Music/News

Ramin Djawadi says scoring Shireen and Jon Snow’s deaths was “tough” and “emotional”

Posted on by Petra

jonsnowdeath

Season 5 was emotionally taxing for a lot of us … and composer, Ramin Djawadi, is no exception.

Charged with the ponderous task of setting Game of Thrones‘ grandest and most intimate scenes alike to music, Djawadi told Express.co.uk that he found the show’s brutal fifth season to be an especial challenge as certain scenes proved to be as difficult to score as they were to watch, if not more so.

As the father of 20-month-old twins, Djawadi admits that Shireen’s sacrifice might have been the hardest scene to write for. “It was just so emotional,” he says. “I had to actually take breaks writing that scene. I would sketch it and then I would just have to walk away because I got too emotional about it. That was a tough one.”

Since the first season, Djawadi’s approach to scoring Game of Thrones‘ most shocking scenes has generally been understatement: opting for silence or poignant music cues rather than thunderous orchestral swells

Such is the case with Jon Snow’s “super emotional” death scene. The score cuts out when Jon sees the “traitor” sign and most of the stabbing takes place without accompaniment. It’s not until Olly’s reveal that Djawadi’s melancholic Stark theme comes in.

“… Rather than making it a bombastic moment we decided to make it rather small and put in a solo violin,” Djawadi says. “The Stark theme plays on a solo violin and so it becomes quite an intimate moment – I think it makes it more emotional and I guess even more shocking that way.”

As with the rest of the cast and crew, Djawadi has little to say about the next season. “To be honest, I don’t know anything about season six at this point,” he says. “No idea what the guys are going to be up to but I know it’s going to be great.”

At the very least, we can rest assured that, whatever horrors and injustices await our favorite characters in the upcoming season, their scenes will be set to the empathetic, intimate score they deserve.

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Petra

49 Comments

  6. My moms name is Petra. Welcome! 🙂

    2Topic: I love the turn “Forgive me” takes around 2:23. Sooooooo sad.

  7. I did find the music during Jon’s death to be beautiful. Can’t say I noticed the music during Shireen’s horrifying death, though.

  8. Good lord. Two absolutely gutting pieces of music, in those Shireen and Jon scenes. It’s hard for me to sympathize with the composer because I keep wanting to say “Oh, it was hard to write it? Imagine what it was like to watch it!!!” even though I know that’s completely irrational of me. But… yeah. Thanks for reminding me my soul died with these characters.

  9. So… When he will finally be nominated for an Emmy?! Seriously.
    Is this the only category GOT somehow wasnt nominated in. Doesnt make sense.

  11. The Greyjoy theme remains the best, but the somber Winterfell theme and the triumphant Targaryan theme are close competition. I also really like Littlefinger’s theme–it is so full of intrigue. & Robert Baratheon’s kingly score. So many great & destinct musical themes perfect for their respective characters!

  12. I really miss Ygritte’s theme. I also loved the “Chaos is a Ladder” music, part of which is played elsewhere. I think the albums are all on YouTube. Like the podcasts/audiobooks, great for sending you to sleep…

  14. I really hope we get to hear “Dark Wings, Dark Words” and “Atonement” in the show sooner or later. They are such amazing tracks, why not use them?

  17. Ramin Djawadi’s GoT music is one of the very best parts of GoT. I always find that the music at the end of each episode sort of underscores what a great hour I just watched. And this happens on repeated watches too. The music really contributes a highly epic feel to the series.

  18. Greenjones,

    Really? I only remember “Mother’s Mercy” playing. I’m certain we didn’t hear the choral version of The Rains of Castamere, which was the best part of “Atonement”

  19. I’m looking forward to what he will create for the downfall of the Boltons and the Freys, if that ever happens of course. I wonder how crazy the Euron theme will be.

  20. Such an underappreciated contributor to the tone (bad pun semi-intended) of the show. Can you imagine these scenes with some “big” John Williamsy type shit, or worse if they had tried to go hip with some ambient electronic bullshit? Gross and grosser.

    Am I just not up on things or is it accurate that he was relatively unknown before landing the GoT gig?

  21. harma dogememe,

    John William’s work is far from being shit 🙁 I actually think those kinds of “big” tracks could have a place in the future of the show, depending on how much their budget increases. If we ever get LOTR scale battles, I wouldn’t object to it at all.

  22. Ramin has that ability to bring genuine emotion out in music. He seems to know which instruments work best particularly for melancholy themes.

  25. Ramin Djawadi is a fantastic composer, and as a result GoT has the best soundtrack of any TV show put on television. His season 5 “Mother’s Mercy”, “Forgive me” and “Blood of the Dragon” are absolutely awesome, this man is a genius.

  26. I didn’t mean to imply that John Williams is some kind of incompetent asshole. Obviously he isn’t. I only meant that it would have been, well, shittier if they had gone the obvious route and sought a John Williams soundalike for GoT. As for Williamsesque scores having a place in future episodes, I certainly hope not so agree to disagree there.

  30. Ohwell:
    So… When he will finally be nominated for an Emmy?! Seriously.
    Is this the only category GOT somehow wasnt nominated in. Doesnt make sense.

    Nothing surprises me ever since Bear McCreary wasn’t honoured for his mind-blowingly phenomenal score for Battlestar Galactica. I urge everyone to check out that work of art.

  31. Welcome to the staff, Petra! May your post be plenty and the comment sections to them full. 🙂

  33. The music on the show is of course generally beautiful. But I have to admit I didn’t notice the music for Shireen’s death because I was screaming at the screen and bawling my eyes out. And I haven’t been able to rewatch the scene since. I’m not sure if I ever will.

  34. Ramin Djavadi is simply a genius, definitely one of the best composers in past few years and his work for GOT well what can i say? There are NOT enough good words to describe it just brilliant and this season’s soundtrack was no exception.

    Oh and talking about emotional pieces i don’t know if anyone paid enough attention but the newest version of Stark theme that Ramin used for sansa’s wedding night ( called BEFORE THE OLD GODS in album) was devastating like beyond measure, the marriage scene in godswood was magnificently brilliant and that particular track played a HUGE part in creating the atmosphere.

  37. The shireen one was incredibly sad and powerful, but I didnt like the one he used for jon snow’s stabbing. It just sounded too cheesy for me, I would have liked complete silence or a better sound.

  39. The music for this series is just brilliant, and unforgettable. It weaves together some of the best themes that have been written in the last several decades. Each character has his or her own distinct “character” in their theme, which is now so memorable, that the audience immediately recognizes the melody. That is the true test of a great composer.
    The Emmy nomination is well deserved, even if it’s several years late.

  40. Ah, the music, a shiny, flawless facet in this gem of a production. It made Jon’s death, er temporary disablement, even more heart breaking, it made Dany’s first dragon flight enchanting, countless scenes more intense. Ramin Djawadi’s intuition about what works as a theme has also been flawless. He should have been nominated.

  43. Queen of the Keys:
    I don’t know where else to post it or even if someone already post about this somewhere, but the #hairWatch goes on and something has changed… https://instagram.com/p/5h-5phmrv_/

    Oh sh** what’s the date on this thing, Queen? I read all the comments with it, even one of the posters says JS is dead, so maybe it is from the end of this week. Sue?????!!!!!! can you track this down? Is this from this week? Did Kit cut his hair this week? What – did he only film a lousy funeral scene? agggghhhh

  44. Mr Fixit,

    I don’t know that work of Bear McCreary though I did like his theme music for “Black Sails” – not that I know the show but I’m a sucker for hurdy-gurdy music.

    Oh and I add my voice to the chorus welcoming Petra…and I do like the GoT musical score.

  46. Deesensfan,

    There is no way to confirm when that was taken. And there are “fans” who like to fuck with the fandom. I think the guy whose back is shown looks like Alfie, with really short hair. This could just be a really old picture misrepresented as new to get the fandom in an uproar.

  48. Welcome Petra, and thanks for this post! 🙂

    Favorite Djawadi tracks that constantly play on my iPod: “The Kingsroad”, “The King’s Arrival”, “Love In The Eyes”, “The Wall”, “The Pointy End”, “Valar Morghulis”, “Mother Of Dragons”, “First Of His Name”, “Hardhome Pt. 1”, “Dance Of Dragons” and “Kneel For No Man”. Never get tired of listening to them.

    Thronetender:

    Ramin Djawadi’s intuition about what works as a theme has also been flawless. He should have been nominated.

    Emmy voters suck.

  49. Ohwell:
    So… When he will finally be nominated for an Emmy?! Seriously.
    Is this the only category GOT somehow wasnt nominated in. Doesnt make sense.

    it doesnt make sense at all. if anything, soundtrack is the FIRST category that GoT should be nominated for!

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