Category: Da Vinci’s Demons

Da Vinci’s Demons: The Rope of The Dead

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 me to write in a more dreamy, ambient style, and gave me opportunities to bring back themes from the past. (more…)

Da Vinci’s Demons: The Sun and The Moon

“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 the first season. I distinctly remember David S. Goyer telling me, as we were working on that episode, that our characters would indeed travel to the new world in the second season. Even then I was nervous at the prospect of adding another continent’s worth of music to this already globally-influenced score. (more…)

Da Vinci’s Demons: The Ends of the Earth

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” revolves around (pun intended) Da Vinci. The Circassian slaves he freed from bondage in the last episode are proving to be a superstitious lot who believe they will fall off the edge of the world if they travel too far from home. Da Vinci must convince them that the world is round and that he knows the secret to navigating by the stars. (more…)

Da Vinci’s Demons: The Voyage of the Damned

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 Marazula.” Please note the very carefully-worded description of desired performance technique that I gave to guitarist Ed Trybek…

Music historian Adam Knight Gilbert tracked down these pieces because they are wilder dances, more likely to be played in the streets than the more formal source pieces I had used for the Medici court scenes in the first season. (more…)

Da Vinci’s Demons: The Blood of Brothers

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 for the Medici and humiliation for the Pazzi, while new themes are introduced for new characters.

(more…)