{"id":2129,"date":"2026-06-14T18:09:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-14T18:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=2129"},"modified":"2026-06-14T18:09:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-14T18:09:10","slug":"disclosure-day-john-williams-recorded-two-hours-of-music-over-a-six-month-period-for-his-30th-collaboration-with-steven-spielberg-exclusive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=2129","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Disclosure Day\u2019: John Williams Recorded Two Hours of Music Over a Six Month Period for his 30th Collaboration with Steven Spielberg (Exclusive)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\nJohn Williams\u2018 music for \u201cDisclosure Day\u201d marks his 30th score for director Steven Spielberg, dating back more than half a century to their first film together, \u201cThe Sugarland Express\u201d in 1974.<\/p>\n

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\n\tIt could be Williams\u2019 final score for the movies. No one has formally stated that, and in fact Spielberg says he\u2019s already spoken to Williams about doing their 31st together.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut Williams is now 94, and hinted three years ago that his score for Spielberg\u2019s \u201cThe Fabelmans\u201d would likely be his swansong. The director talked him into doing \u201cDisclosure Day\u201d even after Williams suggested four other composers as possible successors.<\/p>\n

\n\tWilliams is no longer doing press interviews (\u201cpreferring to marshal his energies to focus on writing obligations,\u201d says a spokesman) and Spielberg was not available for this story.<\/p>\n

\n\tMultiple sources say Spielberg wanted a Williams score for \u201cDisclosure Day\u201d so badly that he made it as easy as possible for the composer, scheduling seven recording sessions over a six-month period to give him the necessary time to conceive and record all of the music.<\/p>\n

\n\tMost film sessions are done over a week or two, and many composers have only a few weeks to compose a complete film score. Williams, who has faced unspecified \u201chealth challenges\u201d over the past two years and is now only seen in public in a wheelchair, tackled \u201cDisclosure Day\u201d with surprising energy, sources report.<\/p>\n

\n\tWilliams began writing last summer. An orchestra of 96 players was assembled, with the first recording date at Sony (in the recently renamed \u201cJohn Williams Music Building\u201d) on Sept. 11, 2025.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was a traditional symphonic ensemble, sources report, although one especially dark cue demanded no fewer than four bassoons; the keyboards included not just piano and celeste but also synthesizer; and there were two harps instead of the usual one.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnd while the film\u2019s credits say that the score was \u201corchestrated and conducted by\u201d Williams along with longtime colleagues William Ross and Randy Kerber, those closest to the maestro insist that Williams orchestrated the entire score and conducted much of it, usually while seated but also standing at times.<\/p>\n

\n\tAnyone who has ever witnessed Williams at a recording session will tell you that he is always very precise about orchestral detail, knowing exactly how every note should sound. Ross and Kerber did occasional \u201cadaptations\u201d of Williams\u2019 material to accommodate revisions in the film, sources say.<\/p>\n

\n\tRecording continued through the fall and winter: two more sessions in October, two in December, one in January 2026 and a final session on Feb. 20. The extended schedule allowed the composer ample time to compose, so the score developed as the months rolled on.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cJohn was in amazing spirits,\u201d says one musician, \u201calways so gracious and humble. He was very acutely aware of rhythmic flaws and nuances, and sometimes obsessed a little. Spielberg was delighted with everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe director took an active role throughout, sources say. \u201cHe had a lot of input,\u201d says another musician. \u201cThat relationship felt so special to witness. There was even a moment when he made a musical suggestion and they tried something a little bit different. They actually ended up going with that. It just felt like an encapsulation of their relationship, how well they know each other, and how well they understand each other\u2019s craft. It was almost magical.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOn Dec. 19 the orchestra was joined by a 30-voice female choir. They were evenly divided into sopranos and altos, plus a solo voice for a handful of cues. The choice of singer required some experimentation and auditions by a handful of singers, including children, but the final choice (credited in the film as \u201cvocal soloist\u201d) was Holly Sedillos, whose voice can be heard briefly in the film but more prominently during the end credits.<\/p>\n

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\n\tInterestingly, the choir recorded their wordless vocal sounds together with the orchestra, another unusual aspect of the sessions. Most composers record choir separately and mix them with orchestra later; Williams prefers everyone in the same room at the same time.<\/p>\n

\n\tAll of the sessions were closed and attended by very few. Spielberg was in the cavernous studio, just a few feet away from Williams, along with music editor Ramiro Belgardt; together they shared a small screen and could watch the film unspool as cues were recorded.<\/p>\n

\n\tNo film was projected onto the big screen behind the orchestra, as would happen under normal circumstances; that way no musician or studio technician could see any of the (then) super-secret footage.<\/p>\n

\n\tOver the course of seven sessions, Williams recorded more than two hours and 20 minutes of music. The final film contains 82 minutes of score. Some of the extra music was reserved for the soundtrack album.<\/p>\n

\n\tSpielberg is quoted in the film\u2019s press notes as saying, \u201c\u2018Disclosure Day\u2019 is probably the most restrained score he has ever written for one of our collaborations\u2014at least until it is not. But until those moments, he holds back in a way that is subtle and beautiful and enriches the experience. It is like he is accompanying the film from slightly behind it, pushing it forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tMuch of the score is mood-setting, but in an undeniably sophisticated way. Williams\u2019 main theme is contemplative and ultimately powerful, tinged with Americana (as much of the film takes place in middle America).<\/p>\n

\n\tEerie string passages and occasional dissonances subtly harken back to his score for \u201cClose Encounters of the Third Kind,\u201d which now seems a precursor to this film. Darker moments reflect the government forces trying to stop the release of secret UFO footage; more fast-paced ones help propel Margaret (Emily Blunt) and Daniel (Josh O\u2019Connor) on the run throughout the film.<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the end of the final session, cake and champagne were served behind engineer Shawn Murphy\u2019s mixing board, with Spielberg remarking, \u201cthis is our 30th movie together, and we\u2019re still in love,\u201d and Williams responding with a line he\u2019s used before: \u201cSteven\u2019s a man you can\u2019t say no to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThis was where Spielberg told the small group that he has an idea for his next film, \u201cand John just said yes.\u201d Adds a Williams associate: \u201cSo long as he\u2019s able, he\u2019ll do the next movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cDisclosure Day\u201d is the 105th theatrical film to feature an original John Williams score. His first was in 1958, and since that time he has been honored with 54 Oscar nominations, winning five; and 76 Grammy nominations, winning 27.<\/p>\n

\n\tHis latest concert composition, the six-minute \u201cBravo Gustavo,\u201d was debuted last week by the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Disney Hall as Gustavo Dudamel, a close friend of Williams, prepares to depart for his new position with the New York Philharmonic.<\/p>\n

\n\tMike Knobloch, president, NBC-Universal Music and Publishing, told Variety<\/em> after Monday\u2019s New York premiere: \u201cJohn and Steven were allowed to take time, the months that they needed from September to almost March, a rare luxury that most filmmakers wouldn\u2019t get.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis legendary composer, the godfather of modern film scoring, did what we hoped he would do, which was to create a distinctive, unique, original and transcendent score for this Spielberg movie in the way that only he can. It\u2019s a character in the movie\u2014exhilarating, scary, poetic.\u201d<\/p>\n

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How John Williams scored Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[217],"tags":[871,1809,867],"class_list":["post-2129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artisans","tag-disclosure-day","tag-john-williams","tag-steven-spielberg"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018Disclosure Day\u2019: John Williams Recorded Two Hours of Music Over a Six Month Period for his 30th Collaboration with Steven Spielberg (Exclusive) - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=2129\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018Disclosure Day\u2019: John Williams Recorded Two Hours of Music Over a Six Month Period for his 30th Collaboration with Steven Spielberg (Exclusive) - 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