Wind instrument in the Earth Giant’s theme
I’ve been fascinated by this sound in the Earth giant’s theme since I got the soundtrack in November. It occurs at least 8 times in the show (4 pairs) and I’ve captured all of them in the video edit. 1st pair - at the mist; 2nd pair when the giant visits the Northuldran village; 3rd pair when Anna and Olaf encounter the giants on the river in the ice boat and 4th pair when Anna wakes up the sleeping giants to break the dam.
I’m about 95% sure this instrument is a Fujara (pronounced Fuyara) - a Slovakian overtone flute. You can read about it here: Wikipedia or in this older website Fujara.sk. Some youtube videos here and here
It is a fascinating instrument, because of the sound it makes, and because it is so large, only has 3 holes and it can produce a range of notes by altering the force of blowing. (for a better understanding of overtone flutes, check Wikipedia) Note: Fujara is not the only type of overtone flute.
Firstly, if you follow my previous posts, I’m so sorry I made a mistake by telling everyone this was a Gemshorn. This instrument is not a Gemshorn. The Gemshorn is used in Frozen 2, but not here. (it is used characteristically for the Northuldran theme which you hear very early on in the movie when Agnarr tells his story to the girls)
Secondly, I want to share my journey in searching for this instrument and why I’m 95% sure it is a Fujara.
1. A simple google search of Frozen 2 score will bring up a number of interviews given by composer Christophe Beck. In one of them he mentioned the Gemshorn and that was why I mistakenly assumed this is a Gemshorn initially.Â
2. I listened to Gemshorn performances on youtube and did some research and realised the Gemshorn cannot produce this harsh distorted sound that you hear. I learned that this is called Overblowing. I confirmed this by asking a Gemshorn seller (via email)
3. I have asked a lot of musical experts on YouTube (via email) what they think this instrument is - didgeridoo expert said it’s not a didgeridoo, Shakuhachi expert said it’s not a Shakuhachi, flute player said it’s not a flute. The Shakuhachi expert suggested that it’s a Fujara.
4. At this point you may wonder why I didn’t just ask Christophe Beck himself. Well, I had previously reached out to him on Twitter and email to ask a different question (to express my admiration and whether he would consider releasing ALL the music in F2 - there’s a sizeable chunk that is not in the CD, I might make a post on it) and...it’s now April and I still haven’t heard from him, so, that’s why I didn’t bother to ask him about the Fujara directly.
5. In despair I started reading his interviews again. And then I chanced upon an interview in which Beck mentioned a certain Chris Bleth.Â
“And luckily, after talking to my favorite woodwind player, a guy named Chris Bleth here in LA, he auditioned a few things for me”
6. So I emailed Chris Bleth and he replied within hours! This is his first reply (I stupidly forgot to attach the soundclip)
I do not see an attachment but can tell you that the bass gemshorn is the only unusual wind instrument that was played live throughout the score. Maybe a sample of something if not that. Some of the cues were in the wrong key/range so some pitch shifting had to be done for those.
And after I sent the soundclip:
Ahh, that IS a fujara ; I don’t remember playing it so it was probably something they had on a drive somewhere. I have a coupe of them and they are very useful for those types of effects
So there you have it. I wouldn’t commit to 100%; I would only be 100% satisfied if I could A) check with Christophe Beck himself B) or a producer of the score or C) the actual fujara player who played those very notes. Also, the more I research, the more I find that there are MANY traditional overtone flutes out there (many of them are European) and many of them are able to produce this overblown sound, so I don’t want to commit to 100%. But I think the fujara is the best fit =) let me know if I’m wrong please.
