The Bioluminescence of the Night

After 15 years of preparation, James Cameron’s sci-fi epic »Avatar« came to the cinemas in December 2009. This ecological fairytale, enhanced with fascinating 3D-CGI technology, deals with the reckless exploitation of a peaceful extraterrestrial world and has managed – as expected – to break all previous box office records. It also set extremely high standards for the two planned sequels. Cameron recalled James Horner for his first big project after the previous record holder »Titanic« (1997). The composer was integrated into the production process at a very early stage and it took him more than one year to finish his Avatar score – an absolute exception in times of growingly tight schedules. He managed to deal with the challenge of musically implementing life into a foreign world by mixing traditional orchestral music and versatile exotic instrumental and vocal sounds. Today’s variation of the main theme, intersected with glittering percussion effects, was composed by Horner for Jake’s and Neytiris’ first night prowl through the phosphorescing woods of Pandora.