Composer Bear McCreary was contractually prohibited from quoting any themes that Howard Shore wrote for the films. Despite this, he wanted to preserve Shore’s approach to the music for each culture, creating a “continuity of concept” with Shore’s music

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McCreary typically composes three or four themes or leitmotifs for a project, but needed more than 15 for the season. He began work in July 2021, starting with “an absolutely brutal six weeks” just composing the themes. He wrote an “anthem” for each culture and then created individual character themes that relate to their culture’s music in different ways, based on characterization.

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McCreary dedicated most of his time for the next eight months to composing the season’s full nine-hour score. He was still composing when recording began in November 2021. Each episode used a 90-piece orchestra at either Abbey Road Studios or AIR Studios in London, a 40-person choir and children’s choir at Synchron Stage in Vienna, and soloists on various specialty instruments around the world.