This is a version of "Do You Hear The People Sing?" that I had been asked to create. The individual wanted the ending bit of the finale reprise of the song added as an ending to the regular first act version, so I did my best to fuse them together and this is the result.

I also did the regular number as it is in act one. I will be posting that version soon.

This is the original orchestration by John Cameron meticulously recreated using only real orchestral instrument samples and authentic Yamaha DX-7 patches that infuse the show with that iconic grit that is so effective in this number. It's perfect alongside the texture of the brass and string sections. I love how the woodwinds add another layer and texture that is so moving. At any rate, enjoy. Downloads enabled.

"Do You Hear The People Sing?" - Original Orchestration [Special Ending]

Here's the act one version as it is in the show unaltered. Recreation of original orchestration by John Cameron using only real orchestral instrument samples and authentic Yamaha DX-7 patches which gave the music most of its grit.

"Do You Hear The People Sing?" - Original Orchestration

Didn't spend a whole lot of time mixing but it tuned out decent. I love the strings here! Possibly the most realistic and expressive that I've ever rendered for a track. They come alive, those violas. What a beautiful orchestration. Too bad it has since been thinned-out.

I will take more time on the mixing later and will update.

Downloads enabled. Enjoy.

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UPDATE: 17 August, 2013

I've made a few minor tweaks here and there, the most notable are the tempo and some of the volume of selected instruments.

The previous version's tempo was a bit fast during the dramatic climax @ "Oh, my friends. My friends don't ask me!" There was little chance to sustain the note at the second "friends" which is what is typically done. I've lowered the volume on the flugelhorns @ "the very words that they had sung" as they were too loud previously and made it sound as if the strings abruptly stop when they actually dip real low and climb back up but the flugelhorns masked all of that before. Now, it's a bit clearer. It could be even clearer, but, eh, let's not get too nit picky now. XD

There are still some sour notes here and there that most probably don't even notice but they irk me and will be fixed soon. 

"Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" - Original Orchestration

Flute/"Recorder" Patch Mix - "Castle On a Cloud"

Recreated by ear from original orchestration, a rough transcription of the acoustic and bass guitar section from "Fantine's Arrest." I over-layed the main acoustic guitar track with another that I did not sequence but was readily available online in midi form. It is in lower volume and mimics something similar to the vocal lines and some of the original orchestration played by other instruments. The use of the acoustic guitar--another very prominent sound in the score--has since been scrapped altogether.  




"Fantine's Arrest" - Guitars

DESCRIPTION: Eponine wanders the lonely streets after having evesdropped on Valjean reading the letter she has just delivered for Marius, which reveals Marius' deep love for Cosette and confirms to Eponine what she feared most. Still dressed in mens' clothes, she walks aimlessly through the deserted streets and does what she does best; slip into an ideal reverie where the world is kind and her love for Marius is returned. The fantasy doesn't last, as the difficult situation at hand renders her escapist tactics weak, exposing themselves as such, and revealing to the heartbroken girl the desperately tragic life she has been living and how the survival tactics that are her fantasies are the only things that get her through the day. Now without that, she is left with only Marius as a source of sunlight in her dark life, as she decides to go against his wishes and return to be with him at the barricade. 

Often falsely said to be a whiny song about unrequited love, listening to the lyrics and minding the orchestrations reveals a very different angle: this is a song of strength, acceptance, and self-discovery. With an emotionally thrilling original orchestration by John Cameron, the moment came to life onstage in the original production with warmly lit, scattered, but shuttered windows as a backdrop courtesy of designer John Napier, with atmospheric lighting like painting upon a grey canvas by David Hersey. One of the most haunting and beautiful, visually stunning stage pictures I've ever seen. It is such a pity that both the orchestration, staging and designs have been dumbed/watered down for the lackluster 25th anniversary production which now has her with nothing but darkness behind her, singing to an orchestration that sounds like a Saturday morning cartoon. Depressing.

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ON MY OWN

Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg
Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer with input by John Caird and Trevor Nunn
Original French lyrics (originally titled "La Misere" and sung by Fantine) by Alain Boublil
Orchestrations by John Cameron

EPONINE: 

And now I'm all alone again
Nowhere to turn, no one to go to
Without a home, without a friend
Without a face to say hello to

But now the night is near
Now I can make believe he is here

Sometimes I walk alone at night
When everybody else is sleeping
I think of him and then I'm happy
With the company I'm keeping

The city goes to bed
And I can live inside my head...

On my own
Pretending he's beside me
All alone
I walk with him till morning
Without him
I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way
I close my eyes and he has found me

In the rain
The pavement shines like silver
All the lights
Are misty in the river
In the darkness
The trees are full of starlight
And all I see is him and me
Forever and forever...

And I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself and not to him
And although I know that he is blind
Still I say there's a way for us!

I love him!
But when the night is over
He is gone!
The river's just a river
Without him
The world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere
The streets are full of strangers!

I love him!
But everyday I'm learning
All my life
I've only been pretending!
Without me
His world would go on turning
A world that's full of happiness
That I have never known!

I love him
I love him
I love him

But only
On my own...

"On My Own" - Original Orchestration

Opening notes of Les Miserables as brought to life by John Cameron. Recreated by yours truly using only real orchestral samples.
Includes:
BRASS
-3 French Horns
-3 Trumpets
-2 Trombones (tenor and bass)
WOODWINDS
-Flute
-Oboe
-Clarinet
-Bassoon
GUITARS
-Electric (distortion)
-Bass
DRUMS
-Standard set (splash cymbal, toms, snare)
STRINGS
-6 Violins
-2 Violas
-2 Cellos
-1 Double Bass
KEYBOARDS
-1 DX-7
PERCUSSION
-Timpani
NOTES: Missing so far is the 2nd keyboard and the 1st keyboard, electric and bass guitars, and 3rd french horn are all only half way completed. The original orchestration requires only 2 french horns but I added a third cause I couldn't choose between two awesome samples I have, so threw an extra one in there, ha! The tempo is OK, just needs more resolve leading to its end. All in all, way better than the first version.
Oh, and the cymbals at the end should be a reverse cymbal but I used the standard drum set one instead, lol. I'll fix it later along with its abrupt cutting off there at the end! :S



Overture - Original Orchestration

Wow. I actually finished an entire track. I even mastered it. It's a miracle, LOL.
 
I've enabled downloads, so feel free. Please only use privately at home, and if you happen to use it with friends or family, on YouTube or whatever, make sure you give credit to John Cameron for the ORIGINAL orchestration; Claude-Michel Schonberg for the music; and...a FAN for having created the track, haha. 

Nah. Crediting me isn't necessary but I'll go apeshit if you don't credit John and Claude-Michel. Grrrrr.

Enjoy!

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DESCRIPTION: TOP OF ACT I

MONTREUIL-SUR-MER, 1823

Eight years later, Valjean has adopted an alias and has risen to become a wealthy factory owner and mayor of his town. Outside his factory, the streets are teeming with poverty and brimming with anger and rage as the impoverished lament another day of thankless existence. Inside Valjean's factory, one of his employees, Fantine, seeks Valjean's assistance after being harassed by a jealous co-worker. The busy Valjean directs her to his Foreman and rushes off. The factory Foreman, having previously made sexual advances toward Fantine, which she had rejected, abruptly fires her after learning of an illegitimate child named Cosette, whose care Fantine had entrusted to an innkeeper and his wife named the Thenardiers while she works; however, Fantine's firing comes just as she had gotten an urgent letter from the Thenardiers, saying Cosette is deathly ill and they need Fantine to send more money to cover medicines.

------------------------------------------

"At the End of the Day"

Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. Original French lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean Marc Natel.

Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg

Orchestrations by John Cameron

[Outside Valjean's factory]

THE POOR:
At the end of the day you're another day older
And that's all you can say for the life of the poor
It's a struggle, it's a war
And there's nothing that anyone's giving
One more day, standing about, what is it for?
One day less to be living.

At the end of the day you're another day colder
And the shirt on your back doesn't keep out the chill
And the righteous hurry past
They don't hear the little ones crying
And the winter is coming on fast, ready to kill
One day nearer to dying!

At the end of the day there's another day dawning
And the sun in the morning is waiting to rise
Like the waves crash on the sand
Like a storm that'll break any second
There's a hunger in the land
There's a reckoning still to be reckoned
And there's gonna be hell to pay
At the end of the day!

[Inside the factory]

FOREMAN:
At the end of the day you get nothing for nothing
Sitting flat on your butt doesn't buy any bread

WORKERS:
There are children back at home
And the children have got to be fed
And you're lucky to be in a job
And in a bed!
And we're counting our blessings!

FEMALE WORKERS:
Have you seen how the foreman is fuming today?
With his terrible breath and his wandering hands?
It's because little Fantine won't give him his way
Take a look at his trousers, you'll see where he stands!

And the boss he never knows
That the foreman is always in heat
If Fantine doesn't look out
Watch how she goes
She'll be out on the street

WORKERS:
At the end of the day it's another day over
With enough in your pocket to last for a week
Pay the landlord pay the shop
Keep on grafting as long as you're able
Keep on grafting till you drop
Or it's back to the crumbs on the table
And you've got to pay your way
At the end of the day!

FACTORY GIRL:
And what have we here, little innocent sister?
Come on Fantine, let's have all the news!

[She grabs the letter from Fantine and reads aloud]

"Dear Fantine you must send us more money...
Your child needs a doctor...
There's no time to lose!"

FANTINE:
Give that letter to me
It is none of your business!
With a husband at home
And a bit on the side

Is there anyone here
Who can swear before God
She has nothing to fear?
She has nothing to hide?

[They fight over the letter. Valjean rushes over to
break up the squabble.]

VALJEAN: (Under the alias M. Madeleine)
What is this fighting all about?
Will someone tear these two apart?
This is a factory, not a circus!
Now come on ladies, settle down
I run a business of repute
I am the mayor of this town

[To the Foreman...]

I look to you to sort this out
And be as patient as you can---

[He goes back into the factory.]

FOREMAN:
Now someone say how this began!

FACTORY GIRL:
At the end of the day she's the one who began it
There's a kid that she's hiding in some little town
There's a man she has to pay
You can guess where she picks up the extra
You can bet she's earning her keep 'sleeping around!'
And the boss wouldn't like it!

FANTINE:
Yes it's true there's a child
And the child is my daughter
And her father abandoned us leaving us flat
Now she lives with an innkeeper man and his wife
And I pay for the child
What's the matter with that??

FEMALE WORKERS:
At the end of the day she'll be nothing but trouble
And there's trouble for all when there's trouble for one
While we're earning our daily bread
She's the one with her hands in the butter
You must send the slut away
Or we're all gonna end in the gutter
And it's us who'll have to pay
At the end of the day!

FOREMAN:
I might have known the bitch could bite
I might have known the cat had claws
I might have guessed your little secret
Ah, yes, the virtuous Fantine
Who keeps herself so pure and clean
You'd be the cause I had no doubt
Of any trouble hereabout
You play a virgin in the light
But need no urgin' in the night.

FACTORY GIRL:
She's been laughing at you
While she's having her men

FEMALE WORKERS:
She'll be nothing but trouble again and again

FACTORY GIRL:
You must sack her today!

WORKERS:
Sack the girl today!

FOREMAN [spoken]:
Right my girl!
On your way!

[Fantine is refused her day's pay and is pushed out the factory gates and onto the street, where the remaining workers laugh at her on their way out.] 

"At the End of the Day" - Original Orchestration

DESCRIPTION - Deliriously ill and fading fast from tuberculosis, Fantine finds comfort in her delusions in the face of her impending death. Valjean, having just confessed at trial of his true identity, makes it just in time to reassure Fantine that he will care for her soon-to-be orphaned Cosette (Come to Me). Having caught-up to Valjean at the hospital, Javert makes his presence known and his intentions clear to the former Mayor, now, once again, escaped convict #24601. Valjean pleads for time to locate Cosette and tries to reason with the unbending inspector, who ultimately is forced to relent in the form of a well placed punch delivered by a desperate Valjean, who is relentless himself in his resolve to find Cosette and fulfill his promise to the now-deceased Fantine (The Confrontation).

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This is 97% finished. The only thing missing is a few strums of the acoustic guitar toward the end of "The Confrontation," which I will be adding eventually. As is the case with all of my Les Miserables tracks, this is a meticulous recreation using only real orchestral instrument samples where real orchestral instruments are required by John Cameron's original 1987 orchestration. 

John's original orchestration of this song called for the following set of musicians to interpret it live night after night. This seems luxurious, even excessive today. It was standard then:

STRINGS

-6 Violins
-2 Violas
-2 Cellos

WOODWINDS

-Flute
-Oboe
-English Horn
-Clarinet
-Bassoon

BRASS

-2 French Horns
-3 Trumpets
-2 Trombones

GUITARS

-Acoustic
-Electric
-Bass

PERCUSSION

-Drum Set
-Mark Tree
-Various hand held percussive units.

KEYBOARDS

- Originally 4 Yamaha DX-7 keyboards, 2 to each player playing patches specifically created for the show by the orchestrator John Cameron. Later, 2 were used when keyboards with capacity to store more than 32 patches each were created. I'm using the original patches used on Broadway in 1987-1997 and on most of the official cast recordings, including the Broadway and Complete Symphonic albums. The patches are played using DX-7 keyboard emulator software.

It has been an honor to work with something that left such a lasting impression on me and many others. It's the final touch to that authentic, rich, and iconic Les Mis sound. Thrilling.

Downloads have been enabled for this track. Enjoy.

"Come to Me" & "The Confrontation" - Original Orchestration

DESCRIPTION: Alone, destitute, and unemployed, Fantine reflects on life and her shattered dreams.

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This is the first time I've placed special attention to tempo and have basically crafted it specifically to my liking. I don't know if this is just another one of those things that only I care about, but I've always had an IDEAL tempo in mind for each moment--not whole song--but each individual moment, depending on what's going down. While I've varied up the tempo in my other tracks, it was minimal. This time I've sat down and did not get up again until the tempo was near perfection. It's a lot harder than it sounds and my editor makes it pretty easy, but still, getting just the right flow and speed takes time when you're a picky mofo like me! 2 hours later...I've got it mostly right. =)

I'd like to say this is the final mix but I just know I'll start nitpicking at it in the coming days, but I'm happy enough with it to enable downloads, so have fun. =)

As always, this is a recreation of John Cameron's ORIGINAL 1987 orchestration and this rendering specifically recreates the sound of the exact number of musicians featured in the original Broadway production at the Imperial Theatre in NYC. The distinct sound of John's harp-like keyboard sound that harmonizes with the acoustic guitar is one of my favorite features of this song, and it's also one of the things that have since been completely cut. *Shakes fist*

Orchestra for this song featured on Broadway and recreated here:

STRINGS

-6 Violins
-2 Violas
-2 Cellos
-1 Double Bass*

WOODWINDS

-Flute
-Oboe
-English Horn
-Clarinet
-Bassoon*

BRASS

-2 French Horns
-2 Flugelhorns
-Tenor Trombone
-Bass Trombone

GUITARS

-Acoustic
-Bass

PERCUSSION

-Bell Tree
-Mark Tree
-Cymbals

KEYBOARDS

-2 Using original DX-7 patches created by John Cameron.
-This song uses 7 different patches.

* Denotes instrument was not used on Broadway but was an optional part of the original orchestration.

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"I Dreamed a Dream"

Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer. Original French lyrics by Alain Boublil and Jean Marc Natel

Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg

Orchestrations by John Cameron

FANTINE:
There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went...wrong

I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving

Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung
No wine untasted

But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame!

He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came

And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together!
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed

Now life has killed the dream...I dreamed


"I Dreamed a Dream" - Original Orchestration

DESCRIPTION: Valjean comes to terms with his shortcomings after being moved by the kind actions of a Bishop after having been embittered due to years of hard labor. The Bishop's belief that Valjean can overcome his violent tendencies and redeem himself inspires Jean to break parole and start his life anew.

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Definitely one of the unfortunate victims of the lackluster 25th anniversary concoction, the mind boggles as to why they ever touched this beautiful original orchestration.

This isn't done. It's basically the whole partial preview version I posted earlier, which has the wrong cymbals and badly needs the articulation and other details corrected. Some percussion is missing, as well. But it's complete, for the most part. Downloads enabled. Enjoy.

Btw, please forgive the occasional crackling noise in the track--the software I use is very CPU and memory intensive and my recent upgrade to Windows 8 seems to have used even more resources. As a result, there are the noise artifacts due to insufficient resources. I think I need a more powerful computer, ya think? 

"Valjean's Soliloquy: What Have I Done?" - Original Orchestration

DESCRIPTION: Fantine's orphaned daughter Cosette has been turned into a skivvy by the couple--the Thenardiers--whom she had entrusted Cosette's care to while she works. Cosette is neither ill nor in need of urgent care--it was all a lie by the Thenardiers in order to squeeze more money out of Fantine for themselves. Cosette neither knows her mother has just gone through the greatest sacrifice for her, or that she has since died. Dressed in filthy rags and with a black eye, she is seen setting up the inn's main dining room for the night. After setting the chairs, she wearily begins her next task cleaning the floor. She is distracted by a dream she recently had and incorporates what she remembers from it into a fantasy world the little girl spontaneously conjures up, where there are children, nobody cries, and a lady who is dressed in all white--the same color gown Fantine had just died in--tells her she loves her so. Cosette is so caught up in her reverie, she forgets all about the work. 

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As with every one of my Les Mis tracks uploaded so far, this isn't finished yet. Things that need work include, in order of need and importance:

1. The mixing! As you can tell by just looking at the waveform above, it's almost all at the same volume, meaning every instrument, and it's not supposed to be like that. The result is very harsh, as opposed to what this song should sound like, which is melancholy and definitely much quieter. The instruments are all on top of each other, so wider stereo panning will be done. Above all, each instruments' dynamics will be tamed!

2. Tempo needs some mild work done during the instrumental portion, but needs major correction during the song, specifically during the part where she sings, "she says, Cosette, I love you very much." Right now it's much too fast!

3. A few bits of articulation are all wrong. For example, some of the harp and glock need to be played in arpeggio. 

4. Finally, but certainly not necessarily less important, just not as critical to the overall effect the song should have on the listener, is fine-tuning the DX7 keyboard harp, which if you're as familiar with John's great original orchestration as I am, you won't be like the commoner and get spooked by its obvious synthetic goodness, but you will notice mine sounds a tad inconsistent. Meaning, the texture isn't the same throughout. Mine sounds at times metallic, and wooden at others. It's supposed to sound wooden.

The same four tasks can be applied to just about every other track I've uploaded so far. Although some like "One Day More" are actually missing vital instrumentation, this one basically has the entire orchestra. I upload them early due to how long it takes me to make each one as a preview as it is, waiting until I get just one completely polished off to my liking, well, you'd have to wait until our next life, roflmao.

"Castle On a Cloud" - Original Orchestration

DESCRIPTION: As the students settle for the night, Valjean, fearing for the life of Marius, the young revolutionary his adopted daughter Cosette has fallen in love with, and also worried over what is to become of Cosette once the aging Valjean isn't around to care for her, is compelled to a moment of prayer in the silence of the night.

-------------------------------------------

Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful songs in the musical. It is my firm belief that, while the basic music itself is gorgeous, it has been taken to new heights by John Cameron's incredibly evocative, moving orchestration, which I've taken extra care in recreating here. 

The new creative team obviously thought some numbers from the show were so perfect (like the rest of the show), they managed to thin it out without changing it too drastically. Still, most of the harmony was chucked, in celebration of the musical's 25th, no less. 

Take-in how the song was meant to sound like. Downloads enabled. 

Enjoy.

"Bring Him Home" - Original Orchestration

The above are only three variations of one of the most recognizable keyboard sounds featured on most of the musical's cast recordings from the 90s and earlier. They were replaced almost globally by 1997. They would make a comeback in London in 2004 until their permanent replacement in 2011, when the mediocre 25th anniversary new orchestration was introduced into the long running original London production.

The original orchestration used many, many different keyboard sounds to supplement its large orchestral instrument component and add to it a distinct texture and feel. The unique hybrid nature of it made it sound exciting and was extremely expressive. It is often falsely stated that the original orchestration was "synth reliant." It merely colored the show's brilliant orchestral component. The original Broadway production had the following set of instrumentation in its Broadway and Imperial Theatre pits for the duration of its 16 year run:

STRINGS

6 Violins
2 Violas
2 Cellos

WOODWINDS

Flute
Piccolo
Clarinet
Oboe
English Horn

BRASS

2 French Horns
3 Trumpets
2 Trombones
1 Piccolo Trumpet
2 Flugelhorns

PERCUSSION

Drum Set
Suspended cymbals
Many handheld percussive units
Glockenspiel
Mark tree
Bell tree
Xylophone
Timpani

KEYBOARDS

2 (Originally) Yamaha DX7s

An orchestra like that is NOT "synth reliant." Besides the false claims that it was purely synthetic, what gets to me is the ridiculous snobbery from people who think they know what they're talking about but are really clueless. Who ever said that a keyboard is some universally cheap cop-out and only there for the purpose of mimicking and replacing a real orchestra? I don't know where that idea got into their heads because most every major form of music employs the good ol' keyboard in some way or another and relies on synthetic musical sounds to some extent. The original orchestrator of Les Miserables employed one of the world's most popular keyboards at a time when they were just becoming widely popular in the pop music industry. It was the Yamaha DX-7.

A bit on the brilliant DX7 keyboard. 
 
Famously known to produce iconic keyboard sounds in popular music of the 80s, the Yamaha DX7 keyboard is also an integral component of John Cameron's original orchestration for the musical "Les Miserables." Having discovered the show when I was a small child back in 1986, by way of the 2 LP Original London Cast Recording that my eldest sister would play on weekends when we did our chores, I've come to both understand and appreciate (in that order) its use in what is my favorite musical of all time.

First of all, let me just say that it's OK to not like the old keyboard sounds...as long as it's OK for me to like them, haha. Also, rub out of your mind the really tired, completely untrue statements/ideas about the recent 25th anniversary production "updating" and "modernizing" the orchestration, as well as any notion that the keyboard isn't a valid musical instrument and is only there to replace real orchestral goodness. Nothing could be further from the truth, especially in the case of Les Miserables. Let's just say that the new orchestration requires far less human musicians than the original did and the original required a group of human musicians that may even seem luxurious for today's cheap standards. So, no, unless you consider the chucking of human musicians, a far lesser number of overall orchestral instrumentation, the thinning out of a once harmonious sound, and you dig cutesy Saturday morning cartoon-like music infesting your musicals, then the 25th anniversary dreck is a downgrade, to be sure.

To be clear, the keyboards issue and new orchestration issue are separate but related issues. Meaning, I am not referring to the version of the orchestration that had the Yamaha keyboards every time I mention "original orchestration." It's complicated and I can never seem to coherently explain this whole drama with the show's orchestrations without going off on some rant (yes, it makes me that angry). 

Here are some important dates and events to those of us who actually care about the music of this wonderful MUSICAL:

September, 1980: French songwriters Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg stage their musical adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel "Les Miserables" at Paris' Palais des Sports arena after successfully recording and releasing the musical first via a two LP concept album. The duo had hired British orchestrator and songwriter John Cameron to orchestrate their work as early as 1979. The first version of this musical had a heavier rock influence on some songs and even heavier pop flavor in others. Only a handful of songs had an operatic air to them, a sound that the show would be known for in later years. The double LP concept album was handed to British producer Cameron Mackintosh by director Peter Farago, who felt Cameron would be the right producer for an English language adaptation of the piece. Mackintosh put off listening to it for some time, but finally played it one Thursday at 11:03 in the morning at his apartment and has stated that by the fourth track he thought, "My God. This is the most wonderful musical I've heard for years." Mackintosh didn't know a lick of French, but has stated that "John Cameron's evocative orchestrations" to be a large factor in how moved he was by Claude-Michel's music. Both the French concept album and live arena show used a large, traditional orchestra along with rock/pop elements seamlessly incorporated into the, as English lyricist Herbert Kretzmer once stated, "Gallic score." The sound was a direct influence of Andrew Lloyd Webber fare taken to a whole new level thanks to John Cameron's very sensitively intuitive orchestral work. What separates John's work from other "emotive" orchestral works is that his work never spills over into melodrama, never makes use of tired cliches, and never ever instructs audiences on how to think and on what to feel. His unique sound is characterized by lots of strategically placed harmony, careful and clever attention to texture, and is always focused on telling the story. Not his story or a story, but THE story. 

8 October, 1985: Les Miserables opens at the Barbican Theatre in London to mostly negative reviews. On the orchestration front, quite a few critics make negative remarks about John Cameron's work but they mostly express puzzlement over the show's hybrid musical nature. Claude-Michel's music earns the worst comments, which often said his music is simplistic and not engaging at all. By this time, the orchestration hadn't been set but it would be refined in the years to come.

4 December, 1985: After enthusiastic word of mouth made the critically panned London production a hit with the theatregoing public, the production transferred to the West End--London's equivalent of New Yorks' Broadway--where it moved into the Palace Theatre, which is owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Les Miserables would enjoy a long stay at the Palace Theatre, remaining there until late March, 2004. The orchestration was further tightened and was still being worked on all the way to the upcoming Washington tryout and Broadway premiere. The London success of Les Miserables made the American version one of the most anticipated.

12 March, 1987: After a successful tryout engagement at Washington's Kennedy Center Opera House, the show premiered on Broadway at the Broadway Theatre. Although reviews were the complete opposite of what they were in London, still a handful of critics found the show to be a dud. As for orchestrations, an overwhelming amount of critics praised them or were neutral, including the New York Times' powerful theatre critic Frank Rich who thought they were interesting with how they fused the eras of synthesizer and harpsichord. One Boston critic said both Claude-Michel and John Cameron's work couldn't pass a high school music theory course; however, the negative was greatly outnumbered by the positive and downright raves and both the production, which went on to win 8 Tony awards, and the orchestration were set as the show's official for the next several decades. 

 8 October, 1995: Original London production celebrates its 10th anniversary in a concert at the Royal Albert Hall. It's also the debut of the show's revised and updated orchestration, which did away with the original keyboard patches and replaced them with patches designed to mimic and blend with John's orchestral instrument component of his orchestration. The keyboard patches posted above, for example, were no longer employed and a harpsichord-like patch was put in their place, which were weak, imho. Still, they kept true to the rest of John's original orchestration and it was still very much the Les Mis we all know and love. Most of all, no musicians in the London production pit would get sacked over it, as there was no reduction of instrumentation. The orchestra in the pit at the Palace still used the original 22-part orchestration. Only the keyboard patches changed.

12 March, 1997: Original Broadway production celebrates its 10th anniversary in a special performance featuring a set of tweaks incorporated into the show which included minor alterations in lighting design and the introduction of the London 10th anniversary concert revised orchestration. The Broadway production had previously transferred from the Broadway Theatre to the Imperial Theatre in late 1990 to make way for Miss Saigon, which would debut in April, 1991. The Broadway production of Les Miserables ran at the Imperial Theatre through 18 May, 2003; its final performance on Broadway.

4 April, 2004: The London production transfers from its long-time West End home, the Palace Theatre, to the more intimate Queen's Theatre just down the street. A canned orchestra replaces half the musicians in an odd, shameless move by the show's greedy producer who has zero appreciation of and respect for music and even less for the musicians sacked as a result. Producer cites a smaller orchestra pit as the reason such a suspiciously money-grubbing scheme must be employed. Despite the outrageous move, one major positive came out of this--reinstatement of John Cameron's ORIGINAL keyboard sounds as well as continued use of his original orchestration.

November, 2006: A so-called "Broadway Revival" is staged in New York City at the Broadhurst Theatre. It uses the show's recently closed 3rd national tour set, which is identical to the set used in the original production on Broadway at the Imperial and Broadway Theatres. Tacky alterations to the lighting design and costumes were incorporated into the existing award winning original designs and a horrendously thinned-out new orchestration was written that bore almost no resemblance to the brilliant original by John Cameron. It used less than half the musicians, too. This was a supposed "update" for a "new" Broadway "revival" of this musical. LOL. 

Summer, 2009: In response to the Susan Boyle hysteria, the show's calculating producer suddenly launches a celebratory (money-making) cheapo knockoff of the original production sans revolve and snubs the original creative team in its creation. The bargain basement tour also features a new orchestration that sounds much like the dreadful "Broadway Revival" travesty. Mackintosh's ghetto behavior, which includes talking down about the award-winning work of original directors Trevor Nunn and John Caird, as well as the incredible original set and lighting designers' work by John Napier and David Hersey, respectively, begins and goes on and on mostly because Trevor Nunn dared speak-out about and disapprove of having been shunned from the new production and as a dirty way to help sell the new cheapo tour. Mackintosh, to this day, continues to claim the original production was a dated mess and that his bargain basement copy-cat production is superior and modern when it is far from that. Worst still (as if it could get any worse) he has used the old keyboard sounds as a scapegoat, saying it's the reason he has ordered the orchestration to be redone so many times. A HUGE lie, because those keyboard sounds had been updated in 1995. He did it because he wanted to slash costs by redoing it for a smaller number of musicians under the guise of "new, improved, updated orchestration." Baloney.

October, 2010: The God-awful new "updated" 25th anniversary tour concoction is beefed up and showcased as part of the musical's 25th anniversary concert at the O2 arena. The "update" hype is especially annoying as the show's orchestration had already undergone an update on 8 October, 1995 for its 10th anniversary concert. There's no doubt in my mind that the original patches were reintroduced into the London production in 2004, as an excuse to label the orchs "dated" and then go ahead and butcher the score in a money saving attempt to boost profits at a later date. That date came when the show had seen increased popularity thanks to one Susan Boyle's warbling of one of the show's songs on national television and the pity-party/guilt trips that ensued. The producer had waged war on the show's original orchestration and musicians long before, beginning with the insertion of the canned orchestra--a shameless attempt at cutting costs which he actually got his way and put into the show for a number of years, but Boyle moved the whole process forward and gave him the perfect excuse to suck more money out of the cash cow musical and make the original, more expensive production seem as unexciting and dated as he possibly could in the press, even if it had long been a runaway success. This very lame tactic is backfiring though, as more and more bad reviews of the new production continue to pour in from around the country.

2011: John Cameron's time-tested, beloved original orchestration is replaced for good in the London production with the cheapo 25th anniversary mess.

December, 2012: A miracle occurs and the film version features an orchestration much in the spirit of John's original, with only bits and pieces of the ugly 25th anniversary whine fest remaining. Still not as good as the original, it has some numbers that are beautifully reorchestrated nonetheless.

It obviously means a lot more to me than to most, which has caused people to label me all sorts of unflattering things. Because they don't care doesn't mean everyone else shouldn't also. I'm actually still shocked that I'm the only one who cares this much about all this, because it is such a powerful and fundamental pleasure to me, that iconic original orchestration. As head-scratching as that is to me, I do not scold those who couldn't care less. I do think they're really missing out, and it makes me scratch my head doubly when they fall for the "updated" and "modernized, new, and improved" marketing ploys that claim the original orchs were ALL synths since, you know, they have ears and it seems kinda sorta amazing they never heard the HUGE string, brass, and woodwind sections that characterizes 95% of that trademark, lush Les Mis original sound, but meh. Tolerance for the gullible makes for lower blood pressure, so yep.  

So as previously discussed, the keyboards issue is a separate issue, but related. Although it's definitely nowhere near the travesty of the more recent new orchestration ruining the show for me.

I know I've taken quite an extensive break from my Les Mis orchestral track project, but I've lately been missing working on them so expect to see a new track, "Drink With Me," uploaded and posted here in the coming days. After that, I'll likely get working on and finish some of the tracks I had begun and left uncompleted like "Lovely Ladies," "The ABC Cafe: Red & Black," "Do You Hear the People Sing?" and "The Well."

Yamaha DX7 Keyboard Patch Samples

Hello everyone. This is my tribute to the musical Les Miserables, which I've been a fan of since age 6. I've since known and loved many other musicals but Les Mis holds a special place. I have an especially soft spot for the show's original orchestration, so thought I'd try recreating it!

Here is my humble attempt at recreating even a semblance of that iconic John Cameron orchestration and not-so-humble attempt at asserting how much better his orchestration is to the copy and paste cliche mess that claims to be the show's "updated" orchestration these days.. Sadly, that original orchestration has since gone through significant downgrades and MTI is no longer licensing the original orchestration. They offer now the 25th ann. reduction, which makes pretentious claims of being more classical with a chamber sound but it's first and foremost a money generating ploy to reduce costs, at the expense of character, cohesion, and integrity--the new concoction features work by 3 additional orchestrators. To say it is a train wreck is an understatement. I keep faith one day this will all just go away and the show's signature sound and gritty musical language restored...someday.

John Cameron's original work is the voice of Les Miserables to me and it can't be bettered, much less replaced.

I got the idea one summer to make my own backing tracks as a response to the cheap quality "Karaoke" tracks that were being mass produced at one time. I vowed to only use a real orchestra in my tracks but not being a millionaire and not having a full orchestra at his disposal, what was a fan to do? An emerging technology at the time (circa 2002) was the answer. It was called "Orchestral Instrument Sampling."

Many hours of trial and error and fumbling around with thousands of individual snippets of orchestral instruments playing a single note, I've reached a level of maturity in my work that I feel confident sharing it. I use NOTHING but REAL orchestral instrument samples in my tracks, all meticulously sequenced. It is arduous but rewarding work.

Most of all,  I've had a blast working with a score that has inspired me so much, and gotta love John Cameron's quirky mix of acoustic orchestral and synthetic "pop" sounds and styles that give this musical a uniqueness like no other, a hybrid musical style that at once sounds as classical as it does mainstream and is incredibly expressive.

Please forgive the so-so mixing as these are ALL work-in-progress preview tracks. A lot of them have crazy tempos in places and all could benefit from some equalization and better mixing / individual instrument positioning within the stereo image. 

At any rate, I'm not a composer and none of the work I present are my own original compositions. I merely recreate what I hear. I do NOT claim to represent or to have mastered anyone else's work/creation. I only represent my interpretation of their work and it comes from a place of deep respect and admiration, as well as strong focus on integrity.

These tracks are not for commercial use. They are for private individual home listening. 

All Les Miserables tracks feature orchestrations by John Cameron, to music by Claude Michel-Schonberg; Evita tracks feature orchestrations by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Hershey Kay--all as interpreted by me.

As for me? Hey, this isn't about me, it's about the music!!! XD

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