Da Vinci’s Demons
Composer Bear McCreary’s score for the third and final season of Da Vinci’s Demons strikes a compelling balance between modern and ancient instrumentation. Blending Renaissance tones of the viola da gamba, lutes, and Celtic harp with a contemporary orchestral style, subtly layered modern synth sounds, and heavy percussion, McCreary’s score weaves the essential themes of the series into an immensely satisfying musical finale.
Blog Posts
Da Vinci's Demons: The Final Season
Da Vinci's Demons: The Final Season
23 October 2015
Tonight, the third and final season of Da Vinci’s Demons begins on STARZ, and all episodes will be available to Starz subscribers to stream from Starz Play and Starz On Demand. I’m excited to announce that my score for the third season is coming soon, to both physical and digital retailers. I am thrilled that fans will finally have the chance to experience this...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Sins of Daedalus
Da Vinci's Demons: The Sins of Daedalus
05 August 2014
This summer has been a whirlwind, with so many exciting events occurring in succession that I can hardly keep track of them all. In the craziness, my final blog entry for Da Vinci’s Demons Season Two was put on the backburner and I let it sizzle there a bit too long. Though the episode aired months ago and a DVD release is likely months away, I’m still going to blog about it,...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Enemies of Man
Da Vinci's Demons: The Enemies of Man
12 June 2014
In the epic penultimate episode of Da Vinci’s Demons Season 2, “The Enemies of Man,” our heroes return to a Florence overrun by the mercenaries of Duke Federico, and struggle valiantly to take back the city. The demands on the score this week were tremendous, because there was so much narrative packed into a single episode – battles, revelations, betrayals, lovers, celebrations...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Fall From Heaven
Da Vinci's Demons: The Fall From Heaven
19 May 2014
“The Fall From Heaven” concludes this season’s Peruvian story arc while setting in motion events that will have major ramifications for the rest of the season and beyond. The episode also presented my final opportunity to incorporate unique South American instrumentation and vocals into my score this season. It’s not as if I ever hold back anyway, but I definitely pulled out...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Vault of Heaven
Da Vinci's Demons: The Vault of Heaven
17 May 2014
“The Vault of Heaven” is the third episode of Da Vinci’s Demons set in Peru, and really turns up the action. The requirements of the score were intense, as I had to follow Da Vinci through various successive traps and increase the suspense with each one.
SPOILERS BEYOND: At the beginning of the episode, Ima clearly wants to enter the Vault of Heaven alongside Da Vinci, to recreate...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Rope of The Dead
Da Vinci's Demons: The Rope of The Dead
07 May 2014
Scoring “The Rope of The Dead” presented a welcome opportunity to explore and expand upon the new musical ideas I’d introduced with the last episode, “The Sun and The Moon.” Like “The Ends of The Earth,” this episode presents our primary characters undergoing similar experiences. In this case, each character faces a test and is helped by visions. This narrative twist pushed...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Sun and The Moon
Da Vinci's Demons: The Sun and The Moon
04 May 2014
“The Sun and The Moon” was the most ambitious score I have composed yet for Da Vinci’s Demons. As Da Vinci sets foot on the new world, the score needed to tell us he is in a completely alien environment, meeting a foreign culture. I had a year and a half to mentally prepare, because Da Vinci’s voyage to South America was hinted at as far back as the second episode of...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Ends of the Earth
Da Vinci's Demons: The Ends of the Earth
28 April 2014
In “The Ends of the Earth, ” all our protagonists are on journeys. Da Vinci and Riario travel aboard ships bound for the new world, while Lorenzo and Piero trek undercover to Naples. Lucrezia’s journey is into the past, as we flashback to the tragic events that defined her relationship with Sixtus and Riario.
SPOILERS AHEAD: The primary story arc in “The Ends of the Earth”...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Voyage of the Damned
Da Vinci's Demons: The Voyage of the Damned
15 April 2014
In “The Voyage of the Damned,” all our characters embark on the journeys that will define their arcs this season.
Da Vinci’s epic journey begins in a bustling fish market in Pisa. To help establish this world, I added the sounds of street musicians playing a traditional song on lutes, “Propignan de Melyor.” Later in the episode, you will hear a small band playing “Schiarazula...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Blood of Brothers
Da Vinci's Demons: The Blood of Brothers
05 April 2014
SPOILERS AHEAD: Narratively speaking, “The Blood of Brothers” is the true first season finale. The story of the Pazzi conspiracy is concluded, and our main characters say goodbye before the start of a long journey that will bring new story. Musically, the score reflects these ideas. Themes pertaining to the Pazzi and Medici families are featured prominently, providing triumph...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Blood of Man
Da Vinci's Demons: The Blood of Man
30 March 2014
Season two of Da Vinci’s Demons has launched on Starz. Hear exclusive score clips from the new season in my new video blog, which also features a conversation with series star Tom Riley!
During the first season of Da Vinci’s Demons, I introduced about a dozen character themes, set in a soundscape built from both Renaissance and contemporary instrumentation. Leonardo had...
Read More Holiday Gift Guide 2013
Holiday Gift Guide 2013
29 November 2013
Happy Holidays, everyone!
Hoping to make your holiday shopping a bit easier, I’ve compiled all the records and merch that I’ve put out this year into one blog entry. Any soundtrack geek on your ‘Nice’ list will dig this stuff. And geeks on your ‘Naughty’ list as well! 🙂
T-SHIRTS:
I’m thrilled to announce that Sparks & Shadows...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons - Collector's Edition CD
Da Vinci's Demons - Collector's Edition CD
21 October 2013
I am proud to announce the second physical CD release for Sparks & Shadows: “Da Vinci’s Demons” Original Television Soundtrack, Collector’s Edition. The two-disc limited edition album is available starting TOMORROW, OCTOBER 22, through Amazon.com and other digital retailers. The first 360 orders through La-La Land Records’ website will get...
Read More I Won An Emmy!
I Won An Emmy!
18 September 2013
I won an Emmy on Sunday night, for my “Da Vinci’s Demons” Main Title Theme.
I’m still so overwhelmed by this that I can barely process it. If I didn’t have this winged golden lady sitting on my table right now, I’d hardly believe that it happened at all. At Sunday’s award ceremony, I almost felt like I was watching my speech from an...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Lovers
Da Vinci's Demons: The Lovers
11 June 2013
To celebrate the final first-season episode of “Da Vinci’s Demons,” I sat down with the visionary series creator / director / writer / executive producer David S. Goyer to discuss my music for the show: Scoring a series as thematically layered as “Da Vinci’s Demons” is a daunting task. I have to write dozens of themes. Each must serve the creative needs of the scene at hand,...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Hierophant
Da Vinci's Demons: The Hierophant
31 May 2013
“Da Vinci’s Demons” returns after a week-long hiatus, and what a big week it is. I’m thrilled to say that my original score has been released digitally by Sparks & Shadows! This marks the first time in my career that a television album has been released while the episodes are still airing. This has always been one of my dreams and I’m very excited that everyone at...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Devil
Da Vinci's Demons: The Devil
19 May 2013
My recent video blogs have detailed how I dove headfirst into the sounds of Renaissance and used period-appropriate instruments and performance practices to evoke the era. Going one step further, I actually used compositions from the time period in my score. (If Lorenzo de Medici were to travel through time and watch this series, he would recognize his own theme as the one...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Tower
Da Vinci's Demons: The Tower
12 May 2013
During the past four video blogs, I’ve detailed the main themes of my “Da Vinci’s Demons” score and introduced several essential instruments, including the Calder Quartet, choirs, and percussion. At last, my new video blog highlights the soloists and their instruments that give my score its distinctly Renaissance flavor:
SPOILERS AHEAD: The first few episodes...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Magician
Da Vinci's Demons: The Magician
04 May 2013
Tonight’s episode of “Da Vinci’s Demons” introduces a new theme, for the titular magician, Cosimo de Medici. His theme features a variety of new percussion sounds, expanding on the percussion I’ve used thus far for The Turk. Tonight’s video blog details how percussionist M.B. Gordy and I discovered the right instruments to use for this...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Prisoner
Da Vinci's Demons: The Prisoner
27 April 2013
The third episode of “Da Vinci’s Demons,” called “The Prisoner,” allows the series to explore the Gothic horror genre. The spooky imagery of a damned convent is accompanied by ethereal female vocals that take center stage in the score. Tonight’s video blog introduces a few of the vocal ensembles you will be hearing during the first season:
MAJOR...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Serpent
Da Vinci's Demons: The Serpent
22 April 2013
One of the great joys of scoring “Da Vinci’s Demons” is that it allows me to collaborate with some of my favorite musicians. This week’s video blog introduces you to four who are essential to my score, The Calder Quartet: SERPENTINE SPOILERS BEYOND: If you missed my blog entry for the first episode of this remarkable series, catch up on it here. The...
Read More Da Vinci's Demons: The Hanged Man
Da Vinci's Demons: The Hanged Man
13 April 2013
This month, my sweeping score for “Da Vinci’s Demons” is finally unleashed upon the world, with the premiere of the series on STARZ in the United States, and the international premieres following this week. Dive right in to my epic score with the Main Title track, which is already available as a digital single from iTunes and Amazon, courtesy of my new label Sparks & Shadows....
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