The Twilight Saga: New Moon - The Score [Soundtrack]

Alexandre Desplat | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 20, 2009)
• Original Release Date: November 20, 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: E1 Entertainment
• ASIN: B002Q4TKC2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,538 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Twilight: New Moon is the second installment of the highly successful film franchise Twilight, an action-packed, modern day vampire love story. The movie is based on the second novel in author Stephenie Meyer`s Twilight series titled, New Moon. Oscar Nominated composer Alexandre Desplat scores the follow up to the successful Twilight score. Desplat is highly regarded and the winner of numerous awards including 2008's "Film Score of the Year" & "Best Original Score for a Drama Film" by the International Film Critics Association (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), winner of the 2007 Golden Globe for "Best Original Score" (The Painted Veil), and two-time Academy Award Nominee (The Queen & The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). With even more anticipation, a growing fan base and an award-winning/critically-acclaimed composer , Twilight: New Moon Score is a must-have companion to the movie experience and sure to please not just movie fans but fans of the Score genre.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, haunting score, December 5, 2009

By 

E. OMalley (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Twilight Saga: New Moon - The Score (Audio CD)

I must say first that I am stunned by the negative reviews for this score and the calls to bring Carter Burwell back (and to the reviewer hawking her own music while negatively reviewing this one...is this to give you more cred or what? It made me dismiss your review out-of-hand). Burwell did a nice score for Twilight and it was fine for that movie (although rather repetitive and insubstantial), but Alexandre Desplat brings the score for New Moon to a whole new level. This is a gorgeous score that gripped me from the opening title of the movie to the very end. I agree with those who state it is haunting - it is. It beautifully accents the sadness of love lost in this movie. When I first listened to the soundtrack and heard Desplat's "The Meadow (New Moon)" I was thrilled he was scoring this movie. BTW, in keeping with the soundtrack's goal to have all the songs unique to that album, "The Meadow" is not repeated on this one but the beautiful theme certainly is.

New Moon is a very different movie experience than Twilight, and Desplat elected not to listen to Burwell's score and just treat this score as its own entity. Do I wish he had listened to Burwell's work to use a theme or two? Not really. While I am curious how he would've improved "Bella's Lullaby" (which is pretty, but NOT an incredible piece of music) I don't think it is a detraction from this score that he didn't carry on with the themes. Yes, these movies are part of a series, but as they have different directors for each one with different visions I don't find it a problem that they have different composers with different visions either. Chris Weitz went with a dramatic, epic romance feel to the film and Desplat followed through with that in the music.

This score is incredibly lovely and has enough variation that it stays interesting. The "Edward Leaves" track is especially notable, as is "Romeo and Juliet," "To Volterra" and the full romantic themes of "New Moon" and "Full Moon." You always know when the Volturi are on screen, as their waltz theme plays through their scenes. I have yet to understand why people complain about the "Edward Leaves" track overpowering the scene in the movie, though. It starts out very delicately and slowly builds until you get the full orchestra as Bella tries to follow Edward into the trees. Powerful? Yes. Overpowering? Definitely not!

I'm actually nervous about the composer on Eclipse (as I'm very nervous about David Slade's vision of the film), so I am anxious to hear who is chosen - I am sure it will be someone unique to that vision as well. I do hope, however, that Weitz and Desplat end up bringing Breaking Dawn to the big screen because this is one of the most beautiful, faithful adaptations of a book I have ever seen and this score definitely enhanced that experience for me - I think they would do a fantastic job adapting Breaking Dawn. I listen to this CD everyday and highly recommend it.

21 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A rich, traditional score that tells a story, November 25, 2009

By 

Tragically Addicted to Twilight - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Twilight Saga: New Moon - The Score (Audio CD)

The New Moon score is much more complex, more traditionally classical than Twilight's score. Alexandre Desplat really tells the story of New Moon and brings the emotions of Bella, Edward, and Jacob to life through his music. "Volturi Waltz" is disturbing, as it should be. "Bella Dreams" and "Victoria" are particularly moving. "Full Moon" in particular really brings the anticipation, anguish, hope, and love of the story together. The other reviews were correct to call this score haunting.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Top 50 Scores Ever Written, December 21, 2009

By 

Media Lover - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Twilight Saga: New Moon - The Score (Audio CD)

I don't know what to say... But I'll try anyways. Every so often, a piece of music comes along that's so special... so beautiful and so provocative that it falls into the uppermost echelon of music I call "classic" or even "timeless." A few (of the many) examples are "The Time Machine" by Klaus Badelt "The Empire Strikes Back" by John Williams "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" by Alexandre Desplat and Aaron Zigman and "Braveheart" by James Horner. Well, it's time to add another one to the list... Twilight: New Moon.

Although this score is VERY unlike the superb original by Carter Burwell, it more than manages to hold it's own. Drawing from a rich and passionate well of romantic orchestra, Desplat makes good on creating a gothic soundscape not unlike the life-force of the "Twilight" series itself. The themes presented here of meaty, full of emotion and orchestrated in perfect balance. I'm a film composer and an orchestrator, and nothing in 2009 has inspired me to pay more attention to tone color and harmonic density more than this gem.

What can I say? This music is special... That's all there is to it.