Music of Caprica

Lore & Background

Bear McCreary, the composer for parent series Battlestar Galactica, was tasked to compose for the new series. Despite his critically acclaimed work on Battlestar, McCreary was not initially considered for Caprica. The producers preferred a completely new direction in order to emphasize the program as separate from its predecessor, however, they changed their minds after he showed that he could deliver something different. McCreary says: 'It needed to be more intimate, more familiar, more classical, and pull away from the raw tribal energy that was in Battlestar'. However, some elements of the Battlestar score are used to hint at the future, sparingly at first with the potential to evolve further in that direction in future seasons, including the Adama family theme and the Colonial Anthem.

Reader's Guide

McCreary's work on Caprica is almost entirely orchestral. As on Battlestar Galactica, character themes are used extensively, however, world ethnic influences play a much smaller role. The full ethnic percussion ensemble, including taikos, frame drums, dumbeks, chang changs, tsuzumis and other instruments, was brought in, although used much more sparingly than on Battlestar. The Tauron Theme draws inspiration from Russian folk music. In the episode 'End of Line', the soundtrack prominently features an opera composed for the show by McCreary and sung by Alessandro Juliani, who played Felix Gaeta in Battlestar Galactica. The second episode of Caprica borrows music from another Bear McCreary composition, the Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles soundtrack. 'Atomic Al's Merry Melody' is playing in the background when Lacy visits the home of Sister Clarice Willow. The soundtrack releases include a pilot soundtrack released on June 16, 2009, by La-La Land Records, and an expanded soundtrack released on July 30, 2013, featuring a range of diverse score including a national anthem, a gangster rap, a drag queen burlesque, and an opera.

Did You Know?

• McCreary was not initially considered for Caprica; producers changed their minds after he showed he could deliver something different.
• The second episode of Caprica borrows music from Bear McCreary's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles soundtrack.