Editing Soundtrack (Caprica pilot)

{{Album Data
| image=Caprica_pilot_st.jpg
| title= ''Caprica'' Pilot Soundtrack
| series=caprica
| albumno= 5
| composer= [[Bear McCreary]]
| label= La-La Land Records
| discs= 1
| prev= [[Soundtrack (Season 4)]]
| next= [[Soundtrack (The Plan/Razor)]]
| amazon= B0025KN44W
}}
{{disline|For other ''Caprica'' soundtracks, [[Soundtrack|click here]].<br/>
For a general article on the music in ''Caprica'', see [[Music of Caprica]].}}

The '''''Caprica'' Pilot Soundtrack''' was released on June 16, 2009, following the [[Caprica pilot|pilot movie's]] broadcast, giving fans immediate access to [[Bear McCreary]]'s score for the two-hour pilot.<ref name="McCreary-Themes">{{cite web |url=https://bearmccreary.com/the-themes-of-caprica/ |title=The Themes of Caprica |author=Bear McCreary |website=BearMcCreary.com |access-date=}}</ref><ref name="McCreary-Caprica">{{cite web |url=https://bearmccreary.com/caprica-series-soundtrack-album/ |title=Caprica Series Soundtrack Album |author=Bear McCreary |website=BearMcCreary.com |date=August 29, 2013 |access-date=May 14, 2019}}</ref> McCreary described this pilot score as "surprisingly restrained and melodic," making "immediate departures from the percussive bombast and world-music influence" of his ''[[Battlestar Galactica (TRS)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' work.<ref name="McCreary-Caprica" />

== Production Background ==

=== Compositional Approach ===

McCreary's approach for the [[Caprica pilot|pilot]] was designed to be "the polar opposite" of ''Battlestar Galactica''. Since the events take place in [[Caprica City]] as "a familiar society at its most decadent and opulent peak," he stripped away the "urgent, tribal, primitive and mystical elements" that characterized the ''Battlestar Galactica'' soundtrack.<ref name="McCreary-Themes" /> Director [[Jeffrey Reiner]] described the setting as a city that "on the outside was modern, structured, and efficient," but "on the inside, things were rotten."<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />

To achieve this tonal shift, McCreary concluded that to make the ''Caprica'' score more "different," he had to make it more "normal." The result was '''an intimate, contemporary chamber orchestra''', recorded at the [[Warner Bros.]] Eastwood Scoring Stage in January.<ref name="McCreary-Themes" /> While ethnic percussion and solos occasionally appear in the texture, the score is fundamentally orchestral in nature. McCreary's harmonic language for ''Caprica'' is "far more lyrical and rich than the simple drones and dissonant clusters that permeate the majority of ''Galactica''."<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />

=== Recording Session ===

The pilot score was recorded at the Warner Bros. Eastwood Scoring Stage with McCreary conducting the chamber orchestra.<ref name="McCreary-Themes" /> Director Jeffrey Reiner recalled: "Bear sent me very complete demos against picture that worked great, but it wasn't until I sat in the scoring stage at Warner Bros., and heard the maestro conduct his orchestra, that I was blown away."<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />

=== Musical Personnel ===

Key musicians who contributed to the pilot score include:
* '''[[JoAnn Turovsky]]''' - harp<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />
* '''[[Chris Bleth]]''' - orchestral woodwinds, English Horn, and Chinese membrane flute<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />
* '''[[Paul Cartwright]]''' - acoustic fiddle for the Tauron Theme<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />
* '''[[M.B. Gordy]]''' - nagado daiko and ethnic percussion for Cylon test scenes<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />

== Musical Direction ==

The pilot soundtrack established the musical foundation for the ''[[Caprica (series)|Caprica]]'' series, introducing key themes that would continue throughout the show. The [[Music of Caprica|score]] featured two main thematic families: the '''Graystone Theme''' representing the Graystone family's world, and the '''Tauron Theme''' signifying [[Joseph Adama]]'s connection to the Tauron mob and his ancestral lineage.<ref name="McCreary-Themes" /> These themes are held together with a series of [[w:ostinato|ostinatos]] thematically connected to each family.<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />

McCreary noted that some of his favorite tracks from this release, including "[[Grieving]]" and "[[A Tauron Sacrifice]]," had been trimmed for the pilot soundtrack and were later restored to their original lengths for the ''[[Soundtrack (Caprica series)|Caprica Series Soundtrack]]''.<ref name="McCreary-Caprica" />

The score represented a significant [[Music of Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|tonal shift from ''Battlestar Galactica'']], reflecting the series' move away from military themes toward exploring digital identity, religious zealotry, and the risks of corruption in power.<ref name="McCreary-Caprica" />

=== Connections to ''Battlestar Galactica'' ===

Despite McCreary's goal of distancing ''Caprica'' from ''Galactica'', the pilot includes subtle musical references to its predecessor. Most notably, the [[Music of Battlestar Galactica (RDM)#Wander My Friends|"Wander My Friends"]] theme appears when Joseph tells young [[William Adama|Willy]] of his true last name and Tauron heritage—a moment McCreary felt was "too perfect to resist" since he first used this theme in "[[The Hand of God (RDM)|Hand of God]]" when Adama and Lee discuss Joseph's lighter.<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />

For sequences featuring the [[U-87 Cyber Combat Unit|U-87]] (the Cylon prototype), McCreary brought in the full ethnic percussion ensemble he used for ''Galactica'', but intentionally kept these cues small and used big taiko drums sparingly. He wanted the score to sound like '''prototype ''Battlestar'' music'''—more raw, edgy and unpolished.<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />

== Track Listing ==

The runtime of this disc is 54m04s. Audio clips of select songs are available in MP3 format, and are noted accordingly in the index below.

# '''The [[Graystone]] Family''' (2:59)
#: Audio Clip: {{audio|Caprica 01 Graystone.mp3|mp3}}
#: '''Note:''' This track introduces the Graystone Family Theme, described by McCreary as "the first thing I wrote when I began scoring the [[Caprica pilot|pilot]]" and the melody that "captures the complex characters and arcs in a single elegant melody."<ref name="McCreary-Themes" /> This theme would later evolve into the series' main title theme and serve as the de facto ''Caprica'' theme.<ref name="McCreary-Caprica" />
# '''Terrorism On The [[Lev]]''' (3:11)
# '''[[Grieving]]''' (3:43)
#: Audio Clip: {{audio|Caprica 03 Grieving.mp3|mp3}}
#: '''Note:''' This track accompanies the montage immediately following the train explosion when the parents grieve the loss of their children.<ref name="McCreary-Themes" /> It was trimmed for the pilot soundtrack and later restored to its original length for the series soundtrack.<ref name="McCreary-Caprica" />
# '''[[Lacey]] (sic) and [[Zoe-A]]''' (4:05)
#: '''Note:''' Features the Graystone Ostinato that frequently underscored [[Zoe-A]]'s conversations with [[Lacy Rand]] and [[Daniel Graystone|Daniel]].<ref name="McCreary-Themes" /> Later expanded for the series soundtrack as "Lacey and [[Zoe Graystone|Zoe]] (Expanded Version)."<ref name="McCreary-Caprica" />
# '''[[Cylon (RDM)|Cybernetic Life Form Node]]''' (3:12)
#: '''Note:''' One of the sequences where McCreary brought in the full ethnic percussion ensemble to pay homage to ''Battlestar Galactica'', representing "prototype ''Battlestar'' music."<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />
# '''Zoe's [[Avatar]]''' (3:01)
#: '''Note:''' Features the four-chord progression that became known as the "Zoe Chords," first heard when [[Lacy Rand]] discovers [[Zoe-A]] in the [[V-Club]].<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />
# '''[[Daniel Graystone|Daniel]] Captures the Code''' (2:25)
#: '''Note:''' Features the Daniel Ostinato representing his transformation "from grieving father to a crazy Dr. Frankenstein figure."<ref name="McCreary-Themes" /> Later expanded for the series soundtrack as "[[Daniel Captures the Code]] (Expanded Version)."<ref name="McCreary-Caprica" />
# '''A [[Tauron|Tauron]] Sacrifice''' (2:42)
#: '''Note:''' Features the Tauron Ostinato during the montage when [[Sam Adama|Sam]] kills the defense minister. Director [[Jeffrey Reiner]] recalled this as the first piece he heard: "The score drove the scene, while evoking the intimacy of love, the rage of a gangland killing, and the struggle with ethnic identity."<ref name="McCreary-Themes" /> One of McCreary's favorites that was trimmed for this release and later restored to its original length as "[[A Tauron Sacrifice]] (Expanded Version)" on the series soundtrack.<ref name="McCreary-Caprica" />
# '''[[Amanda Graystone]]''' (3:02)
#: '''Note:''' Features the Amanda Theme, described as "a unique set of ascending scales," most prominently during the montage where Daniel and Amanda make love while Sam kills the defense minister.<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />
# '''[[Joseph Adama|Joseph]] and Daniel''' (4:15)
#: Audio Clip: {{audio|Caprica 10 Joseph.mp3|mp3}}
# '''[[Tamara Adama|Tamara]]'s Heartbeat''' (1:39)
# '''Delivering the Message''' (2:53)
# '''[[Monotheism]] At The [[Athena Academy]]''' (3:31)
# '''Children of [[Caprica (RDM)|Caprica]]''' (2:26)
# '''Irrecoverable Error''' (2:44)
# '''The [[Adama (RDM)|Adama]] Name''' (1:36)
#: '''Note:''' Features the subtle statement of "[[Music of Battlestar Galactica (RDM)#Wander My Friends|Wander My Friends]]" when Joseph tells young Willy of his true last name and Tauron heritage—a moment that gave McCreary chills when he saw it completed.<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />
# '''Zoe Awakens''' (2:19)
#: Audio Clip: {{audio|Caprica 17 Zoey.mp3|mp3}}
#: '''Note:''' Features the Zoe Chords as the [[U-87 Cyber Combat Unit|U-87]] with Zoe's data installed sputters to life before Daniel's eyes.<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />
# '''''Caprica'' End Credits''' (3:37)
#: Audio Clip: {{audio|Caprica 18 EC.mp3|mp3}}
#: '''Note:''' Contains most of the major themes from the pilot. The first sound is [[Paul Cartwright]]'s solo fiddle playing the Tauron Theme, followed by the chamber orchestra with the Graystone Theme at 0:25. At 1:02, the low strings enter with an ominous version of the Graystone Ostinato. At 1:22, a harp begins the Tauron Ostinato, and at 1:30 a solo flute introduces the Tauron Theme with the orchestra building cascading variations. At 2:44, the strings and bassoons burst into an energetic version of the Daniel Ostinato.<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />

== Critical Reception and Album Quality ==

The album represents virtually every minute of score McCreary wrote for the pilot and serves as a companion piece to the ''Battlestar Galactica: Season 4'' CD.<ref name="McCreary-Themes" /> McCreary just signed off on the final mixes and mastering before release, and admitted that "the album sounds wonderful."<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />

Director Jeffrey Reiner praised the final result: "Bear is a talented man with a strange name. I can't imagine the movie without his score."<ref name="McCreary-Themes" />

== Legacy and Series Soundtrack ==

While this pilot soundtrack provided immediate access to McCreary's score, the composer later created what he called "[[Soundtrack (Caprica series)|the ultimate ''Caprica'' soundtrack]]" for the series release.<ref name="McCreary-Caprica" /> The series soundtrack included the best pilot tracks alongside new material from the full series, with many pilot cues restored to their original lengths or expanded versions.

McCreary expressed particular satisfaction with several pilot tracks that were enhanced for the later release, noting that the series soundtrack represented "the most satisfying collection of cues" rather than a literal complete collection.<ref name="McCreary-Caprica" />

== Press Release ==

''From the product listing:''
:Presenting the original soundtrack to the special Sci Fi Channel television event, [[Caprica (series)|CAPRICA]], the new [[Battlestar Galactica (TRS)|BATTLESTAR GALACTICA]] spin-off prequel starring [[Eric Stoltz]] ([[w:Singles (film)|SINGLES]], [[w:Pulp Fiction|PULP FICTION]], [[w:Mask (film)|MASK]]) and executive-produced by BATTLESTAR GALACTICA'S [[Ron Moore]] and [[David Eick]]. Acclaimed GALACTICA composer [[Bear McCreary]] fashions another spellbinding, breathtaking all-new music score that brings us back to the very beginning of the GALACTICA saga. McCreary's inventive approach to science fiction music makes yet another amazing sonic leap forward.<ref>{{cite_web|url=https://lalalandrecords.com/caprica/|title="Caprica" La-La Land Records Product Listing|date=|accessdate=15 May 2019|last=|first=|format=|language=English}}</ref>

== External Links ==

*[https://bearmccreary.com/the-themes-of-caprica/ "The Themes of Caprica"] - Bear McCreary's detailed analysis of the pilot's musical themes
*[http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/?p=3353 Blog entry] of [[Bear McCreary]] about the [[Caprica pilot|''Caprica'' pilot]] soundtrack.
*[https://bearmccreary.com/caprica-series-soundtrack-album/ Bear McCreary's blog entry] about the [[Caprica (series)|''Caprica'' series]] soundtrack

== References ==

{{reflist}}

[[Category: A to Z]]
[[Category: Caprica]]
[[Category:Merchandise]]
[[Category:Soundtracks]]
[[Category:Soundtracks (RDM)]]
[[Category:RDM]]