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| Roger Cichy |
The Concord Band is proud to have contributed in a small way to the music score for "Dad's Secret War," a documentary film narrated by Kevin Bacon that aired on PBS on November 7, 2024. The Band performed background music with archival footage showing the victory parade and awards conferred on members of the French resistance. We interviewed the music director for the film, Emmy-award winner Roger Cichy, whose works have been commissioned and performed by the Band on several occasions.
Congratulations on your original music and scoring for the film. Thank you for bringing us into the project, we certainly enjoyed participating and admire your work bringing this film to life with music.I just got back from Washington DC, attending an event at the French Embassy, where the film was screened [see photo]. It was great hearing the Concord Band in this documentary film.
How did you come to select the Concord Band to perform for this scene?
Things happen pretty quickly in film scores. There is not a lot of time to write, edit and record music that goes into the film. It was summer and having a close association with the Concord Band, I knew they would still be actively performing. I approached [music director] Jim O'Dell and said, "The Concord Band has done about everything a community band can do, would you consider adding a music cue for a film with a movie credit to your long list of accomplishments?"The Band was excited to do the project! What was the inspiration behind the musical selection, "Le Regiments de Sambre et Meuse"?
The producers wanted a march to emote the liberation of France, the celebrations, and awarding medals to the deserving heroes. This composition is in the public domain so there are no copyright or royalty considerations, and it fit very well the character of the scene. It conveys a sense of national optimism and patriotic spirit that existed at the end of the Nazi occupation. I also knew about the piece because it is the theme that my alma mater Ohio State University Marching Band plays when it performs its famous “Script Ohio."What were the technical aspects or challenges for recording the Concord Band?
Since this was underscoring in the film, I needed only two pairs of condenser mics at 51 Walden. When including the foreground narration and sound effects, professional results were achieved. The real challenge was determining a tempo that would mesh with the initial marching shown in the opening sequence. A tempo of 110 beats per minute worked well and the Band was able to maintain that tempo. To transition from the previous scene, I added a drum roll as a segue into the march. It really helped that the Concord Band was well rehearsed and prepared for recording the music cue. That made my job so much easier.
The film is available online for a limited time at https://www.pbs.org/video/dads-secret-war-france-1944-au65GP/. The Concord Band is heard beginning at the 51-minute mark.
