Harry’s Arctic Heroes Soundtrack. Composed by Lorne Balfe. Review
It works on a number of levels; it holds up well as an accompaniment to the documentary and as a standalone piece of music it has a strong enough character to appeal to both classical fans and soundtrack fans who are open minded enough to try something different.
The documentary itself was impressive and inspiring throughout this was helped in large part by the fantastic score composed by Lorne Balfe. Lorne Balfe is a prolific composer both in the UK and US. His music has been featured in some of the most successful and influential musical scores of the last five years including The Dark Knight for which Balfe was awarded a Grammy, Sherlock Holmes, Frost/Nixon, Batman Begins, Angels and Demons, Iron Man and The Simpsons. In 2009, Lorne was nominated for the Discovery of the Year World Soundtrack Award for his score for BAFTA award- winning Crying With Laughter and he was nominated for the prestigious Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award.
The soundtrack is 13 original compositions and was inspired following Lorne’s meeting with the veterans earlier this year. The soundtrack suits the harsh white landscapes of the documentary perfectly blending beautiful sweeping strings with strong drums; it conjures up the isolation of the trek across the snow.
It opens with a beautiful composition called ‘Welcome to the Arctic’ which begins with strong drums and strings working together to build a feeling of anticipation that fits the image of approaching the Arctic perfectly. Following on from the first composition is ‘Moment with Harry’ and this is the longest piece of in the score. This piece of music creates a contemplative feeling which towards the end of the piece sees the reintroduction of the drums alongside the strings building towards a crescendo. This is one of my favourite pieces from the scores and highlights what makes this score so interesting to listen to. I enjoyed it and will find myself coming back to it again. I particularly enjoyed running to it.
The soundtrack has been composed by Lorne Balfe working in association with Oscar winning film composer, Hans Zimmer’s Remote Control Charitable Foundation. A percentage of the profits from the album will go to the Walking with the Wounded Charity.
