Wiki
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Release Date
22 July 2003
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Length
15 tracks
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Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl soundtrack is the official soundtrack album from the film of the same name. 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 credited to composer Klaus Badelt. The score is mostly famous for its quick and mysterious production, as well as its considerable departure from the genre's traditional musical style.
Composer Alan Silvestri was originally hired to write the score for The Curse of the Black Pearl. However due to creative differences between him and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, Silvestri left the project and Gore Verbinski asked Hans Zimmer, whom he had worked with on The Ring, to step in. Zimmer declined to do the bulk of the composing as he was busy scoring The Last Samurai, a project during which he claimed he had promised not to take any other assignments. As a result he referred Verbinski to Klaus Badelt, a relatively new composer who'd been a part of Remote Control Productions (known as Media Ventures at the time) for three years.
Zimmer however ended up collaborating with Badelt to write most of the score's primary themes, many of which are featured in an all-synthesized demo credited to him (available to listen to from a link about halfway down this page. A slightly shorter version of this cue is also included in Pirates of the Caribbean: Soundtrack Treasures Collection.) This demo presents three of the score's themes and motifs, concluding with an early version of "He's A Pirate" which contains departures from the final cue, including development of a melody Zimmer wrote for the score to Drop Zone.) Since the schedule was very tight and the music was needed for the film in three weeks time, seven other composers — Ramin Djawadi, James Dooley, Nick Glennie-Smith, Steve Jablonsky, Blake Neely, James McKee Smith, and Geoff Zanelli — were also called upon to help orchestrate the music and write additional cues. The resulting score was recorded with a group of musicians, credited as the Hollywood Studio Symphony, over the course of four days. The short time frame demanded the use of a different recording studio for each session. A male choir, the Metro Voices, was recorded in London and added to the finished recordings.
For the soundtrack album 43 minutes of the music was released with Klaus Badelt credited as the composer (and conductor on the early batches of the CD. The correct credit for conducting was given to Blake Neely inside the booklet of all batches however). The cues were edited for length, and minor changes to the mix were also made. For unknown reasons the mixing of several cues are executed with gain levels so high that it causes distortion. This is noticeable particularly during the action cues and the reprise of the love theme in track 14, "One Last Shot". It is also noted that besides the first two cues, the tracks' generic names were unrelated to their contents. This, according to the official website of composer Geoff Zanelli, was because the production "schedule was so short that they had to decide on the track names for the album packaging before the score was even written!"
Badelt and Zimmer wrote a number of themes and motifs for the score. These are almost always played in the key signature of D minor. Most of these can be heard in the score to the film's sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which was credited solely to Hans Zimmer. While some of these are loosely associated with specific characters, most are not leitmotivic. These include:
* A melody that often acts as a love theme for Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann. This is the first theme heard in "He's a Pirate," the short suite written for the end credits. It is also used as generic action music.
* A theme that accompanies Jack Sparrow's humorous entrance and seems to act as a leitmotif for his character. It is also heard when he makes his similarly unconventional appearance in Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, which adds weight to that theory. This theme has a B section which is used to score several mournful scenes in the films.
* A playful jig, typically doubled on electric cello and acoustic cello, viola, or violin. This melody is not played in D minor as much of the score is, but in D Dorian.
* A synthesizer-heavy theme that represents the cursed pirates of the Black Pearl. This makes use of parallel tritones and can be heard in "To the Pirates' Cave!" and "Swords Crossed."
* A short descending motif, typically played either by a high synthesizer or by the trombones. Sometimes seems to represent Captain Barbossa.
* A generic action melody that is strikingly similar to one presented in Zimmer's score to Drop Zone, in the track "Too Many Notes — Not Enough Rests." (Incidentally, this track was used in one of the trailers for The Curse of the Black Pearl.) Several permutations are heard in the soundtrack and film, including a statement in "He's a Pirate."
* Another generic action theme which constitutes the last section of "He's a Pirate."
* A plodding, suspenseful theme that is heard in "Fog Bound" and other tracks.
* A somber theme that can be heard in the quieter sections of "Swords Crossed." This melody, one of those that can be heard in the original demo, is given a more complete treatment in the cue heard during the first shot of Isla de Muerta. (This cue wasn't included on the soundtrack.) A similar motif to this theme was also used for the opening of Dead Man's Chest.
Several other melodies make repeated appearances as well, though not frequently enough to be considered motifs in their own right.
For the most part, The Curse of the Black Pearl features simple orchestration. Counterpoint is rare; most of the louder music consists of melody, simple harmony, and rhythmic figures in the low brass and low strings. Sampled drum beats including tom-toms and various cymbals are used ubiquitously in such sections. A very low, rumbling bass line was also introduced into the mix to reinforce the cello and double basses. Quieter sections tend to rely either on the string section or on sound effects. Pan flute, possibly synthesized or sampled, and claves can be heard repeatedly in the eerier cues.
One of the defining characteristics of this score's sound is the use of horn for melody. Nearly all of the score's louder sections feature the horns on the melody, frequently doubled by various string instruments.
For the video game Kingdom Hearts II, which features a number of scenes based on the movie, composer Yōko Shimomura arranged a synthesized "He's a Pirate" to serve as the musical theme for all combat in the Port Royal world. This arrangement is identical in structure to the original cue, though a number of changes were made to the melody and chords.
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Music Composed by Klaus "Bowsprit" Badelt
Score Overproduced by Hans "Long John" Zimmer
Executive in Charge of Music for the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group: Mitchell "Swabbly" Leib
Music Creative/Marketing for the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group: Glen Lajeski
Executive in Charge of Music Production for the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group: Monica "Blackheart" Zierhut
Executive Soundtrack Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer & Bob Badami
Music Supervisors: Bob "Cut 'Em Up" Badami
Additional Music by Ramin "Salty Dog" Djawadi, James "Boot Tuck" Dooley, Nick "The Admiral" Glennie-Smith, Steve "Bad Boy" Jablonsky, Blake "Blackstone" Neely, James "Marooned" McKee Smith & Geoff "Broadside" Zanelli
Ambient Music Design: Mel "Black Spot" Wesson
Synth Programming: Hans "Long John" Zimmer, Bart "The Original Black Bart" Hendrickson & Rob "Crows Nest" Williams
Supervising Orchestrator: Bruce "Crossbones" Fowler
Orchestrations by Robert "The Dauntless" Elhai, Elizabeth "Darling Poppet" Finch, Walt "Argh" Fowler, Bill "Hempen Halter" Liston, Ladd "Hoist 'Em High" McIntosh, Suzette "AYE!" Moriarty, Conrad "Peg Leg" Pope & Brad "Chain Shot" Warnaar
Orchestra Conducted by Blake "Blackstone" Neely
Supervising Music Editor: Christopher "Keel Haul" Brooks
Music Editors: Ken Karmen & Jeanette "Wo-Man O' War" Surga
Assistant Music Editors: Dan "Freebooter" Pinder &é Melissa "Tortuga Wench" Muik
Score Recorded by Alan "Mizzenmast" Meyerson & Malcolm "Cat o' Nine Tails" Luker
Additional Recording: Slamm "Scallywag" Andrews, Tom "Blow the Man Down" Vedvik & Mark "Walk The Plank" Wherry
Assistant Engineers: Gregg "Cannonball" Silk & Jeff "Bucko" Biggers
Score Mixed by Alan "Mizzenmast" Meyerson & Slamm "Scallywag" Andrews
Orchestra: The Hollywood Studio Symphony
Orchestra Recorded at 20th Century Fox Newman Scoring Stage, Los Angeles, CA & Todd Scoring Stage, Studio City, CA
Orchestra Recorded by Alan "Mizzenmast" Meyerson & Malcolm "Cat o' Nine Tails" Luker
The 20th Century Fox Newman Scoring Stage Crw: John Rodd, Tim Lauber, Bill Talbott, Tom Steel, Damon Tedesco & Stacey Robinson
The Todd Scoring Stage Crew: David Marquette, Marc Gebauer, Jay Selvester, Seth Dockstader & Kirsten Smith
Score Mixed at Media Ventures, Santa Monica, CA
Choir Recorded at Air Lyndhurst Studios, London
Choir Recorded by Geoff "No Prey, No Pay" Foster & Nick "Gibbet Cage" Wollage
Assistant Engineers, London: Jake "Landlubber" Jackson & Chris "The Cutlass" Barrett
Choir Conducted by Nick "Shot Across the Bow" Ingman & Rick "Careen" Wentworth
Choir Contractor: Isobel "Jolly Roger" Griffiths
Metro Voices Choirmaster: Jenny "Ahoy, Matey!" O'Grady
Score Reader Assistant: Alastair "All Hands on Deck" King
Choir Librarian: Vic "Run A Rig" Fraser
Music Preparation by Booker "Fire Ship" White, Walt Disney Music Library
Technical Score Supervisor: Trevor "Scurvy Dog" Morris
Technical Score Assistant: Ian "Sea Legs" Honeyman
Featured Musicians:
Cello : Martin "Scourge of the Seven Seas" Tillman
Flute: Fred Selden
Guitar: Heitor "Pieces of Eight" Pereira
Woodwinds: Danny Kuramoto
Percussion: Emil Richards
Music Production Services: Media Ventures, Santa Monica, CA - Captain Jay "Lead Foot" Rifkin, Mark "Buccaneer" Berger & Tom "Six Pounders" Broderick
Production Coordinator for Klaus "Bowsprit" Badelt: Allison "The Interceptor" Wright Clark
Assistants to Hans "Long John" Zimmer: Mo "Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum" Nakamoto & Bettina "Jolly Boat" Lynch
Album Compiled by Big Al "Rum Ole Boy" Clay
Soundtrack Mastered by "Barnacle" Bruce Maddocks, Cups'n' Strings
Hans "Long John" Zimmer uses Cubase by Steinberg
Klaus "Bowsprit" Badelt uses Aardvark, Emagic, Fujitsu, InFocus & M-Audio equimpent
Klaus "Bowsprit Badelt & Hans "Long John" Zimmer would like to give special thanks to:
Gore "Cap'n" Verbinski, Jerry "The Hook" Bruckheimer, Lesley Allery, Bärbel Badelt, David Baerwald, Christopher Boyes, Connie Boylan, Andrew "Shiver Me Timbers" Burnett, Emma Burnham, Alison Burton, Dave Campbell, Ronni Chasen, Wolfram "The Anchor" de Marco, Paul Fiore, Vicky Gabor, Gelfand-Rennert-Feldman, Tami Goldman, Michael Gorfaine, Robert Green, Gavin Greenaway, Lindsay "Poopdeck" Greitzer, Stephanie Harris, April Henry, Vicky Hiatt, Scott Holtzmann, Ryan hopman, Nina Jacobson, Robyn Klein, Sylvia Krask, James Levine, Henning Lohner, Michael "Party Hardhard" Lozano, Murphy Lynch, Brian Martin, Carolyn Norman, Dave Parker, Chris Phife, Che Pope, Chris "P.O.T." Potter, Pat Sandston, Sam Schwartz, Steve Scramuzzo, Michael Tronick, Monique Ward, Matthias Weber, Don Welty, Rupert Gregson-Williams, Harry Gregson-Williams, Keith Wilson, Reggie Wilson, Craig Wood, Sridhar "Gunwalls" Yalamanchili, Ralf Zang, Suzanne Zimmer & the Mini Z's, Zoe Zimmer & the Media Ventures Team
Special Thanks to Euphonics for installing the new console in a day
For Patricia & Juliette
Release date : 07/22/2003
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