Sony Music Masterworks today releases All the Light We Cannot See (Soundtrack from the Netflix Limited Series) by Emmy Award-winning and nine-time Oscar-nominated composer James Newton Howard. Available everywhere now, the album features music written by Howard for Netflix's new limited series, which is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about a young girl who is blind in World War II-occupied France. A deeply personal project, Howard read the book shortly after it was published and immediately resonated with its themes of courage and human connection, prompting the composer to actively seek out the adaptation once hearing production had begun. The result is a beautifully moving and poignant score that showcases the extraordinary and redemptive power of human connection. Directed by Shawn Levy, All the Light We Cannot See is available now exclusively on Netflix.
In speaking about his start on All the Light We Cannot See, composer James Newton Howard first admits, "I had written a couple of themes before I even saw any picture." A longtime fan of Anthony Doerr's acclaimed novel since its publication in 2014, Howard was immediately drawn to the story's message of human courage, resilience and connection. It's a message the composer hopes translates to listeners, saying, "I wanted to convey that the human spirit is resilient and capable of facing the greatest dangers." In establishing the core themes of his score, Howard attempted to stay true to each character's point of view, creating an essentially orchestral score with a significant amount of electronics to add depth and drama. His "Model City" theme, which features a distinctive violin solo written especially for acclaimed violinist James Ehnes, ultimately became the emotional centerpiece of the score - a piece that carries over from protagonist Marie's youth into her teenage years