After seeing @Speechless terrific post in the television category, I thought it would be nice to expand the question into… well, the expanded universe.
BigFinish have had their fair share of composers, so I wanted to know if any of their scores have taken your fancy
Some personal picks:
Fox and Yason:
Perhaps most well known for their work on the ‘Companion Chronicles’ this duo also provided some of the most gorgeous and delicate pieces for the old ‘Monthlies’.
Their absolute highlight: ‘Alien Heart / Dalek Soul’
FoolCircle:
This composing duo seems to have all-but vanished from BigFinish nowadays, which is an incredible shame. Not only could they capture the Davison era music perfectly, they could also do some fantastic original pieces.
Their absolute highlight: Mr Sin - ‘The Butcher of Brisbane’
Steve Foxon:
Speaking as someone who first got into BigFinish in 2016 - when the warehouse clearance sales were happening for the 51-100 era of the old Monthlies - I became VERY familiar with Steve Foxon’s work. Most of his scores are committed to memory.
I genuinely don’t think I can pick one single highlight of his work, because it’s so tinged with nostalgia; like his emotional debut in ‘Arrangements for War’, the but-rock of ‘Enemy of the Daleks’, the calm and cool electronica of ‘Cobwebs’.
I think I must be far too focused on the story to really pay notice to the soundtracks other than the intro theme music. I couldn’t pick out a single piece of music that has been made for Big Finish audios.
Except part three of Doctor Who and the Pirates naturally and probably Fanfare for the Common Men (but only because I heard it recently and the music of the Common Men is so distinctive).
Tube Strike because the music (as they said in the interviews) was based on real audio clips of trains rushing past in Metro stations and underground tunnels, and I ADORE it sm.
Nerves is very haunting, especially when it’s switching between the perspectives and car drivers. While having no alien threat at all, it kinda makes it so beautifully eerie to listen to. As in even with no threat, the whole scenario is still a nightmare situation.
As for the music that plays at the end of audios, I never really carry on listening to them once the story is over. I just skip along to the next story.
This applies to me as well. I very rarely notice the music in a BF play, unless it’s distractingly bad or genuinely good and even then, I couldn’t distinguish between different scores.
Kind of hard to think of soundtracks off the top of my head - I can’t remember a lot of them - but I recall The Harvest had a brilliant score to it.
Just listened to Poker Face, that had quite a few nice beats in it. I should probably pay more attention to the tracks in the audios, there’s some real good stuff in there.
(Does the atmospheric buzzing from Scherzo count as its score? Obviously no, but let’s pretend it is. That’s my favourite.)
Oh my God! How did I forget about David Darlington scores?
I’m absolutely with you in thinking the score for ‘The Harvest’ was brilliant - though I know quite a few people aren’t keen on how techo it is.
I think another exceptional Darlington score that’s really stuck with me over the years is the disconcerting one he did for Charley Pollard’s debut alongisde the Sixth Doctor.
There’s much that is lovely about these releases and I wish BF had carried on the range - or at least brought it back occasionally. I imagine it was a pretty poor seller though.
I know for a while every release would have the music bundled in as a bonus track, but they seem to be missing from a lot of modern sets, which is a damn shame.
Then again, I rarely see anyone other than Jamie Robertson or Howard Carter being credited for the music nowadays. Don’t get me wrong, they’re fantastic, but I miss the old days when there was more variety.
I totally forgot about Andy Hardwick. Brilliant composer!
My favourite from him is probably ‘The Entropy Plague’ - I think he does an excellent job at carrying the sheer sense of desperation and sadness the script emanates.
Listening to Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Greatest Shop in the Galaxy. It’s a bonkers story and really fun, but the score is so out there, it’s actually quite good and at the very least, noticable.
I’ve been listening to some of Big Finish’s old soundtrack releases. The scores from Fires of Pompeii and Stones of Venice are really sticking with me this time. They’re beautiful, and there’s a motif from Pompeii (the one that plays at the first + third cliffhangers, among other places) that’s got itself stuck in my head!
Been listening to the Conversion/Warzone music suite on repeat because I love to torture myself and also it’s an absolute banger. I love how it can go from really intense synth (really capturing the feeling of a marathon and then the marching of cybermen) and quiet, solemn piano.
and probably Fanfare for the Common Men (but only because I heard it recently and the music of the Common Men is so distinctive).
