Composers Dustin O’Halloran & Herdís Stefánsdóttir Take “Modern Approach” To Victorian-Era Tale With ‘The Essex Serpent’ Score – Hear An Exclusive Track

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: Deadline has an exclusive track from Dustin O’Halloran and Herdís Stefánsdóttir’s score for The Essex Serpent, which is set for digital release today via Lakeshore Records.The Apple TV+ limited series from See-Saw Films follows London widow Cora Seaborne (Claire Danes), who moves to Essex to investigate reports of a mythical serpent.

Seaborne forms a surprising bond of science and skepticism with the local pastor (Tom Hiddleston), but when tragedy strikes, locals accuse her of attracting the creature.When O’Halloran and Stefánsdóttir boarded the project, they looked to evoke the dark depths of Victorian England through the utilization of both electro acoustics and strings. “From our first conversations with director Clio Bernard, we knew we would be creating something layered and multidimensional,” the composers told Deadline in a joint statement. “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.”O’Halloran and Stefánsdóttir noted that they were fortunate to receive the full trust of Bernard, who offered them the space to experiment.

Added the duo: “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 we went deep into capturing the sound limits of the cello and electro acoustic manipulation.”O’Halloran is an American pianist and composer who won an Emmy in 2015 for his main title theme to Amazon’s dramedy Transparent.