Project Hail Mary score enjoyers, have you all seen this interview with the composer, Daniel Pemberton? Highlights of it (for me) include:
hearing the original sample of the squeaky tap (did NOT disappoint, never in my life have I heard a noise like that)
he talks about why he thought this story needed this intense creative soundscape
the choral lines are intended to represent Earth cheering Grace on!!
he talks about doubling instruments in order to make it hard to tell what you're hearing
but also the importance of organic sounds and how many of them were made with body percussion (by kids! because Grace is a teacher!)
he also thinks of the two-part theme in The Message and Learning to Communicate as a call and response and he wrote it that way to emphasize the importance of Grace and Rocky's connection!
also I love the way he talks about an orchestra- that it's one huge, complex, expensive instrument, that it brings expectations to the listener that he didn't think were appropriate for this story (I agree)
he talks about how most movie music is in a minor key, and how hard it is to write something hopeful without it becoming treacly (and as a listener I notice some of the amazing major chords in this score the most, so good job walking that tightrope)
every note in the score was synchronized to the action on screen and I can completely hear it, I can hear the Mary running away from the Blip-A, the canister turning in space, the focus and terror and hope of Time Go Fishing, the moment Grace realizes he's in space
Other things I appreciate about the score that didn't come up in the interview:
The burial music for Ilyukhina and Yáo is somber but not a dirge. It honors their deaths but also their intentions- to make their deaths meaningful
When the research facility blows up (and kills DuBois and Shapiro), the ambient sounds around Grace and Stratt go away and the score has only high notes on strings (probably doubled with something else), like your/their ears are ringing
I think the Centrifuge scene/music marks a turning point in the film: it's Grace starting to find his emotional and cognitive footing. He's not panicking anymore, he knows where he is (Tau Ceti) and why (astrophage) and he's just recovered a memory of himself in a moment of competence (even if his fun fact about centrifuge butter goes over like a lead balloon). I hear his confidence and curiosity growing in the music.
In Time Go Fishing, I hear the focus of urgent work, when you're locked in, completely present, following the plan and checking your actions as you go. But ALSO I love that you can hear the strain on the Mary, the creaking, the banging, and the sounds of the alarms.
I love love love that the call and response theme from The Message and Learning to Communicate shows up again in Wake Up Buddy! You hear the "call" section over and over, unanswered, and then finally near the end of the track it's answered overwhelmingly with a gorgeous huge chord. It's the sound of "Only us", the music of "Grace Rocky save stars". 💖
What amazing work, what an amazing piece of art.
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