Water for Elephants (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the film score composed by James Newton Howard to the 2011 film Water for Elephants directed by Francis Lawrence based on the 2006 novel by Sara Gruen and starred Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz. The album featured Howard's score and three classical songs from the early 20th century, and was released through Sony Classical Records on April 19, 2011.
Background Water for Elephants marked the second collaboration between Howard and Lawrence following I Am Legend (2007). At a live performance conducted by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Howard said that he was "proud" of the score adding that he had embodied a brand of cinematic magic but his score for this particular film brough the work to a whole new level as he fully captured the intangible wonderment and mystique which existed in all of John Williams scores, adding that it was "fun to write circus music". The original score album was released through Sony Classical Records on April 19, 2011.
Reception Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK wrote "Whatever shortcomings Water for Elephants may have as a film – and judging by the reviews it has quite a few – James Newton Howard's score is not one of them. Fans of intimate romance and gentle emotion will find it to be an engaging listen from start to finish, with pretty themes and beguiling orchestrations that are tempered with a few moments of liveliness and a few moments of darkness to balance things out. In a year which has – with the exception of [Dario] Marianelli's Jane Eyre – proved to be remarkably bereft of serious romantic works, Water for Elephants sits proudly at the top end of a short list as one of the best of its kind in 2011 to date."
Filmtracks wrote "With so many small oddities involving Water for Elephants, including the endless stream of connections to other composers, it has been difficult to determine if the hour-long album for the soundtrack should receive three or four stars. The songs fade in and out of the score with ease, though the changes in key aren't always smooth. Still, it's great to hear vintage Horner and Newman music, even in small doses, and for that likely unintended outcome by Howard, the album has to be cautiously recommended." James Christopher Monger of AllMusic wrote "Largely orchestral with flourishes of mandolin and guitar, jazz, cabaret, and vaudeville blues, Howard’s lovely and lucid score draws from the realms of fantasy, magical realism, and historical fiction while maintaining a concrete sense of place."
Sean Wilson of MFiles wrote "James Newton Howard has always excelled at tender romance and Water for Elephants does little to refute the claim. It's a beguiling and hugely attractive effort, blending soothing melodies and darker sections in one smoothly melodious package. Undoubtedly one of the best scores of 2011." Richard Corliss of Time wrote "James Newton Howard wrote Elephants' sumptuous score." Peter Debruge of Variety wrote that Howard's "rich orchestral score sadly lacks a clear theme". Stephen Holden of The New York Times considered it to be an "insufferable wall-to-wall musical soup." The Santa Barbara Independent-based critic wrote "Composer James Newton Howard's mawkishly generic Hollywood fairy-dust score doesn't help". Brad Brevet of Comingsoon.net considered the score to be "James Newton Howard's best imitation of Alexandre Desplat".
Track listing
Personnel Credits adapted from liner notes:
Music composer – James Newton Howard Music producer – James Newton Howard, Jim Weidman Score producer – Stuart Michael Thomas Arrangements – Dan Higgins Recording – Shawn Murphy, Matt Ward Recordist – Adam Michalak, Steve Genewick Mixing – Shawn Murphy Supervising music editor – Jim Weidman Music editor – David Olson Music supervisor – Alexandra Patsavas Auricle control systems – Richard Grant Pro-tools operator – Erik Swanson, Larry Mah Music consultant – Charles P. Conrad Technical score advisor – Sven Faulconer Scoring crew – David Marquette, Greg Loskorn, Mark Eshelman Music coordinator – Pamela Sollie Music preparation – JoAnn Kane Music Service Copyist – Mark Graham Music clearance – Ellen Ginsburg, Summer Stone Music business and legal affairs (20th Century Fox) – Tom Cavanaugh Executive in charge of music (20th Century Fox) – Robert Kraft Production supervisor (20th Century Fox) – Amy Driscoll, Rebecca Morellato Orchestra Orchestrators – Conrad Pope, Jeff Atmajian, Jon Kull, Pete Anthony Conductor – Pete Anthony Contractor – Peter Rotter, Sandy DeCrescent Leader – Roger Wilkie Instruments Acoustic guitar, dulcimer, cuatro – George Doering Alto saxophone – Dan Higgins Bass – Bruce Morgenthaler, Chris Kollgaard, Drew Dembowski, Edward Meares, Mike Valerio, Nico Abondolo, Oscar Hidalgo Bassoon – Kenneth Munday, Michael O'Donovan Cello – Andrew Shulman, Tony Cooke, Armen Ksajikian, Cecilia Tsan, Tina Soule, David Speltz, Dennis Karmazyn, Erika Duke, Kim Scholes, John Walz, Paula Hochhalter, Steve Erdody, Tim Landauer, Trevor Handy Clarinet – Benjamin Lulich, Dan Higgins, Stuart Clark Cornet – Jon Lewis, Malcolm McNab, Tim Morrison, Warren Luening Flute – Geraldine Rotella, Greg Huckins, Heather Clark, Stephen Jujala Guitar – Jim Fox Harp – Gayle Levant, Marcia Dickstein Horn – Brian O'Connor, Daniel Kelley, David Everson, James Thatcher, Steve Becknell Oboe – Barbara Northcutt, Tom Boyd Percussion – Alan Estes, Bob Zimmitti, Dan Greco, Peter Limonick Piano – Jim Cox, Randy Kerber Tenor saxophone – Bill Liston Trombone – Alex Iles, Andy Malloy, Bill Reichenbach, Bill Booth Trumpet – Jon Lewis, Malcolm McNab, Warren Luening Tuba – Doug Tornquist, Jim Self, Joe Langer Viola – Andrew Duckles, Brian Dembow, Darrin McCann, David Walther, Keith Greene, Marlow Fisher, Matthew Funes, Mike Nowak, Pam Jacobsen, Rob Brophy, Roland Kato, Shawn Mann, Steven Gordon, Thomas Diener, Vickie Miskolczy Violin – Alyssa Park, Belinda Broughton, Bruce Dukov, Darius Campo, Dimitrie Leivici, Elizabeth Johnson, Endre Granat, Eun Mee Ahn, Haim Shtrum, Jackie Brand, Jay Rosen, Jeanne Skrocki, Jessica Guideri, Josefina Vergara, Julie Ann Gigante, Katia Popov, Kevin Connolly, Lisa Sutton, Marc Sazer, Miwako Watanabe, Natalie Leggett, Nina Evtuhov, Phillip Levy, Rafael Rishik, Roberto Cani, Roger Wilkie, Sara Parkins, Sarah Thornblade, Searmi Park, Serena McKinney, Tammy Hatwan, Tereza Stanislav
Accolades Awards Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Guild of Music Supervisors AwardsFebruary 12, 2012Best Music Supervision for Films Budgeted Over $25 MillionAlexandra Patsavas Satellite AwardsDecember 18, 2011Best Original ScoreJames Newton Howard
Notes
References