The Pacific Soundtrack – a short talk with the composer

We recently had the privilege to interview Geoff Zanelli, one of the three film score composers that worked on THE PACIFIC musical soundtrack. Geoff collaborated with legendary Hans Zimmer and Blake Neely on Pacific. Geoff’s past credits include work with Zimmer on The Last Samurai and Angels & Demons.  Here’s what Geoff had to say:

PacificFans.com: How did you prepare for this soundtrack? Did you watch any actual WWII
footage for inspiration? What kind of research was involved?

Geoff Zanelli: Well, I watched the entire series in a rough version before I ever wrote a
note.  It was evocative and powerful even in its rough state, making it
easy to feel inspired right away.

What drew me in about The Pacific was that it was an emotional journey, a
very human story.  When you ask what research was involved it feels odd to
say it, but I didn’t really approach it that way.

There are moments in the show where some music from the time period is
playing on a radio or something like that, so you get the sense of that
era’s music from that.  This meant I was free to write the score in a way
that I thought was relevant to right now.  In other words, I didn’t think
the score needed to sound like 1940s music.

But as for approaching it from an emotional angle, I think you’ll hear in
the music that it goes to some very dark places.  When you consider the
subject matter, it’d feel insincere not to acknowledge the soldier’s
despair in the music, right alongside the patriotism and heroic-ism.

PF: How long did it take you to compose the entire soundtrack?

GZ: Nine months.  I had cleared out my schedule for almost that entire time
too.  In the early days, I was writing abstract pieces which were not tied
to any specific scene or character.  Things which could become thematic
elements to tie the whole series together.  ”Adagio For Peleliu” was one
of those pieces, and it found its way into the series in many iterations
throughout the episodes.

Another one I wrote like that was “Private First Class Robert Leckie.”
That one wasn’t initially tied to Leckie, but during the process it just
became apparent that that’s where it worked best.

“With The Old Breed” was also written in the abstract, inspired by the
whole arc of the show.  It ended up being the end titles piece, the
epilogue for the entire series, and a version of it plays during a Medal
Of Honor ceremony.  That piece evolved a lot over time, becoming more
restrained so that it just barely breaks through into heroism in places.
It’s meant to honor the individual soldier for finding a way to overcome
massive adversity through camaraderie.

PF: Which portion of the score was the most difficult to write/compose?

GZ: It’s hard to think of a specific scene or episode.  I wrote all of the
score for episodes 6 and 9, and the vast majority of 7, and I have to say
those were all difficult to write.  Not because the notes were hard to
come by or there was any lack of inspiration, but because they have some
very heavy emotional content.  They’re very powerful.  Even though I
watched the scenes hundreds of times over I never became immune to them.

PF: Who gives the tracks the titles (e.g. Praying for You, Honor, etc)?

GF: Oh, the titles are given by the composer of the individual piece.

PF: Lastly, how did the original Band of Brothers theme influence the making
of The Pacific theme?

GF: Well, I’m familiar with Band of Brothers’ music from having seen the show
and I think the world of it.  The Pacific is very, very different though.
I can’t say that my work was really influenced by that score.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with us, Geoff! Keep up the great work. We look forward to listening to the soundtrack when it’s released on March 9, 2010.

If you’re interested in the soundtrack, you can purchase it by going to . There are also musical samples for your enjoyment.