Howard Shore: The Shire Context Composed for the first instalment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Shire is a piece of orchestral underscore that showcases the beautiful landscape that the hobbits reside in. Howard Shore composed over 150 leitmotifs throughout the three LOTR films (even more if you Read more…
Bear McCreary: Godzilla Main Title Context The American film, TV and video game composer Bear McCreary (1979-) is one of the leaders in mainstream composition. He is best-known for his work on the new Battlestar Galactica (2004-09) TV series, as well as other popular shows such as The Walking Dead Read more…
Alan Silvestri: Back to the Future Main Titles Context Alan Silvestri composed the soundtrack for the 1985 sci-fi movie, Back to the Future, with the direction that the music had to be big and heroic. Silvestri had worked with Director Robert Zemeckis before, and so their good working relationship helped Read more…
Ramin Djawadi: Game of Thrones Main Title Context Iranian-German film composer Ramin Djawadi (1974-) is currently best-known for his music for the HBO series Game of Thrones, the 2008 Marvel film Iron Man and television series Prison Break. He has been nominated for numerous awards including a Grammy for Game Read more…
Wojciech Kilar: Dracula – The Beginning Context Polish composer Wojciech Kilar composed the music for the 1992 Gothic horror film, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which starred the likes of Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves. Apart from the closing song, which was written and performed by Annie Lennox, Kilar’s soundtrack Read more…
William Walton: Spitfire Prelude and Fugue Context Film music was bread and butter for William Walton. He established his career as a prolific British composer through his film scores. In 1942 alone there were four films released with music by Walton. The First of the Few was one of the Read more…
Paul Dukas: L’apprenti sorcier Context Paul Dukas was born in Paris, 1865. In 1881, Dukas entered the Conservatoire de Paris, studying piano and composition. Whilst studying at the conservatoire Dukas became very close friends with Claude Debussy. Dukas thrived studying composition, however, much of his work within this period was Read more…
Ennio Morricone: The Ecstasy of Gold Context Ennio Morricone composed his highly popular soundtrack for the 1966 Western film, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and by 1968 the album was a big hit in the charts. Regarded as Morricone’s most successful film soundtrack, The Ecstasy of Gold is Read more…
Ennio Morricone: A Fistful of Dollars Titles Context The 1964 Spaghetti Western, A Fistful of Dollars saw a young Clint Eastwood star in his first leading role. Ennio Morricone was chosen to compose the music for the film based on his other similar works for Spaghetti Western films. The Main Read more…
Ennio Morricone: Gabriel’s Oboe Context Ennio Morricone’s work Gabriel’s Oboe is chiefly known for being the main theme of the 1986 film The Mission. The film is a period drama about the experiences of a Jesuit missionary in South America. The film starred big names such as Robert De Niro, Read more…