Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is the soundtrack for the Disney

Walt Disney Pictures

Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...

 movie of the same title, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. It is composed by Hans Zimmer

Hans Zimmer

Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...

, and features additional music by Lorne Balfe

Lorne Balfe

Lorne Balfe is a film score composer. Born in Inverness, Scotland, he works at the Remote Control Productions Studio.-Discography:2011* Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure...

, Tom Gire, Nick Glennie-Smith

Nick Glennie-Smith

Nick Glennie-Smith is a film composer whose most prominent work is a collaboration with Hans Zimmer on the score to the 1996 action film The Rock as well as work on the 1993 drama Point of No Return...

, Henry Jackman

Henry Pryce Jackman

Henry Pryce Jackman is a film score composer and keyboard player.-Early life and career:Jackman studied classical music at St...

, Atli Örvarsson

Atli Örvarsson

Atli Örvarsson is an Icelandic film score composer. He is a member of Hans Zimmer's production company Remote Control Productions.- Filmography :-External links:*...

, John Sponsler and Geoff Zanelli

Geoff Zanelli

Geoff Zanelli is a composer working primarily in the medium of film music. His early career was notable for scoring additional music on roughly 30 film scores written by Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson-Williams, John Powell, Klaus Badelt and Steve Jablonsky including several blockbuster films...

.

Circuit City's initial retail shipments of the album included a free movie poster at checkout, with a minimum ten per store. Best Buy

Best Buy

Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates...

 had an exclusive ringtone code, rather than extra tracks as in the previous soundtrack.

The soundtrack debuted at number 14 on the U.S. Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

, selling about 35,000 copies in its first week. As of July 11, 2007, the album has sold 118,919 copies in the US.

Track listing

#	Title	Description	Length
1.	Hoist the Colours	Hoist The Colours, "main theme" of At World's End, in addition to representing the pirates and their ideology for freedom, tells the story of how Calypso was imprisoned in a human body by the Pirate King. In its opening rendition, it is sung by a young boy and eventually by a larger chorus. A lengthy suite arrangement of the theme also makes up the end credits in the film, which is not featured on the soundtrack, but has been partially released on the Soundtrack Treasures Collection Pirates of the Caribbean: Soundtrack Treasures Collection Pirates of the Caribbean: Soundtrack Treasures Collection is a collection of soundtrack albums from Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy along with some exclusive extra features including several suites of never-before-released music and a bonus DVD containing videos from behind the...  CD on a track called Hoist the Colours Suite.	1:31
2.	Singapore	Singapore is a suite starting with Sao Feng's theme, played by varying Asian instruments, notably the erhu Erhu The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles... . The middle portion of this track is the first variation of the new Cutler Beckett and the East India Trading Company theme, used for the opening battle sequence in the Singapore bathhouse, followed by a plucked variation of Sao Feng's theme. At the very end, we hear Jack Sparrow's easily recognizable arrival theme, presented almost identically to its appearances in the other two films.	3:40
3.	At Wit's End	At Wit's End, a lengthy suite, begins with the first appearance of the second main theme of the movie, commonly referred to as the "love theme." (Zimmer himself stated that, even though this is popularly considered a "love theme," it is in fact "a theme for the whole movie," as inspired by traditional swashbuckling scores.) Only the A and B sections of the theme are stated here, the A section on horn and the B section in a grand orchestral statement at 3:10. This is followed by a statement of Davy Jones' theme, first on music box (with Love Theme A playing over the top), then explosively on organ. The last few minutes of the cue are action material for when the ship falls off the edge of the world, again featuring the A and B sections, and ending with a new theme for the concept of "world's end".	8:05
4.	Multiple Jacks	Multiple Jacks is a synthesized and electronic piece played during Jack Sparrow's imprisonment in Davy Jones' Locker. It features an off-kilter version of Jack's theme from Dead Man's Chest, and several unique instruments such as a mouth harp Mouth harp Mouth harp may refer to:* Harmonica* Jew's harp... .	3:51
5.	Up Is Down	Up is Down is a fast-paced, uplifting track featuring a Celtic-inspired fiddle theme in 6/8 that accompanies statements of the A and B sections of the love theme, and ends with the world's end theme. It accompanies the scene where the Black Pearl is tipped upside-down to escape Davy Jones' Locker (though chronologically it comes after the following track, I See Dead People in Boats.	2:42
6.	I See Dead People in Boats	I See Dead People in Boats is a suite of cues from various points in the movie. Beginning with the A love theme on solo oboe, it is most prominently featured when the Black Pearl observes the souls of the dead who are journeying to the other side – and Elizabeth discovers that her father is among the travelers. The last third of this track is devoted to the action sequence later in the film when Norrington is helping Elizabeth and her Singapore crew escape from the Flying Dutchman back to The Empress, and features a short statement of the C section of the love theme.	7:09
7.	The Brethren Court	The Brethren Court starts off with another off-kilter use of the Dead Man's Chest Jack Sparrow theme (purported to represent the character of Captain Teague (Keeper Of The Code), which is then followed by variations of the Hoist the Colours theme for the meeting of the pirate lords.	2:21
8.	Parlay	Parlay, a tribute to Ennio Morricone's Man with a Harmonica theme, is used during the parlay scene. Jack, Elizabeth and Barbossa go to meet Beckett, Jones and Will, who attempts final negotiations before war. The A love theme is played on a distorted electric guitar, while the strings accompany with the ostinato of Cutler Beckett's theme.	2:10
9.	Calypso	Calypso heavily uses Tia Dalma's theme from Dead Man's Chest, as it accompanies the scene where she is transformed into Calypso with choral chanting.	3:02
10.	What Shall We Die For	What Shall We Die For is a powerful choral and orchestral variation of Hoist the Colours, where Elizabeth gives her war-rally speech before the final battle begins.	2:02
11.	I Don't Think Now Is the Best Time	I Don't Think Now Is the Best Time is the film's major action piece, devoted entirely to the climatic final battle between the pirates and the EITC. As Zimmer himself had confirmed, the first half of this track is actually the final part of the massive battle, during the destruction of the Endeavour – Cutler Beckett's theme is given a massive statement here as cannons tear his ship to bits. The second half serves as the middle portion of the battle, with the duel between Jack and Davy Jones for the Dead Man's Chest and the rather impromptu wedding ceremony. Many themes from all three films are interwoven here, all interconnected by a moving eight note line, including Jack Sparrow's theme, the love themes and He's a Pirate. Towards the end, the track moves to a full statement of the powerful C love theme, ending with action material from Curse of the Black Pearl.	10:45
12.	One Day	One Day is the aftermath of the battle, where the pirates have won over the East India Trading Company, and are celebrating their hard-earned victory. Jack's arrival theme is played powerfully, with an underlying eighth-note rhythm, before segueing into a full statement of all three love themes, A, B and C as Elizabeth and Will share their farewell.	4:01
13.	Drink Up Me Hearties	Drink Up Me Hearties – Starting with Jack's arrival cue played on accordion, this cue details the final minutes of the film, ending with Jack's arrival cue one last time as he sails over the horizon. He's a Pirate is then played, as in the other two films, as the end credits begin to roll, before moving into another lengthy statement of all three love themes, using the Up is Down fiddle theme as an accompaniment.	4:31

Production

Composer Hans Zimmer estimated that he composed "over five hours of music" because he thought that it might be "a nice idea to throw out everything and start from scratch."

Critical reception

Critical response to the soundtrack differed greatly, though the album was generally well-received by fans. On Amazon.com, it holds a 4.7/5 stars, the highest of any Pirates of the Caribbean score. A review by Mike Brennan on soundtrack.net, for example, praised the score as having "a level of thematic complexity that rivals most other franchises", praising its move from heavily synthetic in the Curse of the Black Pearl score

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (soundtrack)

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl soundtrack is the official soundtrack album from the homonymous film. The album was released on July 22, 2003, by Walt Disney Records and contains selections of music from the movie's score. The music of the film and this album are both...

to mostly orchestral, as well as its swashbuckling flavor that was missing from the first two entries. His overall rating for the score was 4.5 stars out of 5.

Not all critics were impressed, however. Christian Clemmensen, on Filmtracks.com

Filmtracks.com

Filmtracks.com is a leading modern film score review website created and maintained out of Missoula, Montana by its sole reviewer, Christian Clemmensen...

, though he grudgingly admitted the score was "an intelligent merging of thematic ideas from all three films" and employed a "far wider orchestral and choral palette", feels that the score still did not live up to its swashbuckling cohorts, comparing it unfavorably to John Debney

John Debney

John C. Debney is an American film composer. He received an Academy Award nomination for his score for Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ...

's effort for Cutthroat Island

Cutthroat Island (soundtrack)

The score for the pirate film Cutthroat Island was composed by John Debney.The music was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra, with choral contributions by the London Voices and was conducted by David Snell....

. He also complained about the anthem-like statements of the love theme in One Day and Drink Up Me Hearties, saying, "...there is no style to that music. Only power". In the end, his score was two stars out of five, a rating that several visitors to the site were incensed by on the review's comments page.

Credits

• Music composed by Hans Zimmer
  Hans Zimmer
  Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...
  
  
• Score produced by: Hans Zimmer, Bob Badami & Melissa Muik
• Executive Soundtrack Album Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer
  Jerry Bruckheimer
  Jerome Leon "Jerry" Bruckheimer is an American film and television producer. He has achieved great success in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. His best known television series are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Eleventh Hour, Without a Trace, Cold Case, The...
  
   & Gore Verbinski
  Gore Verbinski
  Gregor "Gore" Verbinski is an American film director, writer and musician. He is best known for directing the films The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Rango.-Early life:...
  
  
• Executive in Charge of Music and Soundtracks for Walt Disney Pictures and the Buena Vista Music Group: Mitchell Leib
• Music Supervisor: Bob Badami
• Executive in Charge of Music Production for the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group: Monica Zierhut
• Music Creative/Marketing for the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group: Glen Lajeski
• Music Business and Legal Affairs: Scott Holtzman and Sylvia Krask
• Director of Soundtracks for the Buena Vista Music Group: Desiree Craig-Ramos
• Supervising Technical Music Coordinator: Thomas Broderick
• Additional Music by: Lorne Balfe, Tom Gire, Nick Glennie-Smith, Henry Jackman, Atli Orvarsson, John Sponsler, Geoff Zanelli
• Supervising Music Editor: Melissa Muik
• Music Editors: Katie Greathouse, Barbara McDermott
• Supervising Orchestrator: Bruce Fowler
• Orchestrators: Walt Fowler, Elizabeth Finch, Ken Kugler, Suzette Moriary, Steve Bartek
• Music Preparation: Booker White
• Score Recorded by: Alan Meyerson, Slamm Andres
• Album Mixed by: Alan Meyerson, Big Al Clay
• Additional Recording by: Jeff Biggers, Big Al Clay, Greg Vines, Matt Ward
• Featured Musicians:
  • Phil Ayling – Oboe
    Oboe
    The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
    
    
  • Chris Bleth – Duduk
    Duduk
    The duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...
    
    
  • Pedro Eustache
    Pedro Eustache
    Pedro Eustache , is a creative solo flautist - "World Music" woodwinds-reeds-wind synthesizers and composer with extensive academic studies and more than 35 years of professional experience...
    
     – Ethnic Woods
  • Karen Han – Erhu
    Erhu
    The erhu is a two-stringed bowed musical instrument, more specifically a spike fiddle, which may also be called a "southern fiddle", and sometimes known in the Western world as the "Chinese violin" or a "Chinese two-stringed fiddle". It is used as a solo instrument as well as in small ensembles...
    
    
  • Lili Haydn
    Lili Haydn
    Lili Haydn is a violinist, vocalist, composer, guitarist, and actress. As a child, she pursued a career as an actress; at age eight she discovered the violin and began to focus on classical music. By the time Haydn was fifteen, she had played with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.After graduating from...
    
     – Fiddle
    Fiddle
    The term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
    
    
  • Frank Marocco
    Frank Marocco
    Frank Marocco is an American piano-accordionist, arranger and composer. He is recognized as one of the most recorded accordionists in the world.- Background :Frank Marocco grew up in Waukegan, Illinois, near Chicago...
    
     – Accordion
    Accordion
    The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
    
    
  • Heitor Pereira
    Heitor Pereira
    Heitor Teixeira Pereira , or Heitor TP, is a Brazilian musician, who played with Simply Red and several famous musicians, like Elton John, Rod Stewart, k.d...
    
     – Banjo
    Banjo
    In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
    
    
  • Simon Phillips
    Simon Phillips
    Simon Phillips is an English jazz, pop and rock drummer.-Career:Phillips began to play professionally at the age of twelve in his father's Dixieland band for four years. He was then offered the chance to play in the musical Jesus Christ Superstar...
    
     – Drum
    Drum
    The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
    
    s
  • Tom Raney
    Tom Raney
    Tom Raney is an American comic book artist, known for illustrating titles as Annihilation Conquest, Alpha Flight, Ultimate X-Men and Uncanny X-Men for Marvel Comics, DV8 and Stormwatch for Image Comics, and Outsiders for DC Comics....
    
     – Cimbalom
  • Martin Tillman
    Martin Tillman
    Martin Tillman is a Swiss composer and world renowned cellistHe has established himself in the motion picture and recording world as one of the most sought after talents of experimental acoustic and electric cello.-Biography:...
    
     – Cello
    Cello
    The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
    
    
  • Gore Verbinski
    Gore Verbinski
    Gregor "Gore" Verbinski is an American film director, writer and musician. He is best known for directing the films The Ring, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Rango.-Early life:...
    
     – Guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
    
    
• Featured Vocalist: Delores Clay
• Principal Musicians:
  • Endre Granat
    Endre Granat
    Endre Granat,former Asst. Concertmaster of the Cleveland Orchestra ,Concertmaster of the Goteborg Symphony.Laureate of the Queen Elisabeth International Competition,Recipient of the Ysaye Medal.Frequent participant of the Marlboro Festival and the Casals Festival.The former Fulbright scholar taught...
    
     – Concertmaster
    Concertmaster
    The concertmaster/mistress is the spalla or leader, of the first violin section of an orchestra. In the UK, the term commonly used is leader...
    
    
  • Julie Gigante – Principal 2nd Violin
    Violin
    The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
    
    
  • Brian Dembow – Viola
    Viola
    The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
    
    
  • Steve Erdody – Cello
  • Nico Abondolo – Bass
    Bass (instrument)
    Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
    
    
  • Jim Walker, Geri Rotella – Flute
    Flute
    The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
    
    s
  • Phil Ayling – Oboe
  • Jim Kanter – Clarinet
    Clarinet
    The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
    
    
  • Michael O'Donnovan – Bassoon
    Bassoon
    The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
    
    
  • Jim Thatcher – Horn
    Horn (instrument)
    The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
    
    
  • Malcolm McNab – Trumpet
    Trumpet
    The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
    
    
  • Charlie Loper – Trombone
    Trombone
    The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
    
    
  • Doug Tornquist – Tuba
    Tuba
    The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
    
    
• Orchestra conducted
  Conducting
  Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble...
  
   by: Blake Neely, Nick Glennie-Smith
• Featured Musician Soloists co-produced by: Jimmy Levine, Nick Glennie-Smith
• Orchestra contractors: Sandy DeCrescent, Peter Rotter
• Technical Music Assistants: Pete Oso Snell, Kevin Globerman, Jacob Shea, Bobby Tahouri, Dan Zimmerman
• Digital Instrument Design by: Mark Wherry
• Production Coordinator for Hans Zimmer: Andrew Zack
• Sample Development: Claudius Bruese
• Sample Development Assistants: Zain Effendi, Mark McCormick
• Score recorded at:
  • Todd AO Scoring Stage, Studio City, CA
  • Fox Scoring Stage, Century City, CA
  • Sony Scoring Stage, Culver City, CA
• Choir Recorded by: Geoff Foster
• Choir Contractor: Isobel Griffiths
• Choir Master: Jenny O'Grady
• Choir: Metro Voices
• Soprano
  Soprano
  A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
  
  : Hila Plitmann
  Hila Plitmann
  Hila Plitmann is an operatic soprano specializing in the performance of new works. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, composer Eric Whitacre, and their son.- Career :...
  
  
• Choir conducted by: Matthew Dunkel
• UK Music preparation: Jill Streater
• UK Music Coordinator: Nyree Pinder
• Choir recorded at: Air Lyndhurst Studios, London and Abbey Road Studios, London
• Score mixed at: Remote Control Productions, Santa Monica, CA
• Music Production Services: Steven Kofsky
• Studio Coordinator: Czarina Russell
• Music Production Intern: Seth Glennie-Smith
• Scoring stage crew: Chris Barrett, Alison Burton, Bryan Clementes, Andrew Dudman, Mark Eshelman, Dominic Gonzales, Tom Hardisty, Sam Jones, Tim Lauber, Adam Michalak, Francesco Perlangelli, Denis St. Amand, Jay Selvester, Tom Steel, Chelley Sydow
• Mastered by: Patricia Sullivan at Bernie Grundman Manstering, Hollywood CA
• Creative Direction: Steve Gerdes
• Album Design: Sean Tejaratchi
• "Hoist the Colours"
  • Cabin Boy Vocals by Brendyn Bell
    Brendyn Bell
    Brendyn Bell is an American teen actor. His most recent film role, which is also his first, is the cabin boy in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. He also played young Hans Klok in the Las Vegas show "Hans Klok: The Beauty of Magic" at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino...
    
    
  • Singing Gallows Pirates: Chris Allport, Lawrence Cummings, Jim Raycroft, Robert Hovencamp, Geoffrey Alch, Ned Werimer, Samuela Beasom, Jessica-Elisabeth
  • Lyrics by Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio
  • Music by Hans Zimmer and Gore Verbinski

External links

• Soundtrack analysis at MovieMusic.com