''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 e ...

to the 1993 Steven Spielberg film of the same name, composed and conducted by John Williams. Alexander Courage and John Neufeld served as orchestrators.

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 w ...

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 is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint. Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...

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 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 duti ...

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 Sina ...

(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). John Neufeld and Alexander Courage orchestrated the score. The composition process was done in

Skywalker Ranch Skywalker Ranch is a movie ranch and 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 for an early-20th-century l ...

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 20 Academy Awards for his work in sound for movies, winning 7. Life and career Rydstrom was born in Chicago. He graduated from t ...

'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 written and directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Richard Dreyfuss, Melinda Dillon, Teri Garr, Bob Balaban, Cary Guffey, and François Truffaut. It tells the story ...

'', 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 theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' 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 1982 novel ''Schindler's Ark'' by Australian novelist Thomas Keneally. The film f ...

''. 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: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

that often includes a variety of

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, two harps, baritone horns, and

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

. Some passages also call for unusual woodwinds, such as shakuhachi 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 oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

. 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 154to 150million years ago. It was first described by American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in th ...

''. It 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 leitmotifs 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, guile and possesses chivalrous ideals. A "swashbuckler" protagonist is heroic, daring, ...

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'', 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.

Expanded Edition

La-La Land Records also re-released the album on July 5th of 2022, which included both the tracks from the John Williams Collection Edition and most of the songs from the 20th anniversary edition.

Charts

References

{{Authority control Jurassic Park film scores John Williams soundtracks Adventure film soundtracks 1993 soundtrack albums 1990s film soundtrack albums MCA Records soundtracks La-La Land Records soundtracks Geffen Records soundtracks