For his original television soundtrack to the NBC/Universal superhero series titled The Cape, the maestro has been charged with relaying a particular message that combines a mixture of urgency and facility. The results are dazzling. Although NBC/Universal has since cancelled the television series, the music will live on now that a limited edition of the soundtrack is being made available to the public.
About the original television soundtrack and score
The soundtrack for The Cape was recorded at the Warner Brothers Eastwood Scoring Stage, The Bridge Recording, and the Newman Scoring Stage at 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles, California. The double-disc set has been released as a limited edition of 2000 units by La La Land Records. The Executive album producers for La La Land Records are MV Gerhard and Matt Verboys. Bear McCreary produced the soundtrack, conducted the score, and co-produced the score along with Steve Kaplan. The CD also features a 16 page booklet with comments from McCreary and the show's creator, Tim Wheeler.
Realizing that the television series would be a cast of “masked villians, circus freaks, mystical powers, and a central story of redemption, revenge and the bond of fatherhood,” McCreary composed from a classical approach and used two orchestras (McCreary and Various Artists 2011). For the series’ epic sound and main theme, he used a full symphony orchestra and for its most intimate or specific cues, he used an ensemble of specially assembled instruments including a hurdy gurdy, hammered dulcimer, clavinet, tambourines, small percussion and accordions.
All of the music was written by Bear McCreary with the exception of “Let’s Just Pretend” which was written by Brendan McCreary and performed by Young Beautiful in a Hurry for the episode titled “The Lich – Part 2.” According to Bear McCreary, “the stylistic range of the score called for many unique themes with distinct instruments and each episode had to be written and produced in a week, and recorded with one of the largest orchestras on television.” (McCreary and Various Artists 2011).
The two discs clock in at a little over 2.5 hours and contain a total of 38 great music cues and 10 bonus tracks from the 10 television episodes aired by NBC/Universal. From the single haunting chord as Vince Faraday (The Cape) puts on his mask for the first time or the swelling crescendo as The Cape vanishes before his son’s eyes, to the final elegiac music of “The Lich – Part 2,” McCreary’s mood-setting music captivates and draws the listener into the action, adventure, and emotional context of each storyline.
Inspiration and influences
McCreary’s inspiration and influence for The Cape is documented in his section of the liner notes. He dedicates his score to The Cape to the late composer Shirley Walker, the accomplished film composer and the first woman ever to score a studio feature film. “By far, the biggest influence on my work for The Cape was the music that Shirley Walker and her remarkable team composed for Batman: The Animated Series. I grew up on her music, running home from school every day to watch the continuing adventure unfold, and to bask in the new character themes and variations of her score.” (McCreary and Various Artists 2011).
Highlights of McCreary’s composing career include his scores for the long-awaited second season of The Walking Dead, Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles, his first television series Battlestar Galactica, Human Target, Step Up – 3D, and SOCOM 4 – US Navy Seals – all of which reveal Bear McCreary as a rare and unique talent. However, it is the music that he composed for The Cape that sounds the dark places of the human heart and soul and the inherent drama of The Cape is therefore remarkable for being completely powerful in its projection and convincing storytelling. To learn more about The Cape and Bear McCreary, please visit their websites.
Source: McCreary, Bear, and Various Artists. The Cape. Cond. Bear McCreary. Comp. Bear McCreary. 2011.
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