The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (soundtrack)
Encyclopedia
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the soundtrack
of the film of the same name
. Harry Gregson-Williams
composed the soundtrack, which was released on December 13, 2005 (see 2005 in music
).
approached for the film because they had worked together on Shrek
(2001) and Shrek 2
(2004). Because Adamson had to shoot the film in New Zealand for an extended period and Gregson-Williams was working on scores for films such as Kingdom of Heaven
, he initially only prepared for the project by re-reading the book and reading the film script. It wasn't until he saw the first cut of the film that, as he put it, "I could see the look of it, the look of the characters. I found that what I felt emotionally, when compared to the book, was quite different and it was then at that point that I could really 'get under the skin' of the project." He said that although re-reading the book helped him enter "that headspace", the script also provided "a lot of good information" because it included several scenes that weren't in the book.
, London
, England; mostly members of the Bach Choir) and numerous other solo musicians such as electric violinist Hugh Marsh
and vocalist Lisbeth Scott
(at his Wavecrest Studio). He composed the original score and then spent late September through early November 2005 conducting the Hollywood Orchestra and overseeing the recording of the English choir
. For "color", he employed instruments used in ancient folk music
, and to underscore critical dramatic moments, he added choral textures and, occasionally, a solo voice. The score includes instances of electronic music
.
Though frequent comparisons were made between it and Howard Shore
's score for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
(2001–03), Gregson-Williams said he wasn't influenced by Shore during the scoring of The Chronicles of Narnia. He also said he composed over 100 minutes of music for the original score — equating the effort to that of three Beethoven
symphonies — although less than sixty minutes made the final cut. Fans are hoping for an extended soundtrack release, although Gregson-Williams has not hinted at such a release, and extended soundtracks are rare offerings. Only a few films — including Braveheart
(1995), Titanic
(1997), The Phantom Menace
(1999), Gladiator (2000), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
(2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(2002), The Lord of the Rings: The Return Of The King
(2003) — to be released have been granted an extended soundtrack release. There is a bootleg copy of the complete recordings circulating on the internet, although no official version of this soundtrack has been released. The complete recordings comprises all music composed by Williams for the movie.
The score features many uses of themes or leitmotif
s, the most prominent of which are a motif for the Pevensie children, a motif for Narnia itself, and the "Heroic motif". The heroic motif, however, is not heard until track nine ("To Aslan's Camp").
, "Can't Take It In", which Heap recorded for the soundtrack. Originally, Dido
submitted a song for the soundtrack, but it was considered unsatisfactory. Heap was approached after a suggestion from the soundtrack's supervisor, who managed a band with whom Heap had toured. The song was written, recorded, produced and mixed in a week; Heap said she needed "like a year more than I got" and considered the experience of handing in the song an hour after completing it "[p]retty scary". According to her, the creation of the song was difficult because The Chronicles of Narnia is a family film, so she "had to be quite descriptive and not too electronic" when making the song.
The soundtrack includes the song "Wunderkind
", which Alanis Morissette
wrote and recorded in three days; it was produced by Mike Elizondo
. According to her, after watching a rough cut of the film the song "seemed to flow from [me]", and that it "really touches me deeply". Also included is "Winter Light", written and recorded by Tim Finn
.
Evanescence
lead singer Amy Lee
claimed she had been approached to write music for the film, both of which were rejected. However, the producers of the film stated that they had never approached Lee about penning music for the film, and that it was "news to them". No Evanescence music had ever been planned for the score of the film.
s predicted that Williams' job of writing, composing
, and conducting a rich, ethnic, and boldly orchestrated soundtrack would certify the album's success. It made an impact at Amazon.com
, becoming one of the most popular items sold there, even after it had been released for more than ten days. The soundtrack debuted on the U.S. Billboard 200
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/chart_display.jsp?f=The+Billboard+200&pageNumber=Top+51-100&g=Albums at number forty-three, selling 20,000 copies in its first week. In its second week on the chart it dropped to number sixty-five, before moving to number fifty-seven its third week after the holiday box office success of the film. It descended to number fifty-nine in week four. "Wunderkind" was issued as a radio single in some parts of Asia.
The album received 3/5 stars from Filmtracks.com, [ 3/5 stars] from Allmusic and 3/4 stars from MovieMusic UK. The soundtrack received two Golden Globe award nominations: "Best Original Score
" and "Best Original Song
" (for "Wunderkind").
.
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
of the film of the same name
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Andrew Adamson and based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of...
. Harry Gregson-Williams
Harry Gregson-Williams
Harry Gregson-Williams is a prolific British composer, orchestrator, conductor, and music producer. He is best known for his film scores, of which he has composed over sixty using electronic music and orchestral pieces...
composed the soundtrack, which was released on December 13, 2005 (see 2005 in music
2005 in music
-Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...
).
Background
Gregson-Williams was the first composer who director Andrew AdamsonAndrew Adamson
Andrew Ralph Adamson, MNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer and screenwriter based mainly in Los Angeles, where he made the blockbuster animation films, Shrek and Shrek 2 for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He was director, executive producer, and scriptwriter for C. S....
approached for the film because they had worked together on Shrek
Shrek
Shrek is a 2001 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. Loosely based on William Steig's 1990 fairy tale picture book Shrek!...
(2001) and Shrek 2
Shrek 2
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the second installment in the Shrek film series and the sequel to 2001's Shrek...
(2004). Because Adamson had to shoot the film in New Zealand for an extended period and Gregson-Williams was working on scores for films such as Kingdom of Heaven
Kingdom of Heaven (film)
Kingdom of Heaven is a 2005 epic action film directed by Ridley Scott and written by William Monahan. It stars Orlando Bloom, Eva Green, Jeremy Irons, David Thewlis, Marton Csokas, Brendan Gleeson, Kevin McKidd, Alexander Siddig, Ghassan Massoud, Edward Norton, Jon Finch, Michael Sheen and Liam...
, he initially only prepared for the project by re-reading the book and reading the film script. It wasn't until he saw the first cut of the film that, as he put it, "I could see the look of it, the look of the characters. I found that what I felt emotionally, when compared to the book, was quite different and it was then at that point that I could really 'get under the skin' of the project." He said that although re-reading the book helped him enter "that headspace", the script also provided "a lot of good information" because it included several scenes that weren't in the book.
Score
During the recording process, Gregson-Williams employed the 75-piece Hollywood Studio Symphony Orchestra, along with a 140-member choir (from Abbey Road StudiosAbbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England; mostly members of the Bach Choir) and numerous other solo musicians such as electric violinist Hugh Marsh
Hugh Marsh
Hugh Marsh is a violinist from Toronto, known for his electric violin sound. Marsh was nominated for a 2007 Juno Award in the best contemporary jazz album category.-Early days:...
and vocalist Lisbeth Scott
Lisbeth Scott
Lisbeth Scott is a vocalist who was featured on the soundtracks for the films The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Munich. For the first film, she co-wrote and performed the song "Where." She also co-wrote and performed "Good...
(at his Wavecrest Studio). He composed the original score and then spent late September through early November 2005 conducting the Hollywood Orchestra and overseeing the recording of the English choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
. For "color", he employed instruments used in ancient folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
, and to underscore critical dramatic moments, he added choral textures and, occasionally, a solo voice. The score includes instances of electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
.
Though frequent comparisons were made between it and Howard Shore
Howard Shore
Howard Leslie Shore is a Canadian composer, notable for his film scores. He has composed the scores for over 80 films, most notably the scores for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, for which he won three Academy Awards. He is also a consistent collaborator with director David Cronenberg,...
's score for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
(2001–03), Gregson-Williams said he wasn't influenced by Shore during the scoring of The Chronicles of Narnia. He also said he composed over 100 minutes of music for the original score — equating the effort to that of three Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
symphonies — although less than sixty minutes made the final cut. Fans are hoping for an extended soundtrack release, although Gregson-Williams has not hinted at such a release, and extended soundtracks are rare offerings. Only a few films — including Braveheart
Braveheart
Braveheart is a 1995 epic historical drama war film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace...
(1995), Titanic
Titanic (soundtrack)
Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the film of the same name composed, orchestrated and conducted by James Horner. The soundtrack was released by Sony Classical on November 18, 1997...
(1997), The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (soundtrack)
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released two weeks before the film of the same name in May 1999, and was composed by John Williams...
(1999), Gladiator (2000), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Music of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The music of the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy was composed, orchestrated, conducted and produced by Howard Shore. Shore wrote many hours of music for The Lord of the Rings, 10 hours of which have been released in The Complete Recordings CD/DVD boxed sets...
(2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Music of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The music of the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy was composed, orchestrated, conducted and produced by Howard Shore. Shore wrote many hours of music for The Lord of the Rings, 10 hours of which have been released in The Complete Recordings CD/DVD boxed sets...
(2002), The Lord of the Rings: The Return Of The King
Music of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The music of the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy was composed, orchestrated, conducted and produced by Howard Shore. Shore wrote many hours of music for The Lord of the Rings, 10 hours of which have been released in The Complete Recordings CD/DVD boxed sets...
(2003) — to be released have been granted an extended soundtrack release. There is a bootleg copy of the complete recordings circulating on the internet, although no official version of this soundtrack has been released. The complete recordings comprises all music composed by Williams for the movie.
The score features many uses of themes or leitmotif
Leitmotif
A leitmotif , sometimes written leit-motif, is a musical term , referring to a recurring theme, associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical idea of idée fixe...
s, the most prominent of which are a motif for the Pevensie children, a motif for Narnia itself, and the "Heroic motif". The heroic motif, however, is not heard until track nine ("To Aslan's Camp").
Songs
Gregson-Williams co-wrote a song with Imogen HeapImogen Heap
Imogen Jennifer Jane Heap is a Grammy Award-winning English singer, composer and songwriter from Havering, Essex. She is known for her work as part of the musical duo Frou Frou and her solo albums, which she writes, produces, and mixes...
, "Can't Take It In", which Heap recorded for the soundtrack. Originally, Dido
Dido (singer)
Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
submitted a song for the soundtrack, but it was considered unsatisfactory. Heap was approached after a suggestion from the soundtrack's supervisor, who managed a band with whom Heap had toured. The song was written, recorded, produced and mixed in a week; Heap said she needed "like a year more than I got" and considered the experience of handing in the song an hour after completing it "[p]retty scary". According to her, the creation of the song was difficult because The Chronicles of Narnia is a family film, so she "had to be quite descriptive and not too electronic" when making the song.
The soundtrack includes the song "Wunderkind
Wunderkind (song)
"Wunderkind" is a song written and recorded by Alanis Morissette, and produced by Mike Elizondo for the soundtrack of the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe-Background:...
", which Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
wrote and recorded in three days; it was produced by Mike Elizondo
Mike Elizondo
Michael "Mike" Elizondo is a well-known songwriter, bassist, keyboardist, and hip hop music producer.-Musical career:Mike Elizondo is especially known for his collaborations with internationally successful producer Dr. Dre and rapper Eminem. He has played the bass for many of Dr...
. According to her, after watching a rough cut of the film the song "seemed to flow from [me]", and that it "really touches me deeply". Also included is "Winter Light", written and recorded by Tim Finn
Tim Finn
Brian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn...
.
Evanescence
Evanescence
Evanescence is an American rock band founded in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1995 by singer/pianist Amy Lee and guitarist Ben Moody. After recording private albums, the band released their first full-length album, Fallen, on Wind-up Records in 2003. Fallen sold more than 17 million copies worldwide...
lead singer Amy Lee
Amy Lee
Amy Lynn Hartzler , best known as Amy Lee, is an American singer-songwriter and classically trained pianist. She is co-founder and lead vocalist of the rock band Evanescence. She cites influences ranging from classical musicians such as Mozart to modern artists Björk, Tori Amos, Danny Elfman and...
claimed she had been approached to write music for the film, both of which were rejected. However, the producers of the film stated that they had never approached Lee about penning music for the film, and that it was "news to them". No Evanescence music had ever been planned for the score of the film.
Response
CriticCritic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
s predicted that Williams' job of writing, composing
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...
, and conducting a rich, ethnic, and boldly orchestrated soundtrack would certify the album's success. It made an impact at Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
, becoming one of the most popular items sold there, even after it had been released for more than ten days. The soundtrack debuted 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...
http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/charts/chart_display.jsp?f=The+Billboard+200&pageNumber=Top+51-100&g=Albums at number forty-three, selling 20,000 copies in its first week. In its second week on the chart it dropped to number sixty-five, before moving to number fifty-seven its third week after the holiday box office success of the film. It descended to number fifty-nine in week four. "Wunderkind" was issued as a radio single in some parts of Asia.
The album received 3/5 stars from Filmtracks.com, [ 3/5 stars] from Allmusic and 3/4 stars from MovieMusic UK. The soundtrack received two Golden Globe award nominations: "Best Original Score
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score
The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score is one of several categories presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association , an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications outside North America, since its institution in 1947...
" and "Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song
Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.-1960s:...
" (for "Wunderkind").
Track listing
- "The Blitz, 1940" – 2:32
- "Evacuating London" – 3:38
- "The Wardrobe" – 2:54
- "Lucy Meets Mr. Tumnus" – 4:10
- "A Narnia Lullaby" – 1:12
- "The White Witch" – 5:30
- "From Western Woods to Beaversdam" – 3:34
- "Father Christmas" – 3:20
- "To Aslan's Camp" – 3:12
- "Knighting Peter" – 3:48
- "The Stone Table" – 8:06
- "The Battle" – 7:08
- "Only the Beginning of the Adventure" – 5:32
- "Can't Take It In" (Imogen HeapImogen HeapImogen Jennifer Jane Heap is a Grammy Award-winning English singer, composer and songwriter from Havering, Essex. She is known for her work as part of the musical duo Frou Frou and her solo albums, which she writes, produces, and mixes...
) – 4:42 - "WunderkindWunderkind (song)"Wunderkind" is a song written and recorded by Alanis Morissette, and produced by Mike Elizondo for the soundtrack of the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe-Background:...
" (Alanis MorissetteAlanis MorissetteAlanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
) – 5:19 - "Winter Light" (Tim FinnTim FinnBrian Timothy "Tim" Finn, OBE is a New Zealand singer and musician. Finn is most known for his music with New Zealand 1970s and 1980s rock group Split Enz, and later for his solo work, a temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowded House and his joint efforts with Neil Finn as the Finn...
) – 4:13 - "Where" (Lisbeth ScottLisbeth ScottLisbeth Scott is a vocalist who was featured on the soundtracks for the films The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Munich. For the first film, she co-wrote and performed the song "Where." She also co-wrote and performed "Good...
) – 1:54 (not featured in the film)- Many parts of "The Battle" were used for the soundtrack of the second Narnia film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince CaspianThe Chronicles of Narnia: Prince CaspianThe Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a 2008 epic fantasy film based on Prince Caspian, the second published, fourth chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia. It is the second in The Chronicles of Narnia film series from Walden Media, following The...
.
- Many parts of "The Battle" were used for the soundtrack of the second Narnia film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Bonus DVD
A special edition was released the same day that includes a bonus DVD with the following features:- film art gallery
- concept art gallery
- Behind the Magic of Narnia: Featuring the Score with Harry Gregson-Williams
- A look at Sparrow Records' Music Inspired by... soundtrack
Charts
| Chart (2005–2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums Chart | 63 |
| Belgium (Flanders) Albums Chart | 63 |
| Belgium (Walloon) Albums Chart | 68 |
| French Albums Chart | 66 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 66 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 43 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Soundtracks | 2 |
Musicians
Musicians that were involved in the making of the soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
.
- Composed by: Harry Gregson-Williams (wrote the music for track 14, "Can't Take It In")
- Conducted by: Harry Gregson-Williams
- Performing orchestra: Hollywood Studio SymphonyHollywood Studio SymphonyThe Hollywood Studio Symphony is the credited name of the symphony orchestra behind many major soundtracks, including The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Sucker Punch, Jurassic Park 3, Last Samurai, Pirates of the Caribbean, We Are Marshall, Spider-Man 2, Lost and The...
- Choir: 140-member Abbey Road StudiosAbbey Road StudiosAbbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
group from the Bach Choir - Solo vocalist: Lisbeth ScottLisbeth ScottLisbeth Scott is a vocalist who was featured on the soundtracks for the films The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and Munich. For the first film, she co-wrote and performed the song "Where." She also co-wrote and performed "Good...
(recorded at Wavecrest Studio) - Electric violinist: Hugh MarshHugh MarshHugh Marsh is a violinist from Toronto, known for his electric violin sound. Marsh was nominated for a 2007 Juno Award in the best contemporary jazz album category.-Early days:...
(recorded at Wavecrest Studio) - DudukDudukThe 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...
player: Chris Bleth ("Narnia Lullaby")
See also
- Music Inspired by The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe