|
 It's
the music that you can't get out of your head. You google
"Tudors Theme Song" and are not able to easily find out who created
the powerful and haunting music.
There is a man
behind the music and his name is Trevor Morris. He is an
accomplished composer, as is evident from his
IMDB profile.
His work can be heard on feature films including The Ring, The Hills
Have Eyes II, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
They can also be heard on TV shows including E-Ring, Justice, and of
course The Tudors.
Tudorsonline.com
recently had the chance to speak with Trevor about his involvement
with the show.
How did you
get involved in writing the theme music for the Showtime
series The Tudors?
It was on
all our minds from the very beginning of the process.
However the visuals weren't ready at that time, so it ended
up coming to fruition after we had starting scoring the
episodes. It ended up being done over the holiday season
which was around the half way point in the music and post
schedule. I was actually doing revisions and musical
overdubs via video conference from Bora Bora where I was on
my honeymoon at the time!
How long did it take to create the
theme music for the show? What was the process?
Main Titles
always take a bit of time creatively. Everybody on the
production team for the show had been on board long before I
got involved in the show, so expectations are always high to
nail the right piece of music to encapsulate the show.
Which in this case is an incredibly complex and rich
tapestry of characters. But I had what all composers
wish for, which is an incredibly supportive team of
Producers who allowed me the freedom to "find" it. It's
hard having 4 centuries of musical history to choose from,
and still make it contemporary and relevant.
I wrote a
few drafts and sent them to the producers in Los Angeles,
Toronto and to Michael Hirst in England. They were
awesome and very supportive of us trying to just get it
right, which I we feel we ultimately did.
People are
always asking about the work you did for The Tudors.
Are you surprised at how much people enjoy the theme song?
I am. I
generally don't enjoy listening back to music I have
written. But the theme for The Tudors stays in my head
after I hear it, which is always the litmus test of a good
melody. The response to my music has been amazing.
Will you be
doing any additional work with Showtime for The Tudors?
Well after
having scored all the episodes, which was a hugely rewarding
process, I am hoping that we all get the chance to do more of
it. That would be the best reward for all of us having worked
so hard, the chance to continue doing it.
Will the theme
music from the show be available online for purchase?
I am
working on that now. I didn't expect such an overwhelming
response to the music for the show, so I wasn't prepared in
advance to work on its release. But I feel proud of the
theme and all the score we did for all the episodes, and
feel its the right fit to try to get it out in to the
world. I get emails almost every day from random fans of
the show asking where they can get a hold of the music to
listen to, which is immensely gratifying.
How did you
become a composer? What piece of advice would you give
to someone who is interested in becoming a composer?
It sort of
chose me, if you know what I mean. I wrote my first
composition at age 13 for piano and choir, which got
performed by my graduating class at the school for the arts
I was attending.
The most important piece of advice I would give anybody
looking to compose music is listen, study and learn about
all the music you can. The Beatles, Beethoven, Ravel,
etc. Mozart studied intently every composers work. As my
piano teacher told me when I was a young student, "nothing
comes out that didn't first go in". His point is well
taken, and I would pass his wisdom on.
You have
also created scores for movies like Pirates of the
Caribbean, The Ring, and Bad Boys II. If you had to
pick one, what has been your favorite score you've created?
Working
with an iconic composer like Hans has been an amazing
experience. He is a living legend and has become a good
friend. Doing additional music cues for his monster
scores has been richly rewarding, and they are all great
memories.
Will you work be appearing in any
upcoming features?
I just
finished a great nasty horror movie called "The Hills Have
Eyes 2" for Wes Craven. Talk about a change of pace from
The Tudors! Now that was a fun bit of crazy music to
write. It's out in theaters now.
Where can fans of your work learn more
about you?
Well I am a
bit behind on my website, but ultimately that is where I
want to direct everyone to find out about my projects, and
provide links to my music for download as well. So be
patient, it should be up this spring / early summer.
And finally, in your spare time - do
you watch The Tudors?
I do! My
wife loves it and is totally addicted, so I have no choice!
I usually wince at watching my projects on the air, always
have.
But The
Tudors has been an amazingly enjoyable program for me to
watch, the show is just that amazing. I can watch Jonathan
Rhys-Meyers act in that roll all day long. The writing of
Michael Hirst, the production values of Showtime and all the
producers along side the level of acting in The Tudors makes
it impossible not to watch.
A
BIG thank
you to Trevor for taking time out of his schedule to chat with us!
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