Sometimes we work on projects that take a great deal of time, then regrettably never get used, and this is one. Nevertheless, this is one of my favorite dramatic orchestral trailer compositions, written for the trailer of the Ron Howard/Tom Hanks/Dan Brown film Angels and Demons.
Observers may note that there’s hardly a melody in this trailer. It’s all finely textured orchestral tapestries, which involved many layers of parts in order to achieve. As a big fan of contemporary American composer John Adams and his minimalism, this trailer is a slight homage to his style, although it’s a good deal more Hollywood than Adams would normally write. I specifically recalled some moments in Adams’ massive choral-orchestral work Harmonium to achieve these effects.