bad Johnwritten by Jimmy Dean (Fred Rose Music Inc/MCA Gilbey)

Recorder Soloist Wolfgang DuiganFight Music James D'Arcy

With the exception of director Duigan joining with composer Sarah de Jong to knock up the score for the musical Proserpina staged in the film, no conventional underscore or composer was used, a typical Duigan ploy, with period music used to provide atmosphere and to accompany the action - as when the girls move into the dance to the sound of the Troggs, or Tutti Frutti’s lyrics are cited as a kind of cry calling for anarchic teen rebellion.

(Below: the musical Proserpina performed in the film)

Apart from Proserpina, the main piece of music performed in in the film is near the start of the show when the two schools get together in church to sing the Lutheran hymn From Greenland’s Icy Mountains (Reginald Heber, 1783-1826), though surprisingly it isn’t mentioned in the music credits, nor does it appear on the CD release of the soundtrack. Thandiwe makes a point of not singing - looking at Danny instead - at the lyric about delivering land (presumably including Afric’) from error’s chain …

Lyrics as heard in the film:

From Greenland's icy mountains,From India's coral strand,Where Afric's sunny fountainsRoll down their golden sand;From many an ancient river,From many a palmy plain,They call us to deliverTheir land from error's chain…

The music fades out girls playing a game of hockey.

Big Bad John is the inspiration for Danny as he heads off into the ring to fight his Sonny Liston, and Ellington’s The Mooche, as played by Sydney Bechet, is used to evoke the physical sensuality of the girls’ dancing. At time of writing, the Ellington version could be found on YouTube here.

Other excuses for a bit of music include Thandiwe bumping a record player when she wants to watch news of the latest events in relation to Vietnam and frivolous girls insist on playing the Joanie Summers’ pop song Johnny Get Angry. Harry James’ Sleepy Lagoon is used as an ironic juxtaposition to the caning of the boys and Danny by the pipe-smoking, SS-strutting, cane-wielding Rupert Elliott (Marshall Napier).

The music for the film was released on CD and tape, though the mixing of the music from the two films can be quite confusing. For example, it is Vaughan Williams’ overture to The Wasps which appears in Flirting and runs over the end titles, while Williams’ The Lark Ascending is the lyrical music used in The Year My Voice Broke.

The release clearly wasn’t a big seller and is now hard to find in the second hand market.

CD listing:

1. With A Girl Like You (2’09”), performed by The Troggs2. That's The Way Boys Are (2’15”), performed by Lesley Gore3. A Hundred Pounds Of Clay (2’18”), performed by Gene McDaniels4. Diana (2’20”), performed by Paul Anka5. Sleepy Lagoon (2’57”), performed by Harry James6. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (2’58”), performed by Gene Pitney7. Apache (2’55”), performed by The Shadows8. Tower Of Strength (2’16”), performed by Gene McDaniels9. The Mooche (3’10”), performed by Sidney Bechet10. Get A Little Dirt On Your Hands (3’03”), performed by The Delltones11. Big Bad John (3’02”), performed by Jimmy Dean12. Corinna Corinna (2’40”), performed by Ray Peterson13. I Remember You (2’05”), performed by Frank Ifield14. The Wasps (Overture) (9’46”), performed by Queensland Symphony Orchestra/Patrick Thomas Conductor15. The Lark Ascending (13’20”), performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra/Sir Adrian Boult Conductor

Tape Listing:

Cassette: Columbia. 468392 4 CD 468392 2 1991Includes music from “The Year My Voice Broke”

SIDE 1:With A Girl Like You (Presley) Vocals: The Troggs. (PolyGram)That’s The Way Boys Are (Barkan/Raleigh) Vocals: Lesley Gore (Warner)A Hundred Pounds Of Clay (Elgin) Vocals: Gene McDaniels (Pincus Gil)Diana (P. Anka) Vocals: Paul Anka (Control)Sleepy Lagoon (Coates/J. Lawrence) Vocals: Harry James (Warner)The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (B. Bacharach/H. David) Vocals: Gene Pitney (Warner)Apache (Lordan) The Shadows (J. Albert & Son Pty. Ltd)Tower Of Strength (Hilliard/Bacharach) Vocals: Gene McDaniels (Warner) The Wasps (Overture) (Vaughan/Williams), Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Patrick Thomas conductor (Boosey)

SIDE 2:The Mooche (D. Ellington) Vocals: Sidney Bechet (Boosey)Get A Little Dirt On Your Hands (Bill Anderson) Vocals: The Delltones (Victoria)Big Bad John (J. Dean) Vocals: Jimmy Dean (Gilbey)Corinna Corinna (Williams/Chatman/Parish) Vocals: Ray Peterson (Boosey)I Remember You (J. Mercer/V. Schertzinger) Vocals: Frank Ifield (Warner)The Lark Ascending (Vaughan/Williams) London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir

Adrian Boult Conductor (Boosey)

Sarah De Jong:

Sarah De Jong is an artist represented at the Australian Music Centre, which had this CV and photo for her here:

Sarah de Jong was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1952 and moved to Australia in 1961. She trained at the Melbourne State College studying music and drama, then at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music with Brian Howard and Barry Conyngham. In 1986 she participated in the Australia/New Zealand Professional Choreographers and Composers Dance Course.Since 1978 Sarah has played an important role in Australia crossing artistic boundaries while creating music for theatre, dance, radio and film. She has worked in many musical forms and takes great pleasure in exploring disjointed dancing rhythms and unexpected harmonies underneath lovely melodies. Her music is particularly noted for its ability to intensify emotions created in texts and in performances and she find collaborating with artists in different fields very rewarding. Kurt Weil's music and his ability to survive while writing music for theatre has been a major influence on her, when she first learned of him in 1969 she decided to see if it was possible for her to do the same in Australia.Several theatre pieces she has scored have toured Australia, Europe, England, Japan, Venezuela and New Zealand and she has twice worked in Hanoi, Vietnam composing dance theatre pieces. Her most recent work in Vietnam for the Vietnam Opera Ballet Theatre Company was titled Through the Eyes of the Phoenix (1997) and scored for an orchestra which also included Vietnamese instruments. She particularly enjoys composing for strings, saxophone, clarinet, piano, percussion and voice in various combinations, as well as instruments such as koto, theorbo, glass harmonica and dan bau.Notable scores include the music theatre work Portrait of an Invisible Man (1993) for koto, voice, marimba, tuned and untuned percussion, the films Flirting (1989) and Sparks (1989) both winners of Australian Film Institute awards for Best Film and the radio plays Summer Of The Aliens (1989) and The Lights of Jericho (1993), both of which won the Prix Italia.Almost always working as a freelance composer there have been many commissions. Some of them include: the Sydney Theatre Company - Black Medea (2000) for string trio, Salt (2001) for violin and viola; Theatre of Image - The Empty Lunch Tin (1999) for string trio, The Happy Prince (1992) for electronic instruments; Australian Dance Theatre -Fantastic Toys (1986) for tape, sampler and electronic instruments; One Extra Company - Drowning In A Sea of Dreams(1994) for viola solo, piano and electronic instruments.CD recordings of many of de Jong's works are available for sale from the

composer.For details of the works, recordings etc, follow the link.(Below: Sarah De Jong)