OUTLANDER: SEASON 2 (ORIGINAL TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK) TO BE RELEASED WORLDWIDE ON OCTOBER 28
Features Original Music by Emmy® Award-Winning Composer Bear McCreary
Sony Music and Madison Gate Records announce the release of “Outlander: Season 2 (Original Television Soundtrack)” on CD and digital formats on October 28, 2016. The soundtrack includes original music from season 2 of the critically acclaimed series by Emmy®award-winning composer Bear McCreary and vocal performances by Raya Yarbrough (“The Skye Boat Song”) and Griogair Labhruidh (“Je Suis Prest”, “Moch Sa Mhadainn”). Fans can pre-order the album on iTunes and Amazon and receive an instant download of the track “Faith” as well as a second download of the track “The Skye Boat Song (French Version)” closer to the album’s release.
The soundtrack features lush orchestral arrangements with French Baroque and Gaelic influences, reflecting the season 2 storyline. The score also contains alternate versions of the main title theme, including an all-new French adaptation.
“The adventurous second season of Outlander allowed me to learn and explore an entirely new musical language,” said composer Bear McCreary. “My immersion into the worlds of French baroque music, performance, and history—followed by an in-depth study of lesser-known Jacobite musical history—resulted in one of the most exciting and creative experiences of my career. I concluded this season a better composer than when I began, and for that I am grateful.”
The television series is distributed in more than 200 territories around the world and has reached over 18 million viewers in its most recent season. The previous soundtracks have already sold over 100,000 units. The international best-selling Outlander book series has sold more than 26 million copies worldwide and all eight books in the series have graced the New York Times best-sellers list.
Track listing: • Outlander - The Skye Boat Song (French Version) [feat. Raya Yarbrough] • Leave the Past Behind • Wrath of the Comte • Versailles • Into Paris • Honey Pot • The Apothecary • Baroque Chess Match • The Duel • Faith • Outlander - The Skye Boat Song (Jacobite Version) [feat. Raya Yarbrough] • Je Suis Prest [feat. Griogair Labhruidh] • 125 Yards • Vengeance at Your Feet • The Uprising Begins • Prestonpans • Moch Sa Mhadainn [feat. Griogair Labhruidh] • White Roses of Scotland • Tales of Brianna • Running Out of Time • Destiny on Culloden Moor • A Fraser Officer Survived Running Time: 76:49 minutes
About Bear McCreary: Emmy® award-winning composer Bear McCreary was first launched into pop culture with his groundbreaking score to the hit series Battlestar Galactica, lauded by Variety as “the most innovative music on TV today.” Io9.com ranked McCreary one of the Ten Best Science Fiction Composers of All Time, and WIRED Magazine declared him one of only five “Secret Weapons” of the television industry. McCreary was voted “Composers’ Choice Composer of the Year – Television” by his peers in ASCAP, the first award of its kind, and received a 2015 Emmy nomination for his work on Outlander.
About the OUTLANDER original series: Outlander follows the story of Claire Randall, a married combat nurse from 1945 who is mysteriously swept back in time to 1743, where she is immediately thrown into an unknown world where her life is threatened. When she is forced to marry Jamie, a chivalrous and romantic young Scottish warrior, a passionate affair is ignited that tears Claire’s heart between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives. Season 2 begins as Claire and Jamie arrive in France, hell-bent on infiltrating the Jacobite rebellion and stopping the battle of Culloden. Thrown into the lavish world of French society, where intrigue and parties are abundant, Jamie and Claire struggle to advance their political agenda. They must race to prevent a doomed Highland uprising, and the extinction of Scottish life.
The Outlander series, adapted from Diana Gabaldon’s international best-selling books, spans the genres of romance, science fiction, history, and adventure in one epic tale. The series adaptation for Outlander was developed by Ronald D. Moore. Moore, Maril Davis, Ira Steven Behr, Toni Graphia, Anne Kenney, Jim Kohlberg and Andy Harries serve as executive producers of Outlander Season 2, which is produced by Tall Ship Productions, Story Mining and Supply Company and Left Bank Pictures in association with Sony Pictures Television.
About Madison Gate Records: Madison Gate Records is the in-house, independent record label of Sony Pictures Entertainment. The label was founded in 2010 to create, distribute and market music and related products from today's top films and television programs. For more information go to: www.MadisonGateRecords.com.
About Sony Pictures Television: Sony Pictures Television (http://www.sonypicturestelevision.com), a Sony Pictures Entertainment company, is one of the television industry’s leading content providers. It produces and distributes programming in every genre, around the world and for a multitude of platforms. In addition to one of the industry’s largest libraries of award-winning feature films, television shows and formats, Sony Pictures Television (SPT) boasts a current program slate that includes top-rated daytime dramas and game shows, landmark off-network series, original animated series and critically acclaimed primetime dramas, comedies and telefilms. In addition to its US production business, SPT has 19 wholly-owned or joint venture production companies in 13 countries and also maintains offices in 31 countries. SPT’s worldwide television networks portfolio includes 148 channel feeds available in 178 countries, reaching more than 1.2 billion cumulative households worldwide. SPT also creates original content for and manages SPE’s premium video website, Crackle. Additionally, SPT owns US production company Embassy Row and is a part owner of cable channel Game Show Network (GSN) and national U.S media sales company ITN Networks, Inc. SPT advertiser sales is one of the premier national advertising sales companies and handles the commercial inventory in SPT’s syndicated series as well as the Rural Media Group and DoctorOz.com.
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Since it looks like Season 2 is only getting this single release, I would have loved for it to focus more on the second half of the season (the return to Scotland). While I appreciate the different sound he was going for to evoke France, I feel that McCreary's reliance on a sound that would have been suitable for that time period there to be underwhelming dramatically. There were a few good cues, but I was so relieved to return to the sound world of season 1.
Goodness. Can't believe people are so against the first half of this album (the period-sounding material from the episodes set in France). This music is WONDERFUL and the track 'Faith' is a career highlight for Bear. Its heartrendingly beautiful.
Fantastic album. Quite sophisticated and mature. Some of Bears best work since the heady heights of his BSG days. His style and sendibilities really suit this show. Brilliant.
I like Faith of course, and there were certainly some good cues in the France set first half of season 2, but the vast majority of it left me very underwhelmed in comparison to the Scotland set half.
I like Faith of course, and there were certainly some good cues in the France set first half of season 2, but the vast majority of it left me very underwhelmed in comparison to the Scotland set half.
Yavar
I'm the opposite. I think the first baroque/French part is by FAR the best and most interesting. The second, Scottish half meanders on for too long, and a lot of the same type of material was covered in the season 1 albums.
Well, I don't have the album yet, but dramatically in the show, the French part (mostly) functioned incredibly poorly as emotional support, whereas the second part was almost at Season 1 levels. On album I can understand why you'd prefer material that doesn't "repeat" the first volume, Thor. But then you wish there wasn't even a second volume of season 1 music (personally I found that volume overall even an improvement over the first, with hardly any repetition between them).
Well, I don't have the album yet, but dramatically in the show, the French part (mostly) functioned incredibly poorly as emotional support, whereas the second part was almost at Season 1 levels. On album I can understand why you'd prefer material that doesn't "repeat" the first volume, Thor. But then you wish there wasn't even a second volume of season 1 music (personally I found that volume overall even an improvement over the first, with hardly any repetition between them).
Been following the discussion over at JWFAN, eh?
Yeah, while the second volume of season 1 was OK, I really felt the first was superior and covered most of the bases of volume 2.
Yeah, I lurk over there. And since I've been following the conversation, I know that you were completely unaware that there even was a Season 1 Vol. 2, and that you immediately dismissed the concept of a second volume being done without even having heard it. Somehow I doubt you've acquired the album since then and given it a fair listen, so don't go telling us you've deemed it "OK".
Overall it has a LOT of very different music to Vol. 1 and I think I prefer it overall. Also, some cues from the first half of the season which I sadly missed from inclusion on Vol. 1 had musical cousins released on Vol. 2, such as this cue which ran through the end credits of episode 4:
(I actually still prefer this rendition to the reprise from later in the season, but I was grateful to get at least some version of it.)
In fact 3/4 of the great end credits cues were left off of Vol. 1, and Vol. 2 had more of them but similarly left off some excellent ones. Here's a playlist someone helpfully uploaded on YouTube for the end credits from the first half of season 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DqRjJgFQ-0&list=RD3DqRjJgFQ-0#t=75
It'll not come as a surprise to you perhaps that in an ideal world, I would prefer much more music get released from this series than has been released. I think the scoring is feature film quality and it is a shame that such a comparitively small percentage gets released to what was written for the program. It's like a 70 minute film score getting a 10 minute release, or worse, in terms of percentage.
Thor, please tell me where on Vol. 1 there is something this exciting (I guess the 10 minute cue for the end of the mid-season finale is amazing in its own way, but very different):
Yeah, I lurk over there. And since I've been following the conversation, I know that you were completely unaware that there even was a Season 1 Vol. 2, and that you immediately dismissed the concept of a second volume being done without even having heard it. Somehow I doubt you've acquired the album since then and given it a fair listen, so don't go telling us you've deemed it "OK".
Yes, I actually downloaded a promo back when it was sent to us at IFMCA, then listened to it, found it so-so, deleted it and apparently forgot all about it. Then I re-downloaded it after the discussion over at JWFAN, only to come to much of the same conclusion. It's not bad by any means, but I can only take so much Gaelic BRAVEHEARTisms in one sitting. The first volume basically covered what I needed, and then I now also have the second half of Season 2 in the same territory.
In an ideal world, a 2CD set would cover the whole series as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps even a single CD. And then the rest could be made available as downloads or something.
Coming to this as a Bear McCreary fan who has not seen a single frame of "Outlander," I can't comment on the music's primary function (in the show). But as an album listen, I was delighted by the change of venue, from the Gaelic to the French Baroque. Obviously, that's purely personal taste.
Oh, and Yavar, I must object to your comment that the scoring is "feature film quality," in that I think many television scores are far superior to film scores (but I don't think that's how you meant it!).
Sigh. Please identify which cues on Vol. 2 you find to be rehashes of cues on Vol. 1.
Yavar
Nothing to do with individual cues, really (I don't listen to cues, I listen to albums); it was the general aesthetic in both cases -- drums, bagpipes, flutes, soaring folk melodies, militaristic music; there's a great deal of overlap between the two volumes, and although a couple of cues on Vol. 1 could have been easily exchanged with cues on Vol. 2 without making much of a difference, quality-wise, I don't really find that Vol. 2 is necessary for me to own at this point. This isn't Wagner!
In an ideal world, a 2CD set would cover the whole series as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps even a single CD. And then the rest could be made available as downloads or something.
Wait… what?
I am obviously well aware of your disdain for complete releases (an opinion I frequently share, but as a preference, not an orthodoxy). But now you are saying that more music may be worthy of existence if it resides on a hard disc but not on a compact disc? This is a new wrinkle.
In an ideal world, a 2CD set would cover the whole series as far as I'm concerned. Perhaps even a single CD. And then the rest could be made available as downloads or something.
Wait… what?
I am obviously well aware of your disdain for complete releases (an opinion I frequently share, but as a preference, not an orthodoxy). But now you are saying that more music may be worthy of existence if it resides on a hard disc but not on a compact disc? This is a new wrinkle.
What's so strange about that? I buy the original album, tailored for people like me, and then those who crave more music have the option to download extra tracks. Best of both worlds!
