Davis, Don: The Matrix

It was one of the most groundbreaking science fiction films of all time. The Matrix was an overwhelming success when it was released by Warner Bros. in 1999, praised by critics and audiences alike. The film follows the story of Neo, a computer hacker who discovers that the 'reality' known to most people is a computer-simulated world—the 'Matrix'—controlled by sentient machines. It is actually two hundred years in the future, and most humans have been cultivated so that our bodies can be harvested for energy. A group of rebels born into this dystopian future, led by Morpheus, recruit and extract Neo, who they believe will fulfil a prophecy to bring balance between man and machine. The Wachowskis' main inspiration was Baudrillard's 1981 book Simulacra & Simulation. They even made the cast read it. But they also looked to films from the past, such as Total Recall, Ghost in the Shell and the works of Kurosawa. With the story and their unique visual style in place, the Wachowskis turned to collaborator Don Davis to write the music. Don Davis has enjoyed success ranging from his well-known film and television scores to contemporary orchestral and chamber works for the concert stage. For The Matrix, he turned to minimalism—specifically the work of Adams and Glass—as a model for the sound. He seamlessly fused concert music, elements of "Hollywood" style and many avant-garde compositional techniques to create a unique post-modern sound. Central to the score is the recurring motif of cross-fading brass chords. As the shifting chords swell, each group struggles for dominance, mirroring the competing realities on the screen. Other features include the blurry effect of 16th notes in the low strings, representing the droplets of computer code. A choir appears periodically, signalling both the horror of humanity's enslavement and the hope that Neo will save them from their dystopian world and bring peace to man and machine. Now musicians, music students, conductors—all music lovers—can study The Matrix in this durable, high-quality edition, carefully reproduced and edited from the original handwritten manuscript. The 2nd edition features a new layout, corrections to minor engraving errors, and a detailed analysis by Dr Chris Heckman based on his doctoral thesis.