The Music Of The Witcher: Blood Origin Features A First-Time Singer And A Famous Film Composer [Exclusive]
"The Witcher: Blood Origin" showrunner Declan de Barra knows a thing or two about music. The Irish director is also an accomplished songwriter and musician himself, and his touch is easy to recognize in the new "The Witcher" prequel mini-series. One of the main protagonists is Éile (played by Sophia Brown), a bard who tells stories via song, and music ends up playing a major role in the story. While Jaskier (Joey Batey) provides plenty of great tunes in "The Witcher," that responsibility falls to Éile in "Blood Origin," and it turns out that Brown had never sung professionally before. The fledgling singer manages to do incredible work and has the presence of a well-practiced musician despite her lack of experience, and helps bring the legends of the elven world to lyrical life.
During a conversation via Zoom with de Barra to promote the upcoming "The Witcher: Blood Origin," I asked the showrunner about the use of music within the mini-series and how it all came together. Brown may not have had much experience prior to filming, but she did have the help of talented film and television composer Bear McCreary writing the music that would accompany her. The combined work of a brand-new talent and a seasoned one helped make the music of "Blood Origin" really sing.
A carrier of timeless tunes
De Barra explained that music was at the center of "Blood Origin" because it was at the center of Éile:
"Éile, she's a singer. She's left her past behind. She's trying to atone for her sins through music. So she wants to be a bard for the people and to connect with them. So in a sense, she's like an elven folksinger. So that was the touch I wanted to get in these songs and wrote them is that they are timeless and they're the songs that could be sung unaccompanied. Any one of these songs could be sung unaccompanied, acapella in a corner of a room and mesmerize people. That's the whole idea."
The songs that Éile sings are very folksy, the kind of thing you can imagine hearing in any medieval tavern (or local Renaissance Faire), which means that Brown had to sing unaccompanied quite a bit. If singing for a television series with backing vocals and instruments sounds scary, just imagine singing completely alone! Brown manages to do it with finesse, and the times other characters pick up the tunes and begin singing along are chill-inducing. De Barra and the rest of the "The Witcher: Blood Origin" team understand the power of mixing music and words, and Brown's experience discovering her talents mirrors that of her character. As Éile realizes that she has more sway in the world than she had imagined, Brown realizes that she's capable of a full range of performing talents.
A passion for performing
Brown's performance led de Barra to declare she was an "absolute legend," as she has to hold the story together and inspire the smallfolk in the world to dream for more. She's a truly heroic character, the kind of legendary being who goes down in the history books, so Brown had her work cut out for her. Thankfully, when she was blessed with accompaniment, it came from one of the best in the business: Bear McCreary. The talented composer, who recently earned acclaim for his work on the score for Prime Video's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" series, also provided the score for "Blood Origin." His expert skills help give the world a lived-in fantasy feel and the music complements Brown's singing. It all blends together beautifully, bringing a different world from "The Witcher" to life.
"The Witcher: Blood Origin" premieres on Netflix on December 25, 2022.