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The music on Star Trek Discovery

Scotty

Scotty

Rear Admiral
Rear Admiral
I just read that the music on Seth Macfarlane's The Orville will be composed by Joel McNeely and Bruce Broughton. Both composers are IMO absolutely terrific and the soundtrack for The Orville should sound spectacular, especially since it will be recorded by a 75 piece orchestra.

Music has always been a very important aspect of my enjoyment of Star Trek, so I'm eagerly awaiting the announcement of DSC's composer. I should think a composer has been hired by now. Unfortunately, I doubt any execs working on DSC will make such a brilliant choice for a composer as Seth McFarlane made. But I can still hope.

Let's speculate. Who do you think will compose the music for Discovery?
 
Really tired of pointless speculations......Just ready for them to show us more at SDCC in 2 weeks.
 
KennyB said:
Really tired of pointless speculations......Just ready for them to show us more at SDCC in 2 weeks.
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:lol: The lack of information is starting to frustrate me also. Still, I doubt they'll announce a composer at the SDCC.

Besides, speculation is fun.
 
I don't know Broughton but Joel McNeely's work on the Star Wars Shadows of the Empire music was great, so that is definitely exciting (the man can write big orchestral sci-fi stuff).
So..since we are still unfortunately in the realms of speculation for Discovery...my suspicion is they'll pick someone relatively unknown. There's the big TV guys like Trevor Morris, who is so known for historical stuff that I can't see them picking him; Ramin Djawadi, but he's HBO's guy; Blake Neely but he is already doing a dozen things at once and his sound (though I love it) probably isn't right for Star Trek; Clinton Shorter does The Expanse but his score has been very underwhelming for that sci-fi show; Bear McCreary but he has done such tremendous work in the past on BSG that I would sort of like to give someone else a turn on Star Trek, plus he is focusing on putting out a beautiful soundtrack for Outlander nowadays (and does The Walking Dead); Murray Gold probably has his hands full with Doctor Who...I'm struggling to think of less obvious choices. Some I would like to be given a chance are Martin Phipps, who does brilliant work on some historical dramas (The Virgin Queen, War and Peace) but who has the creativity to do a really symphonic and original and modern sounding score. He is also good at incorporating non-western classical elements into symphonic scores which would be really nice to hear.

It would be nice to see Star Trek give a female composer a chance. Debbie Wiseman comes to mind, who can do both big orchestral work and highly creative stuff as well (such as her work on Wolf Hall). Sarah Schachner also comes to mind. She is wildly underrated to me and mostly works on other people's big projects but she is so damn good (her work on Assassin's Creed Unity is some of the best AC music, and there is a lot of competition). Though I'll admit she might have too much of a 'Remote Control' modern sound for Discovery.

Speaking of Assassin's Creed composers, a really brave and interesting choice would be Austin Wintory. Known for video game soundtracks, but listen to his Journey score and imagine seeing space ships and planets and civilisations - now he would be an ideal choice.

But apart from wishful thinking and random analysis, I honestly think we won't be able to guess the composer. It probably won't be someone very well known. Though I do hope it's someone of Joel McNeely's calibre. And someone who can balance a traditional orchestral sound with a touch of that spark that Ron Jones brought to early TNG.
 
Well, there are two names that already have a possible tie to Discovery: Fil Eisler did the music for the first teaser trailer we saw (it was his demo tape for the producers of the show), which means he might return for the series proper. And there is Charles-Henri Avelange, who showcased for CBS with what many thought might be a possible Discovery theme. You can hear it here.

There's some more discussion about the music for Discovery in this thread.
 
It strikes me that, of all the shows and movies that have come out, that TOS and TOS feature films seemed to have received the best treatment when it came to musical score, arguably leading to iconic status. Probably everyone on this BBS could identify the episode(s) where certain scores were used, like Arena, Doomsday Machine, Trouble With Tribbles, etc. James Horner's scores of TWOK and TSFS and Jerry Goldsmith's TMP (and to a lesser extent, TFF), are immediately recognizable and seem quite epic in their tone. TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT and TMP movie scores? Aside from the "Inner Light" tune and maybe the imposing BoBW Borg theme, what else really stood out that could be immediately recognized and attached to an episode or movie? I honestly can't think of much.

I really hope that some time is taken to come up with a real score - like, Bear McReary real - that contains multiple instrumentals that definitively imprint themselves on the final product instead of generically droning throw-away background muzak.
 
Get the guy who does GoT and Westworld. Or Bear McCreary.

Just something different from all the strings and brass and bombast.
 
On one hand there are some spectacularly memorable and evocative musical moments, especially throughout the movies but also the shows. There was some great work in TOS, not least Amok Time, and when TNG had Ron Jones at the helm, there was some great 90s-sci-fi extravagance. Then of course Berman's mandate for 'wallpaper music' came in and you struggle to find those moments of melody/excitement/beauty from mid-TNG up to Enterprise. On occasion, they are there sparkles of greatness (TNG's Inner Light; DS9's War Adagio from the Siege of AR 558 and some of the action cues; Voyager's Scorpion theme and the parody music for Bride of Chaotica is fantastic). Only in Enterprise do we get a bit more loosening up of the wallpaper rule but even then it is largely down to the less prominent Trek composers (Velton Ray Bunch and Brian Tyler, whose Regeneration score is phenomenal action music the likes of which a Trek episode had never seen - I think it's a huge part of the success of that episode).
For all their scattered moments of beauty, tension, intrigue, etc...it's hard to see the TV Trek scores as the pinnacle of TV music writing. That said, we are living in a different era when guys like THE MAGNIFICENT BEAR and outstanding Ramin Djawadi (GOT, Westworld) have just upped the TV-score game immensely. It would be tragic for Star Trek not to get its turn. So I am holding my breath in anticipation over who they pick (and must research those guys who have already been linked). Bear is kind of the obvious choice but 1) I think he went off with Ron Moore and is focusing on Outlander with all his creative energies 2) His BSG scores are what made me a serious film/TV/game score enthusiast and they are everything to me - but it would be nice to allow someone else to work their magic over a science fiction property as well, since Bear has already had so much scope to do so.
 
DamarsKanar said:
His BSG scores are what made me a serious film/TV/game score enthusiast and they are everything to me - but it would be nice to allow someone else to work their magic over a science fiction property as well, since Bear has already had so much scope to do so.
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I have been doing a rewatch of BSG this week for the first time in years and watched "Pegasus" last night. His track "Prelude to War" where Galactica launches Viper's to get Helo and Tyrol back is what first made me notice Bear. That piece is still my favorite of his. His work on Outlander and Black Sails has been outstanding too.
 
KennyB said:
I have been doing a rewatch of BSG this week for the first time in years and watched "Pegasus" last night. His track "Prelude to War" where Galactica launches Viper's to get Helo and Tyrol back is what first made me notice Bear. That piece is still my favorite of his. His work on Outlander and Black Sails has been outstanding too.
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Prelude to War is a favourite of mine too, along with The Shape Of Things to Come.

I'm not often one for TV soundtracks, but BSG is an exception.
 
Trevor Morris would be a fine TV composer selection. He also did the soundtrack to Dragon Age: Inquisition, which was solid. Bear McCreary would be wonderful; he is my favorite.

I suspect Giacchino will be chosen. He can be good, so no qualms, but I do prefer Morris and especially McCreary.
 
Jeff O'Connor said:
Trevor Morris would be a fine TV composer selection. He also did the soundtrack to Dragon Age: Inquisition, which was solid. Bear McCreary would be wonderful; he is my favorite.

I suspect Giacchino will be chosen. He can be good, so no qualms, but I do prefer Morris and especially McCreary.
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Giacchino is a film guy nowadays (Star Wars, Marvel...). There's no way they will get him, he's just too busy and at this point probably too expensive (though it would be nice if his excellent scores for the films at least inspired some of the Discovery music).
Morris isn't a bad choice, one of the most prolific on TV, but as I mentioned above he is very associated with historical shows (Tudors, Vikings, Reign, Pillars of the Earth, Borgias, Dragon Age fits more with those than with a sci-fi feel). Although he has done some excellent work, really excellent work in terms of his main themes, I also tend to find his incidental music insufferably overdone with the string section and often very meandering and bland. Don't get me wrong, I think he is really talented and has done some of my all-time favourite TV themes. But he has a tendency to fall into wallpaper string music a lot of the time and that would be...just too close to what we have been getting before on Trek for my liking. For instance, his first season score for Vikings is pretty dull. That show's soundtrack gets amazing once the incredible band Wardruna come on board, but that is more down to their influence than Morris and wouldn't be present on the Discovery score. Sort of the reverse with The Tudors, in my opinion - he starts out having amazing Celtic music influences that make the season 1 score so memorable but then as those seep away, and he relies by the end almost exclusively on orchestra, it all gets a bit 'wall of sound string section' with no real life to it (in my opinion of course).
I feel Morris is basically fantastic when writing a main theme or when he is incorporating non-traditional elements, but when left alone with an orchestra (the most likely scenario for Trek) he is less inspired.
 
KennyB said:
I have been doing a rewatch of BSG this week for the first time in years and watched "Pegasus" last night. His track "Prelude to War" where Galactica launches Viper's to get Helo and Tyrol back is what first made me notice Bear. That piece is still my favorite of his. His work on Outlander and Black Sails has been outstanding too.
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The Celtic musical score between Apollo and Adama always hit me pretty strong emotionally. Bear's use of the Uillleann pipes and hard percussion is truly masterful.
 
137th Gebirg said:
The Celtic musical score between Apollo and Adama always hit me pretty strong emotionally. Bear's use of the Uillleann pipes and hard percussion is truly masterful.
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It makes me emotional just thinking about Bear's BSG score and replaying moments in my mind!

Fingers crossed we can have something so powerful for Discovery, whoever they choose.
 
There's no way Michael Giacchino will be involved with DSC. He is a film composer now and a very busy one at that (Rogue One, Planet of the Apes 3, Spider-Man HC, Jurassic World 2, Incredibles 2, etc.)
 
Can anyone imagine if Bear M. composed a new Klingon theme? I think it would finally unseat Goldsmith's TMP version as the seminal Klingon Theme in the new century.
 
I'd have loved something different for Discovery. As much as Stargate Universe was a disappointment, I LOVED the soundtrack. It was completrly different from SG-1/SGA but worked perfectly.
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King Daniel Beyond said:
I'd have loved something different for Discovery. As much as Stargate Universe was a disappointment, I LOVED the soundtrack. It was completrly different from SG-1/SGA but worked perfectly.
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I wish Joel Goldsmith was still alive. He died much too soon, and I think he would have been great for Discovery.
 
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