Musical Review
I am a huge fan of the Sci-Fi channel's Battlestar Galactica -- in my opinion, one of the smartest, most daring shows to be on the air in the last ten years. The developer and executive producer is Ronald Moore, formerly of Star Trek fame.
One of the things that I love about the show is actually its score. I don't know whether it is because they are on cable, and therefore have a smaller order of shows, that the quality tends to be higher, or if the their music director and composer is just a genius.
Most of the music for the first two seasons has been written and scored by Bear McCreary. I bought the CD's for the miniseries and Season 1 a few months back, and have thoroughly enjoyed them. Season 1 of BSG was as good an inaugural season as a show could have, but Season 2 really was outstanding, and the music really picked it up a notch as well, in that the themes I think were better defined and more memorable.
I just received the Season 2 soundtrack in the mail this past weekend (sorry, kiddies, not available on iTunes!), and I must say, I can't stop listening to it. The entire album is excellent, and unlike the first season, I can remember most of the specific scenes in the show where the music appears. I find this interesting, because the music itself is not generally intrusive into the storyline, but it is indeed memorable.
Two tracks in particular really move me. The first is "Roslin and Adama" (warning: music clip) This is used in the episode "Resurrection Ship, Parts 1 and 2", and plays during two scenes in which two of the main characters, Roslin (played by Mary McDonnell) and Adama (played by Edward James Olmos) interact. The first two minutes are incredibly emotionally evocative to me, with slow, mournful strings and a low piano subtext, as Roslin lies dying of terminal cancer and Adama has come to see her. The last minute waxes more hopeful, with a stirring synth guitar representing some hope, as Roslin promotes Adama to admiral after the events of the episode. It's hard to convey in words, but this particular piece is quite possibly one of the most emotionally rich pieces I have ever heard.
The second track that I love is "Prelude to War" (again, warning: music clip). The first three minutes of this track are from the episode "Pegasus". At the end of this episode, the Galactica and the Pegasus are about to square off against one another, and the music is a frenetic undertone to the conversation going back and forth between the two commanders as tensions escalate. The piece is laden with violins, which start out rapid, and only get more frenzied as the piece moves on, mirroring the escalating threat of violence. It strongly reminds me of the "Winter" movement from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" in terms of sheer rapidity and virtuousity in violin playing. At about the three-minute mark, the violence finally erupts into outright hostilities, and the music reflects this by breaking into what the internets commonly refer to as "the poundy drums of doom", and the listener is treated to a really great, violent, primal, visceral drum beat that appears and reappears throughout the peice. It is a great track to listen to on the road after a long day, to let some steam off. This show has some of the best use of percussion of any soundtrack in recent memory.
Those are just two examples off of the CD, but in reality the whole thing is great. If you are a fan of the show, I think it is a must-have. If you just like emotionally evocative music, then give it a try.
One of the things that I love about the show is actually its score. I don't know whether it is because they are on cable, and therefore have a smaller order of shows, that the quality tends to be higher, or if the their music director and composer is just a genius.
Most of the music for the first two seasons has been written and scored by Bear McCreary. I bought the CD's for the miniseries and Season 1 a few months back, and have thoroughly enjoyed them. Season 1 of BSG was as good an inaugural season as a show could have, but Season 2 really was outstanding, and the music really picked it up a notch as well, in that the themes I think were better defined and more memorable.
I just received the Season 2 soundtrack in the mail this past weekend (sorry, kiddies, not available on iTunes!), and I must say, I can't stop listening to it. The entire album is excellent, and unlike the first season, I can remember most of the specific scenes in the show where the music appears. I find this interesting, because the music itself is not generally intrusive into the storyline, but it is indeed memorable.
Two tracks in particular really move me. The first is "Roslin and Adama" (warning: music clip) This is used in the episode "Resurrection Ship, Parts 1 and 2", and plays during two scenes in which two of the main characters, Roslin (played by Mary McDonnell) and Adama (played by Edward James Olmos) interact. The first two minutes are incredibly emotionally evocative to me, with slow, mournful strings and a low piano subtext, as Roslin lies dying of terminal cancer and Adama has come to see her. The last minute waxes more hopeful, with a stirring synth guitar representing some hope, as Roslin promotes Adama to admiral after the events of the episode. It's hard to convey in words, but this particular piece is quite possibly one of the most emotionally rich pieces I have ever heard.
The second track that I love is "Prelude to War" (again, warning: music clip). The first three minutes of this track are from the episode "Pegasus". At the end of this episode, the Galactica and the Pegasus are about to square off against one another, and the music is a frenetic undertone to the conversation going back and forth between the two commanders as tensions escalate. The piece is laden with violins, which start out rapid, and only get more frenzied as the piece moves on, mirroring the escalating threat of violence. It strongly reminds me of the "Winter" movement from Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" in terms of sheer rapidity and virtuousity in violin playing. At about the three-minute mark, the violence finally erupts into outright hostilities, and the music reflects this by breaking into what the internets commonly refer to as "the poundy drums of doom", and the listener is treated to a really great, violent, primal, visceral drum beat that appears and reappears throughout the peice. It is a great track to listen to on the road after a long day, to let some steam off. This show has some of the best use of percussion of any soundtrack in recent memory.
Those are just two examples off of the CD, but in reality the whole thing is great. If you are a fan of the show, I think it is a must-have. If you just like emotionally evocative music, then give it a try.
posted by Professor B at 10:37 PM
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