28 Clips From the ‘Dawn Treader’ Soundtrack

Cinema Musica has posted our first peek at Composer David Arnold’s musical score for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The soundtrack releases on December 7.

You can listen to twenty-eight short clips here.

The music is another area of this film that makes it feel like a fresh start for the series. Ever since it was announced that David Arnold would be replacing Harry Gresgon-Williams, fans have been discussing how similar his music would be to the previous two films. Would Arnold stick to the themes that were established in “Wardrobe” and “Caspian” or would he take it in a new direction? So far, it sounds like he has done both.

Thanks to ‘G’ and everyone else who sent this in!

110 Responses

  1. LL says:

    These songs are incredibly beautiful and unique in their own way!! Definitely a change from the first two films, but I love how David Arnold incorporated the Narnian themes from Harry Gregson-Williams. Perfection! <3

    I’m so far in love with “Opening Titles,” (I’m already set to go to Narnia), “1st Sword” is lovely, “Temptation of Edmund” is so eerie and dramatic!!, “Under the Stars” is too cute, “Blue Star” sounds so ethereal, “Liliandil and Dark Island” builds my suspense, “The Calm Before the Storm” sounds…amazing, and “Sweet Water” makes me want to cry!!!!! I cannot wait to hear the rest.

    Wonderful pieces of work, David Arnold. I like the change of style

    P.S. Oh, and I just have to say this: When I listen to “The Lone Island,” I picture Aladdin running through the marketplace in Agrabah with the guards behind him yelling, “Street Rat!” Ahahaha! Just sayin’…LOL.

  2. glumPuddle says:

    How did you post that comment so fast?

  3. LL says:

    I counted down the seconds Haha 🙂

  4. FriendOfNarnia2 says:

    Sounds fantastic to me! Overall it has a more of a "Narnian feel" too it. It seems a little less "epic" than the previous two soundtracks.

    I'm also glad he was able to include the main theme song into his score!

    No complaints here!

  5. Princess Lucy says:

    the duel and the dragons treasure sounds funny…eustrace sounds like a really funny character in this film which is great…all the other soundtracks also sound great…they suit the subplots of the story which is excillent…

  6. Ari says:

    Absolutely beautiful! Wasn't certain at first, but the mixture of old and new has gotten me hooked!

  7. InLoveWithAslan says:

    Oh, my gosh! I think I actually might like this soundtrack. Not that I didn't like the first two, but I think it was in Dave Arnold's best intrest to keep the "Narnian theme" in the third movie. Really excited for the movie now!

  8. Em says:

    Hmm. It sounds a little, oh, what's the word – childish?- to me. All those little twinkly noises. But I haven't heard the whole thing yet, so I can't really complain. I'm probably being a bit too suspicious of a new composer b/c I really loved HGW's score. It really does sound pretty Narnian though – for the most part.

  9. C. Alexander says:

    Beautiful…. I also think it somehow sounds more Narnian….

  10. Daughter_of_Eve18 says:

    Simply beautiful tracks thus far! I'm a soundtrack buff and it sounds like there are influences in there from other fantasy/adventure movies, such as Harry Potter, Pirates and a bit Danny-Elfman-esce. Not that I'm complaining…those soundtracks are fantastic!! Excited for the movie but NOT so excited to see the words "INTO BATTLE" as one of the last tracks. What could they possibly be battling?? Mist??

  11. Skilletdude says:

    Hey, new music! Haven't heard any new Narnia music since LWW. Well okay, I guess Gregson-Williams wrote a couple new cues for Prince Caspian. 😉

    The point being, I'm glad Arnold pumped out some new material for this series! It needed it. None of these previews really stand out to me yet, except maybe the opening titles. But it seems like this will compliment the film just fine.

  12. Talvi says:

    I definitely heard things that reminded me of other soundtracks (soundtrack buff here too, lol!) But overall I loved it. I REALLY loved that they kept the main theme alive, while adding new flair. Some parts reallly reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean, and there were a few other movies I was reminded of, too. I can't say this is the most original soundtrack I've ever heard, but I do like it!!!

  13. Edson07bs says:

    I loved "Under the Stars". Sweet Water is amazing, I'm waiting forward to buy the CD.

  14. Rhys says:

    It's not as…magical for me as the first two. A little more consistency with the first few would have been nice- although where the themes have gone through, they are very beautiful.

    Maybe it'll sound a lot different in the actual film.

  15. RoseRed says:

    these are lovely! I really loved LWW music, but I actually found the PC music distracting, in that it was WAY TOO SIMILAR, for my tastes. for me, music holds strong associations, so when very similar music played in PC as was in the lamppost scene in LWW, I found it rather distracted from the wonderful action on screen. 🙁
    anyway, 🙂 in contrast, these sound wonderful, paying homage to the old…whilst moving forward with new stuff. hurrah!

  16. Aslan's Country says:

    "High King and Queen of Narnia"? Really? This title is official, then?

  17. Griffle says:

    Love it! Made me think of the BBC movies somehow and how the music for those felt like pure magic to my ears one Chistmas some 20 years ago. Yep, I'm old guys…Wonderul work David! I love how some of the tracks, like Land Ahoy and Blue Star borrows heavily from your Stargate score. (One of the best scores ever IMO) Looking forward to owning this on CD!

  18. Princess Lucy says:

    in the battle soundtrack is the battle of the sea serphent offcourse…i thought there was a bit of pirates of the carribean in the tracks esp the action ones…i thought i was thinking of pirates but now i know u guys are thinking the same…its not a bad news though…i like it alot!!!

  19. Lamppost says:

    It's remarkable how often Arnold uses triple meter in several of the cuts from the soundtrack – and sometimes if the music isn't in 3, he has an instrument playing triplets. He also employs elements of dance music (including waltz, Latin style, etc.), and orchestra bells – the latter tend to lend a *magical* sound to the music! Looking forward to hearing the entire score.

  20. DamselJillPole says:

    I really love the opening titles, Under the Stars and Blue Star has got to be my favorite. I can't wait to hear the rest of it.

  21. Pepper Darcy says:

    I sooooo love 14, 17, and 28 is just georgeous!! 😀 I *LOVE* his rendition of the old Narnia theme. I had chills. I was sorta hoping some of the old theme would be a little more promenate, just varried, but oh well.

    Some of the soundtrack reminded me of the life and beauty that was in the How to Train Your Dragon soundtrack. Hopefully it sounds as good as that. But I've got to listen to the whole thing to give my final verdict. I hope I like it. I'm a little nervous about it right now :/ But it sounds wonderful and epic! 😀

  22. Starlily says:

    Very pretty. It will be interesting to hear the music in context with the movie. I really like "Duel" and "Lucy's Temptation". I guess it's not the most original score, but it's nice to hear something new. However, I really like that they kept the main theme. That's one thing I really liked about the old soundtrack, and I'm glad it will be played when Aslan appears.
    I just hope the music won't be thrown in loudly at odd moments like it was sometimes in the other two movies. Sometimes it felt a bit out of place.

  23. glumPuddle says:

    I just listened to a few. If I hear too much music before I see a movie, I'm distracted by it when it's played. "Oh, there's the clip I heard online!"

  24. Pepper Darcy says:

    somehow, that makes me laugh! I do the *same* thing…. 'did you hear the music as THIS point? It was awesome!' other: 'uh, no… I watched the movie.' =)

  25. FriendOfNarnia2 says:

    On which movie did you make that discovery?

  26. Duffleglum says:

    Sounds nice, but it doesn't sound particularly epic or melodically flowing between one track and the next…
    I was hoping for a center theme in it all.

    It might sound better in the film, so we'll see.

  27. High Queen of Narnia says:

    You know, just because we don't hear a lot of the old Narnia themes in these few second clips doesn't mean that they aren't in the score. I mean, if you were giving clips to new score you wrote, why would they all have old themes that someone else wrote? So I think there will be more old Narnia themes in the actual soundtrack.

  28. I've been listening to these since yesterday, and so far, I love them! 12 (The Duel) is my favorite so far; it sounds like an Irish jig and it makes me want to dance. "Be nimble! Be nimble! It's a dance, boy!"
    9 (The Lone Islands) reminds me of Aladdin or Prince of Persia.

    8 (the Green Mist) is pretty epic.

    Ahh there's too many to comment on…I love them all!

  29. Warrior 4 Jesus says:

    I enjoyed the music from the first two movies (LWW moreso than PC because that was rather repetitive of LWW) but they were sometimes too modern and often too busy and bombastic. This VDT soundtrack is fanatastic! I may even buy it (I rarely buy soundtracks). The samples show someone with an understanding of the need for quieter moments, for ambient music, for moments with just several instruments at a time. I know next to nothing about making music but it seems to be balanced well. Never too busy. The music is epic but grounded and personal, without losing the immensity of the journey. The music captures the majesty and magic of VDT without resorting to childish tunes. There's huge variety. It seems to borrow from Walden's LWW and PC, the BBC series and classical movies, even some classic Disney movies. Excellent!

  30. Aslie says:

    From a musician's point of view, this soundtrack is amazing. I love the mixtures of themes and how he in cooperated not only new ones but also old ones as well. We have a saying among the Musical world that the Soundtrack makes or breaks the movie. This soundtrack will very much make this movie for sure. Such a new twist on things.

  31. Nathan says:

    that's boring

  32. Warrior 4 Jesus says:

    Are you the same Nathan who is writing pointless posts all over the comments section? If so, please stop being stupid. Thanks

  33. Val says:

    I suddenly remembered Dany Elfman, cof cof. Im realistic guys 🙁

  34. dinode says:

    When I translated the page it turned "island" to "Iceland". Just listen to the music, don't bother translating.

  35. Mayor Wilkins says:

    This music is wonderful.
    But I do hope that there is more of the original themes in the finished product.
    "The Green Mist" sounds epic. 😉

  36. DearHeart says:

    This is a beautiful soudtrack!! I could defiently hear the influence of Amazing Grace. Can't wait for the movie to come out.
    -What Might Have Happened-

  37. Shastafan says:

    I LOVE David Arnold's score! I especially like "The Painting," "High King And Queen Of Narnia," "Land Ahoy," and "Dragon Attack." All of these though are really good, and I can't wait to hear them in the movie! 😀

  38. Twinimage says:

    Hmmmmm. So much I want to say. I'm listening to them now.
    They really seem to fit well with the rest of the series' music.
    I found Reepicheep's theme to be surprisingly subdued.
    lol, the green mist is actually called green mist.
    Didn't care much for that piece of music. Not really evil sounding, just menacing, yet non-threatening unlike other past "villain" themes in the other films.
    But the spirit of the music is great. It's really cool to
    finally get to hear the music. 😀

  39. Emily says:

    Different… I was hoping for more of the old epic Narnia themes. I was expecting Caspian and Reep's theme to show up… It definitely has a different sound. Kinda like old Disney cartoon/Arabian/Nutcracker ballet feel. I like a lot of the clips. #12, 14 & 20 sound really neat. #13 sounds like it'll go into a really cool theme.

    I'm gonna wait until I hear it all in the movie to really judge the music. To me, the music is just as important as the movie. I remember hearing the music during the opening credits of LWW and PC and thinking "This is amazing music. It'll be a great movie."

  40. Mirima Rosetrader says:

    I love it! I especially like "High King and Queen of Narnia" and "Reepicheep"! 😀

  41. The Archenlander says:

    yea, i heard a lot of "pirates" and "harry potter" themes

  42. HisWarrior says:

    This sounds AMAZING!!! It sounds like David Arnold had integrated his own style into what Harry Gregson-Williams already put down. It sounds more magical than ever before, and I can't wait for the soundtrack to come out!!!

  43. Queen Su says:

    I'm going to love this soundtrack! The music is so Narnian. I like how he does bring back a few themes from the previous two soundtracks. The music totally has a "Sea Adventure" feel about it. I love "Reepicheep". 🙂

  44. : )Narnia says:

    For some reason the Duel sticks out to me as holding entertaining qualities I enjoy. I can picture the fight between Reepicheep and Eustace being something of a comedy that many fans can enjoy as being a breather in between possible intense scenes.

  45. Ugly Pig says:

    Well, this sounds very promising IMO. If it had to be a different composer than HGW, I'm glad they went with David Arnold because

    1) almost every other composer would probably completely ignore the established themes from the first movies, but not Arnold… he's secure in his awesomeness and not afraid to use other people's compositions when it is appropriate to do so (and I love how HGW's theme sounds in Arnold's arrangement)

    2) David Arnold is awesome. I've liked his work for a long time, in fact, his "Independence Day" score was one of the first score albums I ever bought.

  46. Pepper Darcy says:

    talking to glumpuddle or me? If me… well, I do that with any movie, how to train your dragon, LotR, anything… if I don't like the music, I end up ignoring it (like in Star Wars) 🙂 I pay attention to the Narnia music though 😀

  47. Lee says:

    Have you lot noticed that the CD cover has changed now as well? Gone is Aslan's snowy face and in comes a film poster like artwork – much better imo!

  48. lucyrocks17 says:

    Beautiful… but I want Harry Gregson Williams back!

  49. Fire vien says:

    Its offical, I'm in LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  50. aslan'schild says:

    it does sound too childish.too much twinkly noises and bells sound.i liked harrys better cause even in battle it made you wanna crie and it sounded more narnia to me.but im trying to keep in mind that this time is ar seas so it is very different than the other 2.lets see if it sounds better when we see the familiar faces on the big screan!!!

  51. Narnian Meerkat says:

    Very beautiful and classic. I like it. Though, I do have to say many of them sounded a bit cheezy. . . .But I love the tracks, Duel, Aslan Returns, High King and Queen of Narnia, Reepicheep, Eustace on Deck, Lilindill and Dark Island (sorta, not really) and Temptation of Edmund. Those are the tracks I most like. But I do agree, Harry Gregson-Williams is alot better. . . .

  52. Narnian Meerkat says:

    The music mostly reminded me a bit of The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (LOVE that music!) and Eragon (Good movie!).

  53. Carrie says:

    Sweet water made me want to cry too! I was like getting all teary! lol

  54. Griffle says:

    Been thinking about this all day… "Opening Titles" sounds like a mix of music from Stargate (David Arnold) and X-Men: The Last Stand (John Powell)

  55. Bookwyrm says:

    So this is what you get when you put Danny Elfman's entire body of work, the Stargate score, Hans Zimmer's PoTC score, John Williams' HP scores, and Michael Giacchino's Star Trek score in a blender and press pulse. Meh.

  56. Loyal Narnian says:

    Oh I love Aslan Appears! Alot of the music sounds too generic though. Not Narnian.

  57. Danbuster says:

    Reepicheep's gonna hate me for saying this, but that snapshot of him is so cute! ^_^

  58. Danbuster says:

    They probably intend that theme to be reminiscent of the lullaby the Dryad sang to him, about where the waves grow sweet in the Utter East.

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