BBC Sherlock: Original Television Soundtracks

Writing music for television commands an intimacy not found in the silver screen.

These tunes are entering the heart of the home, with expectant audiences watching with their families. Young and old alike have to be entertained or, at the very least, not alienated.

David Arnold and Michael Price were well aware of their responsibilities, as they sat down to craft the perfect Sherlock soundtrack. It wasn't merely to the living room people, but everyone who had poured months of creativity and talent into the production.

There was an 'awful realism', David recalled, in knowing that they had been entrusted with the 'aspirations and hopes that everyone has got'.

They were equal to the task. Already friends, they had individually been mooted as the show's composer. Instead they approached Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat to propose a collaboration. It was agreed!

Located firmly in the modern day, BBC's Sherlock did not require them to stick with the same, tired Victorian music-box cliches.

They were free to plunder the entire last century to find their audio sounds. The result was a thrilling ride through sweeping orchestra to edgy electronics.

For the UK version, click here.

For the UK version, click here.

For the UK version, click here.

Nestled in a room in Soho, London, David and Michael were surrounded by the real life world of Sherlock Holmes.

Baker Street itself, with its famous 22b door, was only a few blocks away. It was in this setting that they began scoring the BBC mini-series.

Time was of the essence. There were only six weeks in which to write, record and then insert their music over the already edited Sherlock footage.

The two friends sat with notebooks at the ready, studying the silent film before them. It would be their tunes which created the mood. They watched for pivotal events and marked their music accordingly.

Moreover, they were very aware that the writers had put ten months of their lives into crafting a wonderful story. David and Michael interviewed them too, so they could enter into the very psychology of the writing. But they couldn't just mirror all they were being told.

As Michael put it, the production team 'hired you, because you have an approach as well.'  Their soundtrack had to work both while it was 'jigging along in the background', and when it completely carried the scene.

It apparently did the trick. Their award-winning score has been universally applauded by fans and critics alike!