''Jurassic Park: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' is the

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

to the 1993

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

film of the same name, composed and conducted by

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

and performed by the

Hollywood Studio Symphony The Hollywood Studio Symphony (sometimes the Hollywood Freelance Studio Symphony) is the credited name of the symphony orchestra behind many major soundtracks, including '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', ''Suc ...

Alexander Courage Alexander Mair Courage Jr. (December 10, 1919May 15, 2008) familiarly known as "Sandy" Courage, was an American orchestrator, arranger, and composer of music, primarily for television and film. He is best known as the composer of the theme mus ...

, John Neufeld,

Conrad Pope Conrad Pope is an American composer and orchestrator. He has worked on numerous films and has collaborated with composers such as John Williams, James Newton Howard, Alan Silvestri, Danny Elfman, Mark Isham, James Horner, John Powell, Alexandre ...

, Aimee Vereecke and Dennis Dreith served as orchestrators.

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

released a soundtrack album for the film on May 25, 1993. Also produced by Williams, this album includes most of the film's major cues, sometimes edited together into longer tracks and often containing material that was unused in the film. Several passages are also repeated in different tracks. A 20th anniversary edition of the soundtrack was released by

Geffen Records Geffen Records (formerly The David Geffen Company from 1980 to 1992 and Geffen Records Inc. from 1993 to 2004) is an American record label, founded in late 1980 by David Geffen. Originally a music subsidiary of the company known as Geffen Pi ...

on April 9, 2013, featuring additional unreleased music. A John Williams collection edition, joint with the soundtrack to ''The Lost World'', was released by La-La Land Records on November 29, 2016, remastered and featuring more additional unreleased music. The score received critical acclaim and is often considered to be one of the most iconic and beloved scores of Williams' career.

Composition

Williams began writing the ''Jurassic Park'' score at the end of February 1993, and it was

conducted Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

a month later; because Williams sustained a back injury during the scoring sessions, several cues were conducted by

Artie Kane Artie Kane (born Aaron Cohen; April 14, 1929 – June 21, 2022) was an American pianist, film score composer, and conductor with a career spanning over six decades. As a pianist in Hollywood studios, Kane worked with artists such as Frank Sinatr ...

(Kane is uncredited in the film, but receives special thanks in the 1993 soundtrack album's credits and is listed as a conductor in the La-La Land Records set). The score was orchestrated by

, John Neufeld,

, Aimee Vereecke and Dennis Dreith. The composition process was done in

Skywalker Ranch Skywalker Ranch is a movie ranch and the workplace of film director, writer and producer George Lucas located in a secluded area near Nicasio, California, in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, named after an early-20th-c ...

concurrently with the sound editing process, leading Williams to get inspiration from

Gary Rydstrom Gary Roger Rydstrom (born June 29, 1959) is an American sound designer and film director. He has been nominated for twenty Academy Awards for his work in sound for movies, and has won seven times. Life and career Rydstrom was born in Chicago. H ...

's work with dinosaur noises. Williams described it as, "a rugged, noisy effort—a massive job of symphonic cartooning". He also said that, while trying to, "match the rhythmic gyrations of the dinosaurs", he ended up creating, "these kind of funny ballets". As with another Spielberg film he scored, ''

Close Encounters of the Third Kind ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind'' is a 1977 American science fiction film, science fiction drama film written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François ...

'', Williams felt he needed to write, "pieces that would convey a sense of 'awe' and fascination", given that the movie dealt with the, "overwhelming happiness and excitement", that would emerge from seeing live dinosaurs. In turn, more suspenseful scenes, such as the ''

Tyrannosaurus rex ''Tyrannosaurus'' () is a genus of large theropoda, theropod dinosaur. The type species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' ( meaning 'king' in Latin), often shortened to ''T. rex'' or colloquially t-rex, is one of the best represented theropods. It live ...

'' attack, earned frightening themes. For the first time, Spielberg was unable to attend the recording sessions for one of his own movies, as he was in Poland filming ''

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the historical novel '' Schindler's Ark'' (1982) by Thomas Keneally. The film follows ...

''. Instead, Williams gave Spielberg demo tapes with piano versions of the main themes prior to his travel, and the director would listen to them daily on the way to the sets."Return to Jurassic Park: The Next Step in Evolution", ''Jurassic Park'' Blu-Ray (2011) The score uses a large

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

that often includes a variety of

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

, two

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

baritone horn The baritone horn, sometimes called baritone, is 3 or 4 valved tenor-voiced brass instrument in the saxhorn family.Robert Donington, "The Instruments of Music", (pp. 113ff ''The Family of Bugles'') 2nd ed., Methuen, London, 1962 It is a pist ...

s, and

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

. Some passages also call for unusual woodwinds, such as

shakuhachi A is a Japanese longitudinal, end-blown flute that is made of bamboo. The bamboo end-blown flute now known as the was developed in Japan in the 16th century and is called the .

and E♭ piccolo

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

. Furthermore, Williams included synthesizers in much of the score. Some cues, such as "Dennis Steals the Embryos", feature them prominently, but many of the synth passages are mixed much more quietly, often doubling the woodwinds or helping flesh out the lower harmonies. Several prominent celeste solos (such as in "Remembering Petticoat Lane") are also performed on synthesizers.

Themes

Two major melodic ideas can be heard in this score. \relative c' The first motif, which is heard most frequently, is known simply as "Theme from ''Jurassic Park''" and is introduced when the visitors first see the ''

Brachiosaurus ''Brachiosaurus'' () is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic, about . It was first Species description, described by American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 in paleontology, 1903 from fossi ...

''. This is what Williams chose to be the theme of the park itself and features "gentle religioso cantilena lines", which Williams declared was an attempt, "to capture the awesome beauty and sublimity of the dinosaurs in nature". This theme is widely regarded as one of John Williams' greatest. There are a couple different variants of "Theme from Jurassic Park". One is an extended version, heard in "Welcome to Jurassic Park". The second is a shorter, more tender version heard in various parts of the film. It revolves around a softer version of the theme's climax. This softer version was slightly modified and used for the track "A Tree for My Bed". Another theme, "Journey to the Island", takes the form of a noble fanfare. It is first heard as the helicopter approaches Isla Nublar. The composer described it as an, "adventure theme, high-spirited and brassy, thrilling and upbeat musically". The original version of "Journey to the Island" also consists of "Theme from Jurassic Park". Variations of "Theme from Jurassic Park" and "Journey to the Island" are used for the score's quieter, more tender moments, typically with woodwinds, horns, or keyboards. Williams stated that these

leitmotif A leitmotif or () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is a partial angliciz ...

s were reused in order to make the pieces become an overarching theme for the park itself, "which could be used in several different places, and when orchestrated differently, could convey the beauty of what they were seeing at first". A third theme was also composed and is very different from the main two. Comprising four menacing notes, it is heard frequently in scenes involving the threat of the carnivorous dinosaurs—the raptors in particular. The cue "Into the Kitchen" (entitled "The Raptor Attack" on the original soundtrack) explores this motif extensively. The motif drew inspiration from Williams' previous suspense music, such as the shark motif from '' Jaws'', and utilized "wild orchestral and choral things; the idea was to shake the floor and scare everybody". This theme also features the ending of "Journey to the Island" as its finale. Williams described it as, "operatic in a dramatic way", and an opportunity for him to emphasize the, "

swashbuckling A swashbuckler is a genre of European adventure literature that focuses on a heroic protagonist stock character who is skilled in swordsmanship, acrobatics, and guile, and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, ...

aspects of the orchestra".'A Whole New Level', ''Jurassic Park'' Blu-ray

Track listing

''Note'': The track "End Credits" is an excerpt from "Welcome to Jurassic Park", the film's actual end credits music.

20th Anniversary Edition

For the 20th anniversary of the film's release, the score was re-released digitally by

on April 9, 2013. This re-release included four bonus tracks personally selected by John Williams.

John Williams Collection Edition

The score, along with that of '' The Lost World: Jurassic Park'', was remastered and re-released by La-La Land Records on November 29, 2016. This 4-CD re-release included expanded tracks of John Williams' original motion picture score to the film along with the four bonus tracks from the 20th Anniversary Edition. The set was only limited to 5,000 copies and is out of print.

Expanded Edition

La-La Land Records also re-issued the album on July 5, 2022, which included both the tracks from the John Williams Collection Edition and remastered edition of the original soundtrack album.

Charts

References

{{Authority control Jurassic Park film scores John Williams soundtracks Hollywood Studio Symphony soundtracks Adventure film soundtracks 1993 soundtrack albums 1990s film soundtrack albums MCA Records soundtracks La-La Land Records soundtracks Geffen Records soundtracks Albums conducted by John Williams