How ‘Shogun,’ ‘The Crown’ and More Dramas Pulled Off Historically Accurate Sounds
variety.comJon Burlingame Historical dramas often demand a specific musical approach: Music that suggests the time and place, along with reflecting the (often real-life) characters and the unique circumstances of their lives.
Five of the past season’s miniseries featured outstanding scores along these lines. For producers Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, “Masters of the Air” marked the completion of a World War II trilogy (after “Band of Brothers,” about American soldiers in Europe, and “The Pacific,” about Marines in the Pacific theater), and composer Blake Neely worked on all three.
Neely orchestrated for Michael Kamen on “Band of Brothers” and was one of three composers on “The Pacific.” For “Masters of the Air,” despite his busy schedule scoring multiple CW series for producer Greg Berlanti, Neely composed, orchestrated and conducted all six hours of music in the nine-part Apple TV+ drama. “I wanted to honor the men, but I also wanted it to take flight and soar,” Neely says of his heroic main-title theme, played by a 62-piece Nashville orchestra and 25-voice choir. “The strings are playing the aerial acrobatics.” There are secondary themes for “brotherhood,” “going home,” “honor,” “taking flight” and multiple themes for the many air battles in the series.
He had one firm rule: use no instruments that weren’t around during World War II. So there are no electronics. The score is also a tribute to Kamen, Neely’s mentor.
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