Development
Hans Zimmer who previously composed the score for The Da Vinci Code returned for the sequel. [1] The film score required a different musical approach than the predecessor, which led Zimmer to recruit a chamber group over a traditional orchestra to make the music "as agile and kinetic as Robert Langdon's firing synapses." [2]
As the film revolves equally around religion and science, Zimmer used a combination of orchestra and chorus to represent religion and electronics to denote science. With the collaboration of the orchestra, Zimmer also collaborated with violinist Joshua Bell who "played like an angel with his violin framed by the contrasting starkness of the electronics. He added such beauty and grace to the music, and such depth to the characters". [2]
Howard noted that there was nothing formulaic about Zimmer's thinking of the score and it suited the sound that the film calls for. As a nod to Langdon, he hid a five-note musical ambigram in the score, and also developed the "Chevaliers de Sangreal" track from the end of The Da Vinci Code as Langdon's main theme in the film, featuring prominently in the tracks "God Particle" and "503". [2]
Reception
Jonathan Broxton of Movie Music UK wrote "basically, that’s how the score progresses, switching between the droning modernistic suspense cues and more classically-inflected pieces for choir and strings. Bell’s parts, and the choral parts, are lovely, but the album as a whole is dragged down by the ghastly synth effects, which take up too much of the album’s running time, and are impossible to skip because, due to the length of the cues and the way the album is structured, the best bits by and large appear in the middle of cues." [3] Christian Clemmensen of Filmtracks wrote "Angels & Demons is a score that really does not require a review of this length to provide an accurate recommendation. It may not intrigue you with originality as much as Front/Nixon, but it will entertain with its predictable brute force." [4]
Thomas Glorieux of Maintitles wrote "Whatever can be said about Angels & Demons, I believe no one saw this turning into this direction except Hans Zimmer. And yet it will all work once it will be heard in the movie. As the trailer promises, this seems to be an action and suspenseful power antidote to the slow boring ride of The Da Vinci Code. And so Hans Zimmer could produce us this puppy. He uses the most important themes of The Da Vinci Code, gives them another spin and threw in more of his old school sound. In fact, it is sometimes amazing how much old school Zimmer there is to be found here. But it works and it produces a somewhat interesting album, full of new twists and definitely not a TDVC recycle score. So Hallelujah to that. And now the Vatican can continue to damn the almighty thunder upon Angels & Demons." [5]
Adrian Edwards of Gramophone wrote "After Zimmer’s interesting soundtrack to The Da Vinci Code, we find him marking time with few fresh ideas. His trademarks of ambient music, walloping percussion and toccata-like rhythms are plentiful, though they manage to create a suspenseful atmosphere of shady goings-on." [6] the score "[preserved] all of its elegiac atmosphere while bringing in more choral elements". [7] Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor Zimmer's score "seems to think it's underscoring The Greatest Story Ever Told on steroids". [8] Mike Goodridge of Screen International described it as "a furiously urgent score complete with operatic Omen-style choirs." [9]
Todd McCarthy of Variety called it a "thumping score". [10] Hannah Goodwyn of Christian Broadcasting Network wrote "Hans Zimmer wrote a spectacular score for the film, keeping in tone with what was unfolding on screen". [11] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal stated that Zimmer's "pitiless score" is "endlessly excitable". [12] Chris Bumbray of JoBlo.com wrote "Similarly bland is the score by Hans Zimmer, which is not a huge surprise as, with the exception of his work on Batman Begins (2005) & The Dark Knight (2008) with James Newton Howard, he hasn’t done a great score since Gladiator (2000). He`s turning into another Danny Elfman!". [13] Matt Goldberg of Collider noted that though Zimmer's scor was used to great effect, he considered it to be shallow. [14]
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