Blue Planet 2 soundtracks - enhancing communication of the ocean's beauty with us
The recent Blue Planet 2 TV series narrated by the infamous David Attenborough gives us a breathtaking insight into the Earth's oceans. I felt like I was being taken on a great adventure whilst watching the programme - story after story of wonderful creatures in marine ecosystems were being told with the most impressive video footages. I feel like I really get to know each of these creatures when watching this series and I empathise with their unfortunate situations. I wish that more will be done to help them.
The music score of the Blue Planet 2 TV series was composed by Hans Zimmer, who as we all know is great at story-telling in music. The video footage on its own is wonderful and awe-inspiring already - all the music needed to do was enhance communication of the ocean's beauty with us and I love how Hans Zimmer's score nails this.
Below are some of my favourite highlights in the score.
1. Opening Theme
One huge oceanic soundscape emerges from the opening theme, where a "tidal" orchestra is created. Rather than everybody playing in a synchronised way, the conductor's instruction for the orchestra was that a person shouldn't play if the person next to them is playing. You can hear from this piece the sweeping tides, which is dextrously played by the violinists. The choral sounds emphasise the richness and vitality of the oceans and whenever the timpani plays, the power of huge waves crashing into a cliff are reflected. I love how such a symmetry is created between the oceans and music. The video below gives a snapshot into the production.
2. Surfing Dolphins
Dolphins are definitely one of people's favourite animals - just imagine them dancing on the water against a sun lit sky, led by their beaming noses. They move together as one happy family - the greater the waves, the greater their enjoyment. This piece certainly reflects this vision with the build up of percussion and vibrant strings.
3. Mobula Rays
The scenes of the mobula rays in the dark were just so magical - they soar through the oceans in a huge group with such grace and composure, creating an astonishing acrobatic light show. The twinkle of the vibraphone with the soprano voice creates a feeling of magic and wonder. This piece makes me imagine a ballet performed by the mobula rays at night in the sea - perfect imagery.
4. Albatross Flight
Watching the parent albatrosses fly extremely long distances to collect food for their offspring (they are capable of flying up to 10,000 miles) makes me think how selfless parents are in nature. This piece fills your heart with warm strings and through it, violin passages ascend to create the feeling of flight. There is a sadness in the story as our plastic polluting the oceans get into their food chain and the piece reflects this sadness with its melancholic ending.
