10 Questions with Dawn Treader Composer David Arnold

We had the opportunity to ask David Arnold, the new Narnia composer for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a few questions about his work on the score. It was a real pleasure for me, as I’m a big fan of movie scores in general. David Arnold has been the composer for the last few James Bond films, as well as science fiction films such as Stargate and Independence Day. Please be aware that there are a few SPOILERS if you have been avoiding those over the past year. Nothing is said that hasn’t been revealed in the trailers or synopsis, however. Pre-Order the Soundtrack Today

NarniaFans.com: First tell us about yourself, and how you found yourself composing music for Narnia.

David Arnold: I have been writing music since I was around 10 or 11…..but never had a paid job in writing film music until my first feature film in 1993..the journey between the two is long and complicated and hopefully documented elsewhere. Michael Apted, the Director, and I had worked together on three previous movies, The World Is Not Enough, Amazing Grace and Enough. He simply asked me if I would come ‘on board’ with him for Dawn Treader. He is a true gentleman and always a pleasure to work with and for so it was an easy decision.

NarniaFans.com: You’ve written music for science fiction in the past, as well as other genres but never fantasy (as far as I can tell from your filmography). Is the approach different?

David Arnold: Well I suppose Stargate was a fantasy adventure film with action and Godzilla and Independence Day certainly were fantastical..but I’d never done ‘another world’ sort of fantasy film. The approach is different in as much as there are no rules. Things can happen inexplicably sometimes….. people are saved through ‘magic’ or defeated by similar means. I wanted to give Dawn Treader a sense of another world, still magical, still mystical and unknown but rooted very firmly in human emotions, faith, belief, trust, love and bravery.

NarniaFans.com: How did you handle taking the reigns from Harry Gregson-Williams? Can we expect to hear any of his prior established themes in the new material?

David Arnold: As the story opens and end in with strong Narnian connections before voyaging into the unknown, I bookended the film with Harry’s Narnia theme. It works beautifully of course and also I play it when Aslan appears as he is the anchor both spiritually and emotionally so Harry’s music reminds us of that.It also helps as there is so much new stuff in this film to ‘hold hands’ musically with the previous two movies. I spoke about it with Harry as we are friends and he was pleased that we were including his work as often it doesn’t happen, but I am aware of the effect his music has on those who care about these films and I think it would be churlish and ignorant to dismiss it as anything other than essential. It’s very boldly stated in three key points in the movie, but once we begin the journey everything changes.

NarniaFans.com: What is your process for writing a score to a feature film?

David Arnold: It changes. Sometimes you have time to read a script and develop ideas, sometimes you get a call saying we only have 4 weeks to do everything. I just try to write the best music I can in the time I am given. With Narnia.. I was on early so had time to write themes before taking delivery of the picture.

NarniaFans.com: How much research did you do before you started? Did you read the book or screenplay to be sure and include any subtext in the music (for example, woodwinds were used by Howard Shore for the Ents in The Two Towers)?

David Arnold: I re-read the entire Narnia series so I could immerse myself in the world. I didn’t re-watch the earlier movies but I wanted the spirit of the books in me. When I saw the film I realised that obviously things can’t be as they were exactly in the books, but I hope the music captures the spirit of what was intended by C.S.Lewis. There was so much to play with it was a gift really. The thing to do was not to write too many themes or else it would get too complex and difficult to follow.

NarniaFans.com: Lisbeth Scott’s vocals are very prominent in! the first two Narnia films, and add to the magic of the journey toward Narnia as well as the feeling of being there. Has she returned, or do we have new thematic material to expect?

David Arnold: There is no Lisbeth Scott but there is a lot of new material. We have Eustace in this movie who is a large part of the story and no Peter or Susan. Everyone has aged a little and learned a lot, so I needed to reflect that. I have a theme for the Dawn Treader itself, which becomes a defacto home for everyone as they sail off on their journey to find their actual homes, both spiritually and actually. There is a Reepicheep theme which reflects his desire to find Aslan’s country, his sense of decency and bravery and above all his optimism for everyone, the world, the Pevensies and himself. There is a theme for the ‘mission’ of finding the missing Lords and their Swords, a ‘temptation’ theme as the children are tempted and tested one by one and of course something dark for the Green Mist which symbolises and epitomises all that is evil in this film.

NarniaFans.com: I heard somewhere that you wrote around 90 minutes of music for the film, and the soundtrack may only include something like 70 minutes (which is typical for a single-disc edition). Would you like to see a full score released?

David Arnold: I think the 72 minutes is a healthy listen and feels about right to me.

NarniaFans.com: What were the most challenging piece that you had to write for the film?

David Arnold: It was all challenging. The spirit of this story was present in many different guises, and where there are many new themes, I hope they all feel like they are born of the same place and belong to this story and its heart.

NarniaFans.com: At what point do you know when a piece is perfect?

David Arnold: I know at the beginning that none of it will ever be perfect.

NarniaFans.com: When did you decide to become a composer, and what advice do you have for aspiring future composers?

David Arnold: I wanted to do it from about 8 years old when I started being aware of music in movies at the cinema. So if you want to be a composer… write music…. simple as that.You will be a composer…. whether you get work is another matter… but don’t sit around saying how much you want to do something and then don’t do anything about it.

And there you have it! A great interview with a very level-headed man. Welcome to Narnia, Mr. Arnold, glad to have you aboard.

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