The Essex Serpent: Score By Dustin O’Halloran and Herdis Stefansdottir Releases Globally, Apple TV+ Series Now Streaming!
“Complimenting each other’s strengths in a way that feels more intimate than most other TV scores, O’Halloran and Stefánsdóttir explored subjects like fear of the unknown, the constant conflict between science and religion, and the complexity of superstition. What results is a soundtrack that is rich in emotional depth.” – Cinemacy
Lakeshore Records has released The Essex Serpent—Original Series Soundtrack featuring music by Academy Award, BAFTA and EMMY-winning composer Dustin O’Halloran, and award-winning composer Herdís Stefánsdóttir! The composers utilize electro acoustics and strings creating a score that evokes the darker depths of Victorian England. View the streaming links, learn more about the composers, and read more rave reviews below.
The series starring Claire Danes and Tom Hiddleston, now streaming globally on Apple TV+.
“The musical score by Dustin O’Halloran and Herdís Stefánsdóttir manages to echo both the flat, wide landscape and the turmoil of a changing world beyond.” – The Arts Desk
Soundtrack Available Now: [Download/Stream]
Track List:
01. Estuary
02. The Essex Serpent Main Title
03. I Mended You
04. The Serpent
05. Essex
06. Fata Morgana
07. The Devil Will Come For You
08. Funeral
09. The Morning After
10. Grace
11. Blood On The Boat
12. Matters Of The Heart
13. A Rational Explanation
14. The Gilded Cage
15. Will and Cora
16. If I Am A Sinner
17. He Is Waiting For Me, And I Am Ready
18. Cracknell
19. Back To Essex
20. In Uncertainty, And In Love
21. Stella Is Gone
22. Walk With Me
“Threatening clouds always hang overhead, while strings from Dustin O’Halloran and Herdís Stefánsdottir growl lower and lower—the series gets a lot of mileage from such rich gloominess.” – Roger Ebert
Says O’Halloran and Stefánsdóttir: “From our first conversations with director Clio Bernard, we knew we would be creating something layered and multidimensional. This was our first collaboration together as composers and it allowed us to explore subjects like fear of the unknown, the Victorian era where science and religion were in constant conflict, and the complexity of superstition. We got an incredible amount of trust from Clio to experiment! Even though it was a period piece set in late 1800’s, we took a modern approach to the music and how we wrote and recorded it, accentuating the sound of the wood and bow of the strings, and went deep into capturing the sound limits of the cello and electro acoustic manipulation.”
ABOUT DUSTIN O’HALLORAN
Dustin O’Halloran is an American pianist and composer with four acclaimed solo albums under his own name, and is a member of the band A Winged Victory for the Sullen. Winner of a 2015 Emmy Award for his main title theme to Amazon’s comedy drama Transparent, he was also nominated for an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and a Critics’ Choice Award for his score to Lion, written in collaboration with Volker Bertelmann (aka Hauschka). His film career began when Sofia Coppola invited him to contribute to Marie Antoinette, and he has since worked on many films and TV shows, including Drake Doremus’ Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Like Crazy, and Marc Turtletaub’s Puzzle. He also scored George Tillman Jr.’s The Hate U Give and joined forces with Bryan Senti for Nick Murphy’s six-part Sky TV series, Save Me. He and Bertelmann reconvened to collaborate on Netflix’s The Old Guard, and again on the BBC’s 2019 adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. He releases solo music with the renowned classical musical label Deutsche Grammophon.
ABOUT HERDÍS STEFÁNSDÓTTIR
Herdís Stefánsdóttir is an Icelandic composer of music for multimedia, a songwriter, and an electronic musician. She graduated with an M.A. degree in film scoring from New York University. Since graduation she has scored two feature films, including the HBO series We’re Here. She won the 2022 Icelandic Music Award for her score to the FX series Y: the Last Man and was also nominated for her score in Ry Russo-Young’s MGM/Warner Bros feature film The Sun Is Also a Star. She interned for the Oscar nominated composer Jóhann Jóhannsson in Berlin while he was working on the film Arrival and she has scored numerous short films that have premiered at top-tier festivals around the world like Berlinale, TIFF, Sundance and Palm Springs International Film Festival. She formed her electro-pop duo East of My Youth in 2015. The duo has showcased at SXSW, Eurosonic Noorderslag, KEXP, Sonar Reykjavík and Iceland Airwaves.
“The score, which hails from composers Dustin O’Halloran (an Oscar nominee for Lion) and Herdís Stefánsdóttir, perfectly matches the mysterious tone of the show and more than that, is among its standout elements. Every track varies from ominous sounds of danger to those that will transport you to the Essex countryside.” – Below The Line
A widow, a local vicar and a mythical beast…are the rumors true? The Essex Serpent now streaming on Apple TV+
Set in Victorian England featuring a star studded cast led by Claire Danes, Tom Hiddleston, Frank Dillane, Clémence Poésy and Hayley Squires, The Essex Serpent follows London widow Cora Seaborne (Danes) who moves to Essex to investigate reports of a mythical serpent. She forms surprising bond of science and skepticism with the local vicar (Hiddleston), but when tragedy strikes, locals accuse her of attracting the creature.