How is the soundtrack of the new “Game of Thrones” prequel?
While the dragons of “House of the Dragon” set the charts ablaze with their bombastic brass, the soundtrack of “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” the atmosphere changes. Both compared to “HoD” and compared to “Game of Thrones“, of which this series is a spin-off. For the tales of Dunk and Egg, Bear McCreary prefers a sonic revolution: less imperial orchestra, more medieval folk.
Change the plot, change the music
The new prequel to “Game of Thrones” tells Westeros from one side more intimate perspectivefollowing the adventures of Dunk and Egg in an era marked by the decline of dragons and the rise of the Targaryens. The basic idea is to bring viewers back to the Seven Kingdoms with a story that is probably epic in numbers but, ideally, deeper in themes. More than great battles, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” (taken from the book “The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” by the legendary George R. R. Martin) wants to stage adventure, friendship and personal growth, in a continent, Westeros, which is still trying to find balance.
At the center of the story we find an unprecedented couple for the television universe of Westeros: Ser Duncan the Tall, known as Dunk, a knight errant of humble origins, without a great house behind him and guided by an almost idealistic idea of chivalric honor; next to him is Egg, his young squire, an apparently ordinary boy, who however hides a secret destined to change the course of the history of the Seven Kingdoms.
It is important to understand the changes in the plot, because from here the changes in the soundtrack arise. From a narrative perspective, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” has a brighter tone compared to its predecessors: it focuses a lot on the relationship between the characters, leaving room for dialogues and silences.
McCreary’s medieval folk
For years, the sound of the Seven Kingdoms has been inextricably linked to the cello of Ramin Djawadi. His melodic textures, made up of circular themes and epic crescendos, defined an era of image music. But with this spin-off, the music also changes radically. If “Game of Thrones” was a symphony of power and “House of the Dragon” a tragic work, this new chapter is a “dirty” folk album, recorded between the mud of a tournament and the wood of an inn.
Already author of the iconic soundtracks of “Battlestar Galactica”, “God of War” and “The Rings of Power”, Bear McCreary he prefers rare instruments and a writing that has its roots in ethnomusicology. For the adventures of Sir Duncan the Tall and his squire Egg, we hear a score dominated by hurdy-gurdy and lute, flute, percussion and solo voices that recall the oral tradition of Westeros ballads.
There is no longer a need for complex themes for twenty different characters: here the music must follow the breath of just two protagonists. The transition from a “Wagnerian” aesthetic to one closer to British folk revival (type, mutatis mutandisFairport Convention or the more acoustic Jethro Tull) allows the series to stand out from the other chapters of Martin’s universe.
