Composer’s blog – Otto’s theme Wednesday, 24 June 2009

By now, various musical themes have been well established in The Lost Book series, and I know that Alexis, Blair and myself have had lots of fun re-working and exploring each other’s thematic material over the course of the different episodes! I felt a responsibility to keep the themes alive in episode 5, and I knew that there was still plenty of scope for exploring the material in order to create something new.

In episode 3, I attempted to establish a sinister theme for Otto Dafé, which is heard when Aileen first mentions his name in Copper Beeches Café (as he simultaneously walks past the table), and is then continued and reinforced in the credit sequence. I decided that, as Otto is a central figure in episode 5, it would be a good idea to continue to associate this musical material with the character. Fragments of the original ‘Otto Theme’ can therefore be heard at the beginning of episode 5, where Otto is hiding in the cupboard, and in a more explicitly recognisable variation as Otto bursts out of the vent towards Aileen and Prof. Remi later on in the sequence.

Have a listen to an audio clip of the theme as it was originally presented in episode 3, and the new variation as it appears in episode 5, when Otto bursts from the vent. See if you can hear the thematic relationship between the extracts.

Listen to Otto theme – original (episode 3)

Listen to Otto theme – variation (episode 5)