Hidden Figures (score)

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"We flew players in from all over the country, and we had this truly extraordinary string section. The sound was more beautiful and more committed…because everybody knew what they were playing because they were playing about themselves. And that is sort of the way music is supposed to work"

— Zimmer, on the scoring of Hidden Figures. [1]

Kim Burrell and Clydene Jackson provided solo vocals, with choirs from Dallas and Los Angeles, providing the gospel score. The composers worked on "examining the harmonies and infusing them into the thematic writing". [3] Speaking to Variety magazine, Wallfisch attributed that one of his guitarist friends had pulsed textures, and included them through several passes of a tape emulator to bring back to the sound of those early reel-to-reel machines and moog synthesisers, reversed and layered those tunes. He attributed that the "sound and the piano became the sound of Katherine's brain". [3] He also stated that the trumpet lines, were inspired from Miles Davis' compositions, which consists of solo jazz elements. [4] [7]

The score blends electric guitars with acoustic cues to bring "computer-like, technical textures". [8] Wallfisch commented that "We used the core-progressions and harmonic sensibility of gospel music, even with a choir, it’s the way you voice the string chords, somehow effortlessly gave us that language for the score."

Track listing

Hidden Figures (Original Score)
Film score by
Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams and Benjamin Wallfisch
ReleasedJanuary 9, 2017
Recorded2016
Genre Film score
Length49:56
Label Sony Masterworks
Hans Zimmer chronology
Inferno
(2015)		Hidden Figures
(2015)		 The Boss Baby
(2016)
Hidden Figures (Original Score)
No.TitleLength
1."Katherine"02:33
2."Mission Control"01:15
3."I'd Already Be One"01:08
4."Space Task Group"02:56
5."Slice of Pie"01:04
6."Redacted"01:24
7."With All the Angels"01:34
8."Redstone"01:36
9."Call Your Wives"03:20
10."Launch"02:19
11."That's Just The Way Things Are"02:23
12."Sign"01:11
13."Kitchen Kiss"00:55
14."Mary and the Judge"01:29
15."I Like Her Numbers"02:03
16."Ladies' March"01:23
17."Mary and Levi"02:11
18."Euler's Method"01:23
19."Proposal"01:39
20."Katherine Calculates"01:32
21."Pearls"02:39
22."Lift Off"03:11
23."Warning Light"00:58
24."Rocket Peril"03:09
25."Hidden Figures"03:49
26."Epilogue"00:36

Reception

Filmtracks.com wrote "While the character of the score remains cohesive outside of this celebration motif, the themes, oddly enough, are only faintly coherent, and they make no obvious connections to the songs. The various motifs seem to waft through the score seemingly without tightly associating with particular characters. Thus, you have a combined compositional effort involving Zimmer that continues to cause some issues with narrative continuity, but Hidden Figures manages to overcome these issues with its tightly knit cultural personality" and concluded "a delightfully competent handling of the subject despite its sometimes wandering motific assignments". [9] Marvelous Geeks Media had stated the score as "incredibly refreshing and beautiful" and further wrote "The harmonies in the background of certain tracks add a sense of serenity that’s hard to miss when listening to the album, and once you’re one track in, it’s nearly impossible to stop listening until you’ve finished the entire album." [10]

Personnel

Credits adapted from CD liner notes [11] [12]

Accolades

Award/FestivalDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
Black Reel Awards February 16, 2017 Outstanding Original Score Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams and Benjamin Wallfisch Nominated [13]
Golden Globe Awards January 8, 2017 Best Original Score Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams and Benjamin WallfischNominated [14]
Grammy Awards January 28, 2018 Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media Hidden Figures – Benjamin Wallfisch, Pharrell Williams, Hans ZimmerNominated [15]
Satellite Awards February 19, 2017 Best Original Score Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams and Benjamin WallfischNominated [16]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Hidden Figures Composers Talk Score, Space". The Mary Sue. December 18, 2016. Archived from the original on May 18, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  2. ↑ Mendelson, Scott. "'Hidden Figures' Lost At The Oscars But Triumphed At The Box Office". Forbes. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 Burlingame, Jon (January 4, 2017). "Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Benjamin Wallfisch Bring 'Hidden Figures' Into the Light". Variety. Archived from the original on November 30, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  4. 1 2 Newman, Melinda (January 13, 2017). "Pharrell Williams on Producing 'Hidden Figures' & Projects That Are 'Sticky'". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  5. ↑ Newman, Melinda (December 18, 2016). "Oscars: Why Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Felt 'Hidden Figures' Score and Songs Needed "That Extra Nuance"". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  6. ↑ Desowitz, Bill (January 7, 2017). "'Hidden Figures' Crafts Roundtable: Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams and More on Bringing African-American Women NASA Stars to Life". IndieWire. Archived from the original on March 3, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  7. ↑ Utichi, Joe (December 3, 2016). "Pharrell Williams On His 'Hidden Figures' Contribution: "It Made Sense For Everything We Stand For"". Deadline. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Composer Benjamin Wallfisch Talks Composing Scores For HIDDEN FIGURES, A CURE FOR WELLNESS And BITTER HARVEST". We Are Movie Geeks. March 6, 2017. Archived from the original on May 18, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Filmtracks: Hidden Figures (Pharrell Williams/Hans Zimmer/Benjamin Wallfisch)". www.filmtracks.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  10. ↑ Sophia, Gissane (February 21, 2022). "Music Monday: 'Hidden Figures' (Original Score) by Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, and Benjamin Wallfisch". Marvelous Geeks Media. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  11. ↑ Hidden Figures [Original Motion Picture Score] - Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Benjamin Wallfisch | Credits | AllMusic, archived from the original on June 29, 2022, retrieved June 29, 2022
  12. ↑ "Hidden Figures Score by Pharrell Williams, Hans Zimmer & Benjamin Wallfisch (ETR086/ETT019)". Enjoy The Ride Records. Archived from the original on July 28, 2019. Retrieved June 29, 2022.
  13. ↑ "17th annual Black Reel Award Nominations". Black Reel Awards. December 14, 2016. Archived from the original on February 28, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Golden Globes 2017: The Complete List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter . December 12, 2016. Archived from the original on December 13, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  15. ↑ "2018 Grammy Awards: Complete Winners List". Grammy.com. November 28, 2017. Archived from the original on January 28, 2018. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  16. ↑ Kilday, Gregg (November 29, 2016). "Satellite Awards Nominees Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on November 29, 2016. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
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