Game of Thrones Soundtrack in June

[Westeros]

Varese Sarabande, leading publisher of soundtracks, has announced that the Game of Thrones soundtrack by Ramin Djawadi is on its way! Due June 14th, there’s no more information about just how many tracks there’ll be, but we can be sure that the title theme (and perhaps one or two variations) are going to be a part of it.

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[Arya The Assassin]

Great news! I enjoy scores in general, and I love the main theme for GoT. Will definitely buy the CD when it's released.

[ExLibris]

Awesome! The title track is incredibly epic...I haven't really taken note of any of the music playing during the actual show, though. I'll have to keep my ears peeled from now on, because I'm sure it's just as awesome. ^_^

[Caligula_K]

Really? The title score is pretty awesome, but the in show music has been pretty terrible/cliched/unnoticable. Bear McCreary and Michael Giacchino this ain't. Maybe it'll get better and we'll get things like character/place/plot themes but so far the music is the only aspect of the show I don't like.

[ExLibris]

Really? The title score is pretty awesome, but the in show music has been pretty terrible/cliched/unnoticable. Bear McCreary and Michael Giacchino this ain't. Maybe it'll get better and we'll get things like character/place/plot themes but so far the music is the only aspect of the show I don't like.

Ah that's disappointing, perhaps that's why I haven't noticed it so far...

[evanesco75]

Dude, BSG by Bear McCreary and LOST by Giacchino are my all-time favourite soundtracks. So, props!

[Arya The Assassin]

Really? The title score is pretty awesome, but the in show music has been pretty terrible/cliched/unnoticable.

I wouldn't say that the music has been "pretty terrible". Music is used rather sparingly and economically, and for the most part the music is laid-back and somewhat un-thematic. It's not the kind of score that constantly tries to whack character motifs into your head. Could the score have been better? Yes, I'm not saying its perfect (the music is slightly cliched in some scenes), but on the other hand I think it's far from being "pretty terrible".

Bear McCreary and Michael Giacchino this ain't.

Giacchino is a very good composer, but I don't think he'd be the best choice for GoT, due to his musical style. McCreary is also talented (he did some nice scoring for the BSG-series), but I'm not sure how well suited he'd be for a medieval/fantasy-oriented score.

My personal candidates for a GoT-score would be John Williams, Howard Shore, Harry Gregson-Williams, James Horner, Alan Silvestri or even Hans Zimmer. But some of these guys (such as Williams or Horner) might not be interested in doing scores for TV shows, or they might simply be too expensive.

[Artanys]

Really? The title score is pretty awesome, but the in show music has been pretty terrible/cliched/unnoticable. Bear McCreary and Michael Giacchino this ain't. Maybe it'll get better and we'll get things like character/place/plot themes but so far the music is the only aspect of the show I don't like.

I agree that the title theme is nice though it would have sounded a lot better if it were played by a real orchestra instead. Cost is not that great of an issue either, there are some excellent eastern European orchestras that charge very reasonable rates. Let's just say that Ramin has confirmed my worst fears, because the rest of the music he's composed for this series is painfully insipid. This tells me that as a composer he's not feeling ASOIAF. That is a very bad thing for a production of this caliber and sacking Stephen Warbeck so late in the game was the single most idiotic thing the producers did ! It saddens me to imagine the beautiful themes Warbeck would have come up with, alas we shall never know now. While Djawadi's work on Iron Man was decent, more traditional period scores (Clash of the Titans anyone?) are just not his thing. Why everyone keeps hiring the man for all the wrong projects is beyond me.

We can only hope the OST sales are low enough so that the producers will finally see the light and hire a more fitting composer for the Second Season. I can think of more than a few independents who would do the series justice, there's Bear McCreary, Abel Korzeniowski etc. Heck, just watch the GoT intro set to Corvus Corax's Causa Ludi to see what I mean. Ideally there should also be ambiance music featuring ethnic/period instruments in some scenes. For example 'Alyssane's Song', which is supposed to be a bit sad could sound something like this.

[Padraig]

sacking Stephen Warbeck so late in the game was the single most idiotic thing the producers did ! It saddens me to imagine the beautiful themes Warbeck would have come up with, alas we shall never know now.

They must have not been impressed with the work Warbeck did though?

[Ran]

We don't really know what happened with Warbeck's departure, so I think it's wrong to necessarily blame the producers. It could just have been an unfortunate circumstance with scheduling.

[Artanys]

They must have not been impressed with the work Warbeck did though?

I have a feeling that Warbeck's music featured complex melodies and clearly defined themes so that the producers feared it would overpower the imagery. This is, of course, nonsense. Music can be toned down and instrumentation can be simplified quite readily. A similar mistake was made with Gabriel Yared's score for Troy. It was a masterpiece that could have easily stood on it's own yet they hired Horner to do a shoddy rush job because of what a few lackwits on some test panel said. I've been in market research enough to know that some of the people making important decisions really don't get it.

[Padraig]

I have a feeling that Warbeck's music featured complex melodies and clearly defined themes so that the producers feared it would overpower the imagery. This is, of course, nonsense. Music can be toned down and instrumentation can be simplified quite readily.

That's way too speculative for me. You could be right but i'd agree with Ran.

[SamanthaofHodorsfield]

I have a feeling that Warbeck's music featured complex melodies and clearly defined themes so that the producers feared it would overpower the imagery. This is, of course, nonsense. Music can be toned down and instrumentation can be simplified quite readily. A similar mistake was made with Gabriel Yared's score for Troy. It was a masterpiece that could have easily stood on it's own yet they hired Horner to do a shoddy rush job because of what a few lackwits on some test panel said. I've been in market research enough to know that some of the people making important decisions really don't get it.

Totally tangenting the thread here, but I will agree that Yared's score for Troy is highly superior to Horner's, and whilst I will quite happily listen to the 'soundtrack' I have of Yared's version, I never really cared for the official soundtrack. That's not to say Horner is a bad composer, but in this case, the fact it was a rush job was glaringly obvious, and I still marvel that they gave Yared the boot in the first place.

It would be interesting to see what Warbeck did write, and compare it, but unless he did what Yared did and put it up on his website for all to hear (before he was 'asked' to remove it) then I guess we'll never know.

[Arya The Assassin]

I have a feeling that Warbeck's music featured complex melodies and clearly defined themes so that the producers feared it would overpower the imagery.

I might be wrong, but I personally don't find that scenario to be very likely. I believe it has more to do with the tone or character of his score, assuming that he left the project for artistic reasons (but all this is just speculation, of course). It doesn't help much if a score sounds great on its own, if it fails to work well with the film itself.

A similar mistake was made with Gabriel Yared's score for Troy. It was a masterpiece that could have easily stood on it's own yet they hired Horner to do a shoddy rush job because of what a few lackwits on some test panel said.

Yared's score is very good, but in my opinion its tone didn't suit the film, and I actually prefer Horner's score. But I agree with you in principle when it comes to blindly following feedback on test screenings.

As for Djawadi's score: I wasn't aware until recently that he got involved so late and that he replaced Warbeck. This may explain why his score is so sparse and often 'generic'. But like I said earlier, I don't think his score is detracting either, although it could've been significantly better. I hope we'll see some changes in season two.

[Arya The Assassin]

I agree that the title theme is nice though it would have sounded a lot better if it were played by a real orchestra instead. Cost is not that great of an issue either, there are some excellent eastern European orchestras that charge very reasonable rates.

I agree that a full orchestra would've sounded better, but I don't think cost is the primary reason here. I think lack of time made it difficult to hire/assemble a full orchestra on such short notice.

We can only hope the OST sales are low enough so that the producers will finally see the light and hire a more fitting composer for the Second Season.

I don't think the OST sales will have a major impact on their decision, if they start thinking about finding another composer (for all we know, the OST might sell well just because of the opening theme, and not necessarily the rest of the score, which may even work better as a separate musical experience than in the film itself).

I think their decision will rely more on how well the music works within the context of the TV series as a whole. If the producers share our views about the score, they will probably discuss this with the composer, although a replacement doesn't seem very unlikely either.

Heck, just watch the GoT intro set to Corvus Corax's Causa Ludi to see what I mean. Ideally there should also be ambiance music featuring ethnic/period instruments in some scenes. For example 'Alyssane's Song', which is supposed to be a bit sad could sound something like this.

These songs are indeed beautiful, although I think they would probably work better as songs or themes for the Dothraki, particularly the last one.

I was having a more 'modern' tonal character in mind, such as Harry Gregson-Williams' score for Kingdom of Heaven. The score has a medieval tone which would work well for the 'medieval' kingdoms in GoT, but it also has several 'exotic' elements (because the story is set during the Crusades of the 12th century), and this tonal character would suit the Dothraki particularly well. You can listen to the score here:

Another alternative is Horner's score for Braveheart, which I also feel would be suitable as an inspiration for GoT, as long as you replace the bagpipe-inspired music with something that's more suitable for the Dothraki. Braveheart has a more old-fashioned tone, though, so in some respects Harry's score might be more fitting for a drama with fantasy elements.

Speaking of Dothraki-music: I consider Basil Poledouris' score for Conan - The Barbarian to be one of the best scores ever made, and I think many songs from that score have a musical quality that would be perfect for the Dothraki. The score has songs and themes that suits everything from battle scenes to love scenes.

Here's a sample from the intro:

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the 15 min sneak peek (back in early January) of GoT used music from Gladiator and Lord of the Rings.

[Artanys]

I agree that a full orchestra would've sounded better, but I don't think cost is the primary reason here. I think lack of time made it difficult to hire/assemble a full orchestra on such short notice.

There are orchestras that can literally record with a few days notice. Technology has made this possible, I saw a documentary on how an inexperienced composer with a very limited budget managed to piece together a modest score in no time. Ramin may not have had a lot of time but he definitely had access to more resources, so it's more like he simply didn't want to bother. Are we to believe that he couldn't even manage ONE title theme? Come on. Opting for loops wouldn't be an issue if he were scoring a modern mid to low budget series NOT Game of Thrones.

I don't think the OST sales will have a major impact on their decision, if they start thinking about finding another composer (for all we know, the OST might sell well just because of the opening theme, and not necessarily the rest of the score, which may even work better as a separate musical experience than in the film itself).

I think their decision will rely more on how well the music works within the context of the TV series as a whole. If the producers share our views about the score, they will probably discuss this with the composer, although a replacement doesn't seem very unlikely either.

I believe OST sales will be important, but from a market research standpoint more than anything. It will definitely drive the point home as far as audience satisfaction with the music itself. TV ratings aren't going to give producers that much feedback about specifics, I still watch GoT every Sunday night even though I dislike most of the score so far. I know for a fact that there are a good number of people who also share this view...

These songs are indeed beautiful, although I think they would probably work better as songs or themes for the Dothraki, particularly the last one.

Glad you liked them. Actually, both pieces are primarily influenced by Western European medieval/renaissance music. Given the obvious cultural flavor of Westeros that would be the most fitting style for the Seven Kingdoms. The NA/Turkic/Mongol inspired Dothraki are probably going to use a pentatonic scale more often than not along with instruments such as flutes, dulcimers and frame drums. I expect their music would sound like something vaguely between this and this.

I was having a more 'modern' tonal character in mind, such as Harry Gregson-Williams' score for Kingdom of Heaven. The score has a medieval tone which would work well for the 'medieval' kingdoms in GoT, but it also has several 'exotic' elements (because the story is set during the Crusades of the 12th century), and this tonal character would suit the Dothraki particularly well. You can listen to the score here:

Another alternative is Horner's score for Braveheart, which I also feel would be suitable as an inspiration for GoT, as long as you replace the bagpipe-inspired music with something that's more suitable for the Dothraki. Braveheart has a more old-fashioned tone, though, so in some respects Harry's score might be more fitting for a drama with fantasy elements.

Speaking of Dothraki-music: I consider Basil Poledouris' score for Conan - The Barbarian to be one of the best scores ever made, and I think many songs from that score have a musical quality that would be perfect for the Dothraki. The score has songs and themes that suits everything from battle scenes to love scenes.

Here's a sample from the intro:

EDIT: I forgot to mention that the 15 min sneak peek (back in early January) of GoT used music from Gladiator and Lord of the Rings.

I love me some Poledouris. Music similar to that found in 'Conan' or 'Kingdom of Heaven' would also be a good choice. Not so much for Northern Westeros but more for cosmopolitan port cities such as King's Landing. In Pentos, for example, you should hear something like 'Tavern'.

[Tywin's bastard]

I wouldn't want Conan - The Barbarian music for this show. It's a very good score for that kind of movie but there's very little similarities between that and ASOAIF in my view. Extremely character driven stories suffer from pompous, epic scores in my view, and I still love those sorts of things when they are appropriate.

I haven't noticed the music that much while watching, but I have felt in the right mood for every scene, and that's what the score should do for this series in my opinion. The only thing I remember clearly is the dragon music (the eggs and talk of dragons) and that's also one of the very few things this far that needs to have some form of supernatural quality that pretty much needs to be told by music.

[Arya The Assassin]

There are orchestras that can literally record with a few days notice. ... Ramin may not have had a lot of time but he definitely had access to more resources, so it's more like he simply didn't want to bother. Are we to believe that he couldn't even manage ONE title theme?

If he had access to a 1) decent orchestra which 2) didn't cost too much, and 3) which could record the score or main title within the limited time period he had left, then I can't see why he wouldn't seize the opportunity. I hardly think that laziness is the reason why they didn't go for a full orchestral main title. It seems to me that lack of time is probably the biggest culprit here.

I believe OST sales will be important, but from a market research standpoint more than anything.

I've never heard of a composer being fired simply because of poor OST sales. This is no popularity contest. I believe the producers have a much bigger influence here than sales. If the producers aren't satisfied, they will discuss this with the composer, regardless of OST sales.

It will definitely drive the point home as far as audience satisfaction with the music itself.

Not necessarily. Like I said earlier, a score (or album for that matter) might sell well because of a few popular tracks. The score for Titanic featured a very popular love theme and a song by Celine Dion which helped to propel the sales to record levels (at least for a film score). The most notable and prominent theme so far on GoT is the main title, and if the OST sells well, you can't necessarily give credit to the quality of the score as a whole.

I still watch GoT every Sunday night even though I dislike most of the score so far. I know for a fact that there are a good number of people who also share this view...

I'm not too excited about the score either, and I still enjoy the show, so we're in the same boat :)

Given the obvious cultural flavor of Westeros that would be the most fitting style for the Seven Kingdoms.

That may be, from a historical standpoint, but I still find the tone of the music to be too exotic/ethnic, unless we're talking about the Dothraki.

I expect their music would sound like something vaguely between this and this.

I think this sounds too ethnic to my ears, even for the Dothraki. I don't think the music has to be directly influenced by these regions, as long as it retains some of the cultural overtones. The important thing is that the music should (in my opinion) have a modern, distinct character, depending on where you are in Westeros (the cold North, King's Landing, The Dothraki, etc.).

[Arya The Assassin]

I wouldn't want Conan - The Barbarian music for this show. It's a very good score for that kind of movie but there's very little similarities between that and ASOAIF in my view.

I think you misunderstand: I'm not talking about the score itself, but the tone and character of the score. Nor am I talking about the score in general, I'm talking about the music for the Dothrakis. Given that the Conan character in the film is travelling in regions that bear a lot of resemblance to the Dothraki world, I don't think it's farfetched to suggest this score as an inspirational source.

I haven't noticed the music that much while watching, but I have felt in the right mood for every scene, and that's what the score should do for this series in my opinion.

I agree, and that's why I think the score isn't terrible, although it doesn't really add much to the series either. There's a saying that (good) film music shouldn't be heard, but this is a simplistic statement that I don't fully agree with. The worst kind of scores are those who're not only 'incompatible' with the tone of the film itself, but constantly asks for your attention and become more of a distraction than an emotional 'booster'. These kind of scores ruin the films they're supposed to support, but so far the music in GoT hasn't sinked to those levels.

The only thing I remember clearly is the dragon music (the eggs and talk of dragons) and that's also one of the very few things this far that needs to have some form of supernatural quality that pretty much needs to be told by music.

Yes, absolutely, music can really bring that added sense of wonder to these kind of scenes.

I also think the sweeping music that's heard in episode two as the king leaves Winterfell is very appropriate. This is an interesting variation over the main title, and it helps to bring that feeling of 'epicness' to the scene, as Ned says farewell to Jon. The music for the opening sequence in episode one (Night's Watch in the woods) was also quite effective, I think. I just wish Djawadi's score was a bit more prominent.

[Lord Godric]

I would like to hear the individual tracks before I decide to buy the soundtrack. I have taken little notice of the music with the exception of the title track.