Planet Earth Soundtrack

Genre soundtrack Publisher EMI Records

The BBC’s Planet Earth documents the beautiful landscapes of our world in ways that most people have never seen. Much to the same, the soundtrack guides the images in ways most people have never heard.

Planet Earth the sound track was arranged by George Fenton who has previously worked on such features as Gandhi, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Fight Club, and Blue Planet. Already accomplished, Fenton brings his award winning expertise to this two disc soundtrack that was performed by the BBC concert orchestra. Spanning a whopping 2 hours and 12 minutes, EMI released it in 2006 in accordance with the release of the documentary itself.

Fenton’s score starts with “Prelude”(from Pole to Pole) that features tender string ensembles that mimic the start of the series. “The Journey of the Sun” creates quite a warm sound, while “Stalactite Gallery” and “Diving into the Darkness” sound more contemporary, incorporating vocals and percussive sounds. Overall, aside from a waltz like “Elephants in the Okavango” and the haunting assaults of “Hunting Dogs”, the beginning of this entire epic is quite placid. The biggest jolt comes from “Bat Hunt”, which amazingly creates the feeling of such a hunt with a suspenseful posture that is spearheaded by sharp string crescendos and decrescendos. “Angel Falls” and “The Snow Geese” are similar in theme, but not in sound. Like Hunt, these songs are aggressively arranged with stinging string arrangements and soaring brass sounds. Fenton still draws back on his softer sides songs like “Discovering Deer Cave” or “The Snow Leopard”. These songs consist of little more than a vocal score and an accompanying piano. I also enjoyed “River Prediction” because of the use of flutes, brass, and a violin resolution. “River Prediction” one of my favorite tracks on the album, really gives the feeling of a river with its full use of orchestral parts. The first CD begins its closure with “Earth’s Highest Challenge” which features a lovely violin piece. Also worth noting, “Desert Winds/The Locusts” as well as “Namibia/The Lions and The Oryx” have very ethnic sounds, showing Fenton’s capabilities of drawing from more than just traditional styles.

Part 2 is even longer in duration than part 1 and It beings with “Plans High and Low” which is mostly vocals, juxtaposed strings, and angelic sounding brass pieces. I really enjoyed “The Wolf and the Caribou” because of Fenton’s now appraisable ability to lace beautiful orchestras with an ethnic coat, while not compromising the songs theme. “Surfing Dolphins” is also very good because of the back and forth flue and piano arrangements. As though one part can not fully compliment the other, it works very well in creating a real sense of colorful excitement. I really enjoyed the colossal brass sounds of “Frog Ballet/Jungle Falls” as it offers something different and stands apart from much of the other tracks. Like the trees themselves, “The Redwoods” is a gigantic song that meets gentle proportions. Like the oxymoron that it is, the song finds the listener instead of the listener finding the song. “Seasonal Change” has a very romantic sound, which is funny because are senses more often remind us of the dynamics between the changing seasons. I felt like dancing some kind of jig with “Everything Leaves but the Emperors” but maybe that is because I was thinking of the movie, Happy Feet. “A School of Five Hundred” was also playful but did not have as much groove, featuring mostly what sounded to be a trumpet and a flute. This CD closes nicely with “Giant Mantas”, which is somewhat billowing and mysterious as well as the final epic “The Choice is Ours”. In this case however, it is yours as well.

Planet Earth the soundtrack meets every expectation I had for the documentary. Although I saw the feature, George Fenton does a spectacular job at painting images with sounds, enacting action with rhythms, and resolving harmonies with both dissonance and consonance (where necessary). If you’re into classical music or orchestral instruments, this two disc edition is certainly worth your time and money. While it is the result of incredible musicianship and visual sidekicks, it proves to be bigger than either, which eventually brings it back down to Planet Earth.