Actor Eddie Redmayne may have hogged the headlines for his Oscar-winning characterisation of Professor Stephen Hawking in The Theory Of Everything.
But that didn’t prevent the soundtrack being nominated at all this season’s major movie award ceremonies and securing composer Johann Johannsson a Golden Globe for Best Film Score.
Claire Freeman
The project was painstakingly pieced together for British film company Working Title over a 12 month period by seasoned music supervisors Sarah Bridge and Claire Freeman (Crown Sync).
“We put a lot of thought into existing recordings which were needed to pin the action to a specific time and place as well as underline Professor Hawking’s love of Wagner,” says Freeman, whose portfolio also includes the critically-acclaimed Vera Brittain biopic Testament Of Youth.
“We also shortlisted 20 different composers including Johann Johannsson. He was director James Marsh’s favourite from the outset and ended up writing 75 percent of the music in the film.”
However, Freeman continues, crucial sequences involving live performances proved the biggest challenges.
“For the Cambridge May Ball scenes, Sarah sourced the very talented Top Shelf Band to replicate the Trad Jazz styles which were popular with students in the early 1960s.
“But central to the story is the relationship between Jane Hawking and the choir master played by Charlie Cox. Not only did he have to be taught how to conduct the various carols and hymns but we had to find enough singers to reflect how the look of the choir changed over decades.”
