The Great Soundtrack
The Great is a satirical series about the rise of Catherine the Great, as played by Elle Fanning. The show hails from Tony McNamara, writer of The Favourite, and it certainly appears to be in a similar style as that film. Here’s the synopsis:
A fictionalized, fun and anachronistic story of an idealistic, romantic young girl, who arrives in Russia for an arranged marriage to the mercurial Emperor Peter. Hoping for love and sunshine, she finds instead a dangerous, depraved, backward world that she resolves to change. All she has to do is kill her husband, beat the church, baffle the military and get the court onside. A very modern story about the past which encompasses the many roles she played over her lifetime as lover, teacher, ruler, friend, and fighter. Incorporating historical facts occasionally, the series stars Elle Fanning as Catherine, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge, Sacha Dhawan, Sebastian de Souza, Bayo Gbadamosi and Belinda Bromilow. Our own Hoai-Tran Bui reviewed the Hulu series, and said that “despite some of the tonal and pacing issues” the series is “still a thoroughly enjoyable historical comedy, if a bit lighter on the satire than expected. The editing is brisk, the grotesque scenes of debauchery are darkly funny, and the royal scheming is pretty compelling stuff — with McNamara dipping into his Favourite bag as inspiration for the catty rivalries that Catherine makes. It may not be unquestionably great, but it’s certainly a grand old time.” The show’s soundtrack comes courtesy of Nathan Barr, whose credits include Carnival Row, The Americans, Hemlock Grove, True Blood, The House with a Clock in its Walls, The Turning, The Hunt, and Hollywood. “They were looking for something completely different,” Barr said of The Great soundtrack. “My first pass on the demo was entirely synth-sounds with solo violin. To approach a beautifully shot period-piece in 18th century Russia using just synthesizers was certainly new for me. Once we got into the actual scoring though, Hulu felt that doing the score all-synth drew too much attention to the music. We ended up settling on a happy medium where it was oftentimes orchestral with synth elements which seemed to work well.”
The Great is now streaming on Hulu. The soundtrack will be available on May 22 and you can purchase it here. Check out the album art and track list below. Track List
- Intro
- You Must Trust Me
- In The Court
- Hats From Paris
- The Party
- He’ll Be On You
- Raccoon
- Bathtub
- Escape
- Chess Game
- Tea Dance
- Archie’s Blessing
- You Told Him
- She Has Never Seen My Face
- The Way Things Were
- Leo Vronsky
- Fire Dance
- Do What We Want
- Journey To The Front
- Knife In Pocket
- Tainting The Borscht
- Next In Line
- Let Them Come
- It Is Over
- Huzzah
- Bird On A Wire – Simone Istwa
By Chris Evangelista/May 15, 2020 7:30 am EST
The Great arrives on Hulu today, which gives us an excuse to share with you an exclusive track from Nathan Barr’s score. Barr has composed music for Carnival Row, The Americans, and Hollywood, and the music he’s created for The Great is full of lush orchestrations with a hint of comical playfulness, which is perfect for the show.
The Great Soundtrack
The Great is a satirical series about the rise of Catherine the Great, as played by Elle Fanning. The show hails from Tony McNamara, writer of The Favourite, and it certainly appears to be in a similar style as that film. Here’s the synopsis:
A fictionalized, fun and anachronistic story of an idealistic, romantic young girl, who arrives in Russia for an arranged marriage to the mercurial Emperor Peter. Hoping for love and sunshine, she finds instead a dangerous, depraved, backward world that she resolves to change. All she has to do is kill her husband, beat the church, baffle the military and get the court onside. A very modern story about the past which encompasses the many roles she played over her lifetime as lover, teacher, ruler, friend, and fighter. Incorporating historical facts occasionally, the series stars Elle Fanning as Catherine, Nicholas Hoult, Phoebe Fox, Adam Godley, Gwilym Lee, Charity Wakefield, Douglas Hodge, Sacha Dhawan, Sebastian de Souza, Bayo Gbadamosi and Belinda Bromilow. Our own Hoai-Tran Bui reviewed the Hulu series, and said that “despite some of the tonal and pacing issues” the series is “still a thoroughly enjoyable historical comedy, if a bit lighter on the satire than expected. The editing is brisk, the grotesque scenes of debauchery are darkly funny, and the royal scheming is pretty compelling stuff — with McNamara dipping into his Favourite bag as inspiration for the catty rivalries that Catherine makes. It may not be unquestionably great, but it’s certainly a grand old time.” The show’s soundtrack comes courtesy of Nathan Barr, whose credits include Carnival Row, The Americans, Hemlock Grove, True Blood, The House with a Clock in its Walls, The Turning, The Hunt, and Hollywood. “They were looking for something completely different,” Barr said of The Great soundtrack. “My first pass on the demo was entirely synth-sounds with solo violin. To approach a beautifully shot period-piece in 18th century Russia using just synthesizers was certainly new for me. Once we got into the actual scoring though, Hulu felt that doing the score all-synth drew too much attention to the music. We ended up settling on a happy medium where it was oftentimes orchestral with synth elements which seemed to work well.”
The Great is now streaming on Hulu. The soundtrack will be available on May 22 and you can purchase it here. Check out the album art and track list below. Track List
- Intro
- You Must Trust Me
- In The Court
- Hats From Paris
- The Party
- He’ll Be On You
- Raccoon
- Bathtub
- Escape
- Chess Game
- Tea Dance
- Archie’s Blessing
- You Told Him
- She Has Never Seen My Face
- The Way Things Were
- Leo Vronsky
- Fire Dance
- Do What We Want
- Journey To The Front
- Knife In Pocket
- Tainting The Borscht
- Next In Line
- Let Them Come
- It Is Over
- Huzzah
- Bird On A Wire – Simone Istwa
The Great is a satirical series about the rise of Catherine the Great, as played by Elle Fanning. The show hails from Tony McNamara, writer of The Favourite, and it certainly appears to be in a similar style as that film. Here’s the synopsis:
Our own Hoai-Tran Bui reviewed the Hulu series, and said that “despite some of the tonal and pacing issues” the series is “still a thoroughly enjoyable historical comedy, if a bit lighter on the satire than expected. The editing is brisk, the grotesque scenes of debauchery are darkly funny, and the royal scheming is pretty compelling stuff — with McNamara dipping into his Favourite bag as inspiration for the catty rivalries that Catherine makes. It may not be unquestionably great, but it’s certainly a grand old time.”
The show’s soundtrack comes courtesy of Nathan Barr, whose credits include Carnival Row, The Americans, Hemlock Grove, True Blood, The House with a Clock in its Walls, The Turning, The Hunt, and Hollywood. “They were looking for something completely different,” Barr said of The Great soundtrack. “My first pass on the demo was entirely synth-sounds with solo violin. To approach a beautifully shot period-piece in 18th century Russia using just synthesizers was certainly new for me. Once we got into the actual scoring though, Hulu felt that doing the score all-synth drew too much attention to the music. We ended up settling on a happy medium where it was oftentimes orchestral with synth elements which seemed to work well.”
The Great is now streaming on Hulu. The soundtrack will be available on May 22 and you can purchase it here. Check out the album art and track list below.
Track List
Intro
You Must Trust Me
In The Court
Hats From Paris
The Party
He’ll Be On You
Raccoon
Bathtub
Escape
Chess Game
Tea Dance
Archie’s Blessing
You Told Him
She Has Never Seen My Face
The Way Things Were
Leo Vronsky
Fire Dance
Do What We Want
Journey To The Front
Knife In Pocket
Tainting The Borscht
Next In Line
Let Them Come
It Is Over
Huzzah
Bird On A Wire – Simone Istwa
