UNSEALED

The original score for Spartacus was composed and conducted by six-time Academy Award-nominee Alex North. It was nominated by the American Film Institute for its list of greatest film scores. It is a textbook example of how modernist compositional styles can be adapted to the Hollywood leitmotif technique.

North's score is epic, as befits the scale of the film. After extensive research of music of that period, North gathered a collection of antique instruments, while not authentically Roman, that provided a strong dramatic effect. These instruments included a sarrusophone, Israeli recorder, Chinese oboe, lute, mandolin, Yugoslav flute, kythara, dulcimer, and bagpipes. North's prize instrument was the ondioline, similar to an earlier version of the electronic synthesizer, which had never been used in film before. Much of the music is written without a tonal center, or flirts with tonality in ways that most film composers would not risk. One theme is used to represent both slavery and freedom but is given different values in different scenes so that it sounds like different themes. The love theme for Spartacus and Varinia is the most accessible theme in the film, and a harsh trumpet figure was created for Crassus.

01. Main Title (03:21)
02. Spartacus Love Theme (02:52)
03. Gladiators Figth To The Death (02:23)
04. Blue Shadows And Purple Hills (03:13)
05. Homeward Bound / a. On To The Sea / b. Beside The Pool (06:31)
06. Hopeful Preparations / Vesuvius Camp (02:02)
07. Prelude To Battle / a. Quiet Interlude / b. The Final Conflict (05:15)
08. On To Vesuvius / a. Forward / b. Forest Meeting (04:56)
09. Oysters And Snails - Festival (03:26)
10. Headed For Freedom (02:22)
11. Goodbye, My Life, My Love - End Title (04:20)