The Music of Jonah | MP3 |

ISSUE #3 - The Music of Jonah
Phil Vischer, Big Idea's top tomato, talks about scoring Jonah!

Music has always played a key role in VeggieTales®, probably because Mike and I, the primary writers and directors, are so musical. Neither of us can actually read or write music, nor can we play any instrument well enough to impress anyone, but we both tend to walk around with little songs falling out of our heads.

Learning how to score a film (create the music that plays under the action) has been quite an adventure! Over the years we've slowly added more complexity (as well as live instruments) to our scores. The scoring process for Jonah started more than a year ago, as composer Kurt Heinecke and I began discussing basic themes (the key melodies that will be used throughout a score).

We had already recorded and arranged most of the songs, so we had those melodies to draw on. For example, the melody line from Jonah's opening song, "A Message From the Lord," reoccurs throughout the film whenever Jonah tries to put on his "prophet hat" and give people God's messages. But we also needed themes representing the film itself, Jonah's traveling buddy Khalil, the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (in addition to their own theme song, which we also used), Jonah's flight, and the film's major locations -- like Joppa (the 'good' guys), and Nineveh (the 'bad' guys).

Developing all these themes was quite a bit of work in and of itself! But of all of them, my favorite theme is probably the one that represents the film's teaching. Jonah is ultimately about God's mercy -- how he wants to give us all second chances, even though we don't deserve them.

I have always been excited about the idea of dipping into the rich heritage of church music for film scores. So I sent Kurt off on a mission to find a hymn we could use in the score that dealt with God's mercy. A few weeks later he came back with an old, 19th century hymn that fit perfectly! For a film about mercy -- about a guy trying to escape across the sea to get away from God -- we found a beautiful little hymn that starts out:

"There's a wideness in God's mercy -- like the wideness of the sea.
There's a kindness in God's justice -- that is more than liberty." *

We never actually use the lyrics in the film, only the melody. But for those who recognize the hymn or who've heard about it and read the words, hearing that melody hinted at early on when the film's theme is first mentioned, then hearing it explode near the end when all is revealed, is about enough to bring tears to your eyes.

I'd like to make it a hallmark of our film scores that those familiar with classic church music will find all sorts of gems hidden inside.

After the themes were developed, Kurt and I spent about four months actually weaving them into a tapestry to support the story -- from happy days in Joppa, to the darkness of Nineveh, through a raging storm and into the belly of a whale. I would sketch out "stick figure drawings:" "Let's start with this theme, then move to this one, pick up tempo -- now explode!" Kurt would complete the picture with gorgeous colors: "The strings will take this line, the oboe here, then contra bassoon ..."

Of course, the ultimate thrill was to sit in a beautiful church in Seattle and listen to a full orchestra bring our music to life! And when they got to the end and the church was filled with that old hymn about God's mercy, even though I doubt any of the musicians knew exactly what they were playing, well ... I needed a hankie!

As good as a story might be, I believe the role of the music in a film is to connect the story to your heart. It took more than a year's worth of work, but when you hear it, I think you'll agree it was worth every minute!

* "There's a Wideness in God's Mercy," composed by Lizzie S. Tourjée
in 1878. Lyrics by Frederick W. Faber (1862).

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An example of Jonah Music

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