High-fantasy adaptations rarely fail to deliver an exhilarating musical score that lifts its heroes’ journeys to dizzying new heights. And it seems as though Lorne Balfe isn’t breaking this tradition as the composer behind Amazon’s The Wheel of Time series. Ahead of the show’s premiere this month, Milan Records (via Collider) has shared two new songs from the upcoming soundtrack.
The soundtrack is titled The Wheel of Time: The First Turn, which hints that a second volume of music is on the way. Technically, these aren’t the first offerings we’ve heard from the album. Fans of Robert Jordan’s novels previously got a taste of Balfe’s contributions last month in the form of “Al’Naito,” whose title translates to “From the Flame” in the Wheel of Time universe’s Old Tongue. The song also notably featured lots of chanting in this language, and the new tracks are no different. There’s “Mashiara (Lost Love)” and “Caisen’shar (Old Blood),” both of which feature instrumentation that’s more contemporary than some listeners may have expected
Luckily, Balfe (who also recently scored Marvel’s Black Widow) sounds like he was a fan of the property before joining the series as its composer. He also detailed his approach to crafting the show’s music in a new statement:
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“The universe of The Wheel of Time is truly unique,” said Balfe. “Inspired by oral traditions in storytelling, each theme’s voices tell the story of the character, place, or idea in Old Tongue, a language unique to the universe of The Wheel of Time. The score to this series is a re-imagination of fantasy music, doing away with the genre’s reliance on large, traditional orchestras in favor of more modern colors while retaining the strong melodies and bold harmonies that fans can expect from such an epic. It was my honor collaborating with showrunner Rafe Judkins along with our 14th Street Music team and musicians to share The First Turn album with you.”
The Wheel of Time: The First Turn will be released on November 12. You can listen to all three tracks here, here, and here. The first three episodes of the series will hit Prime Video a week later on November 19.
What do you think of Balfe’s score for the series so far? Give us your impressions in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, Book 1)
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