"...a lovely score by Carter Burwell." - Richard Corliss, Time, April
19, 2004.
"...[a] memorable, rootsy score." - David Germain, Associated Press,
April 8, 2004
"The whole film seems to take its tone from Carter Burwell’s lugubrious,
dirge-like musical score." - Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review, April 2004.
"It's too early to declare Carter Burwell's score to The Alamo the best
of the year, but I can safely say it's Burwell's best ever, and that includes
the superlative work he has done on Fargo, Rob Roy, and Gods
and Monsters... There's so much good writing on this album, you'll be faced
with the terrible choice of either immediately re-listening to an incredible
cue or simply moving on to the next, which might be even better!" - Cary
Wong, Film Music Monthly, June 2004.
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Film Info
Directed by John Lee Hancock
Written by Leslie Bohem, Stephen Gaghan, John Lee Hancock
Produced by Mark Johnson, Ron Howard
Music Editor: Adam Smalley
Music Scoring Mixer: Mike Farrow
Orchestrators: Sonny Kompanek, Carter Burwell
Conductor: Carter Burwell
Contractor: Sandy Park
Recorded at Right Track Studio A509
Mixed at The Body Studio
Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Dennis Quaid, Jason Patric, Patrick
Wilson, Emilio Echevarria
U.S. Release April, 2004
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Music Production Notes
Quite a bit of music was recorded before and during the production of
the film in Austin, Texas. This material, known as source music because
it issues from some source on screen, was recorded by Joseph Magee
at Pederales Studios (Willie Nelson's
place). It included traditional dances and bugle calls, much of which
was prepared by Booker White. It also included David Crockett's
fiddle solos which were played by Craig Eastman, who then trained
Billy Bob Thornton.
The score - which is all the music that does not have a visual source on screen - was recorded by Mike Farrow (of Planesong) at Right Track Recording's A509
Studio in New York City on October 23-24 and 27-30, 2003 and February 9-13, 2004. It was mixed at The Body from February
14 through 22, 2004.
The score was orchestrated by Sonny Kompanek and Carter Burwell,
and conducted by Carter Burwell. The contractor was Sandy Park, the copyist was
Tony Finno, the music editor was Adam
Smalley, and Dean Parker was Carter's assistant.
The list of musicians involved in the score is very large, but
featured Sharon Yamada as concertmaster, David Weiss on ethnic winds, and Laura
Seaton on fiddle.
Audio Samples
Here, for demo purposes, are excerpts of the final score from the CD:
For an explanation of the columns above, click here.
Sketches
These are synth sketches of themes for The Alamo, most of which made it into the final score in some form. This gives an idea of how themes change as they are arranged for the film:
