A Far Off Place

Combining epic adventure, intimate character drama, fierce action and a good-sized dose of exotic color, the 1993 Disney film A Far Off Place provided James Horner with a broad canvas, inspired by the novels of Sir Laurens van der Post.

Many of the elements that feature prominently in Horner's score are present from the film's opening minutes. The first music to appear is an idyllic passage highlighting flute and gentle percussion, used to underscore establishing shots of an elephant herd at a watering hole. Horner returns to this tone later in the film, using it to emphasize the underlying harmony of life on the savanna—even in seemingly inhospitable locations. Here, however, Horner's expression of peace is violently interrupted by his jarring music for the poachers. Horner paints the band of killers with rampaging percussion, low brass and piano, both here and during the later scenes of slaughter at the lodge. These initial minutes serve as a prelude to the entrance of Horner's sweeping, majestic main theme for the film. Strings and flute are the instruments most prominently associated with this theme, while also featuring statements for winds and brass. Shakuhachi also makes its first appearance here, punctuating the music with intense, breathy flourishes. It almost serves as an overture for the score and story to come.

The scoring sessions for A Far Off Place were originally recorded on 2" 24-track tape over five days during January 1993 (with additional sessions in February for keyboards and percussion), then mixed down onto ¼" Dolby SR-format two-track tape by engineer Shawn Murphy at Todd-AO. They were vaulted on DAT, and our expanded CD was mastered directly from those DAT masters. This new presentation has been remastered and lavishly expanded with more than half an hour of additional material not featured on the 1993 release.