Caption: Bear McCreary
Bear McCreary 

BEAR McCREARY: FROM SYNTHESIZERS TO CYLONS

Series: Echo Location: Soundings for New Music
From: John Diliberto
Length: 00:03:30

The music and musician behind TV’s best Sci-Fi show Read the full description.

Mccreary_small

Battlestar Galactica has left the TV airways, but its sound lives on.  We hear from the soundtrack composer Bear McCreary.  He used electronics, orchestras and global music for this dark and spiritual science fiction fantasy.

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Piece Description

Battlestar Galactica has left the TV airways, but its sound lives on.  We hear from the soundtrack composer Bear McCreary.  He used electronics, orchestras and global music for this dark and spiritual science fiction fantasy.

Broadcast History

WXPN Philadelphia and WITF Harrisburg

Transcript

SFX

:22
TO BATTLESTAR GALACTICA FANS, THAT SEQUENCE IS AS FAMILIAR AS WARP FACTOR 9 IS TO TREKKIES. ENDING IT'S RUN IN 2009, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA IS A SCIENCE FICTION EPIC FULL OF CYBORGS, RETRO HIGH-TECH EQUIPMENT AND FASTER THAN LIGHT TRAVEL. BUT WHEN COMPOSER AND ERSTWHILE ACCORDIONIST BEAR MCCREARY THOUGHT ABOUT THE SCORE, IT WASN'T FUTURISTIC.

:09
BM: if I had to describe the sound of the score in one word, I would hope that it would be “ancient”. I want the score to sound “old”. Like “ancient old”. You know, so that you’ve got instruments that are traditional instruments from cultures around the world.

MUSIC

:14
BATTLESTAR GALACTICA WAS ONE OF THE MOST SOPHISTICATED SCIENCE FICTION SHOWS ON TELEVISION AND BEAR MCCREARY COMPOSED A SOUNDTRACK TO MATCH. IT'S A SCORE BASED ON ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTS, AND VERY TRADITIONAL ONES AT THAT.

:18
BM: From the mini...
Read the full transcript

Timing and Cues

Incue: [sonar sound] + This is an Echo Location: Soundings for New Music.

Outcue: I’m John Diliberto and this has been an Echo Location, Soundings for New Music