# "His Dark Materials" by Lorne Balfe: Appreciation Thread



## David Kudell (Nov 6, 2020)

With season 2 of "His Dark Materials" launching tomorrow, let's discuss the soundtrack by Lorne Balfe! I loved Lorne's score for "Mission Impossible Fallout," and I think "His Dark Materials" is equally brilliant. If you love melodic film music, the Season 1 and Anthology soundtracks are packed with memorable melodies - one after the next.

This music is so good on many levels - plenty of dark minor chords, lots of inversions, runs up and down. "His Dark Materials" and it's battle of good vs evil is the perfect showcase for this style - the music isn't just "epic," it's at times magical, sinister, sad, and whimsical. The main theme itself is one of the best on TV.

Would love to hear your thoughts. What are some of your favorite tracks from the album?


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## Fenicks (Nov 7, 2020)

I'm a devoted fan of the books. Lorne Balfe wouldn't be my choice for the show's composer (I still dream of Jessica Curry in that role) but I've grown to like his compositions. My favourite tracks are Scholastic Sanctuary, The Life of Roger Parslow (it sounds Harry Potter-esque to me), A Plea to Fate, The Compass Points North, The Witches of Lake Enara and Bridge to the Stars.


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## ProfoundSilence (Nov 7, 2020)

I think lorne loses most of his credit to writing under others- but he has a way of being simple yet interesting.


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## David Kudell (Nov 8, 2020)

Fenicks said:


> I'm a devoted fan of the books. Lorne Balfe wouldn't be my choice for the show's composer (I still dream of Jessica Curry in that role) but I've grown to like his compositions. My favourite tracks are Scholastic Sanctuary, The Life of Roger Parslow (it sounds Harry Potter-esque to me), A Plea to Fate, The Compass Points North, The Witches of Lake Enara and Bridge to the Stars.



Great picks! Scholastic Sanctuary plays early on in Episode 1 / Season 1 and I was immediately drawn to that track. I definitely hear the Potter-esque feeling on Roger Parslow. I love how the main theme is revisited in 1:17 of that track. Compass Points North is a great one as well!

One of my favorites is "The Tales of Lee Scoresby," I love the Western influences, almost Morricone-like, but with its own great melody. Go to 1:25 of that track, those chords are a great example of why Lorne's music resonates with me.

Other favorites are Alethiometer, Lyra The Child of Prophecy. And Mrs. M. Coulter - I love blaring that drum rhythm over my speakers!


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## Mornats (Nov 8, 2020)

I loved the books and I'm loving the TV series too. I've not listened to the soundtrack outside of the show yet but that will be my Monday playlist 

An interesting thing about the title track. When we first watched it, we had subtitles on and they showed up during the title track for the choir that sings in Latin. My partner studied classics at Oxford and translated the lyrics. They sing about the prophecy/undertones of the story. It was really cool to have that translated and to find out it meant something and wasn't just some random Latin choir noises.


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## David Kudell (Nov 11, 2020)

Mornats said:


> I loved the books and I'm loving the TV series too. I've not listened to the soundtrack outside of the show yet but that will be my Monday playlist
> 
> An interesting thing about the title track. When we first watched it, we had subtitles on and they showed up during the title track for the choir that sings in Latin. My partner studied classics at Oxford and translated the lyrics. They sing about the prophecy/undertones of the story. It was really cool to have that translated and to find out it meant something and wasn't just some random Latin choir noises.



I didn’t know that! That’s a nice extra detail.

Not sure you’re aware, but Lorne has made many of his Cubase sessions available for download on Facebook, he just asks for a donation for charity. It’s been a really cool learning tool. For that choir part in his mock-up he used the Strezov Bulgarian choir Rhodope.


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## Mornats (Nov 11, 2020)

Oh wow, that's pretty cool of Lorne to do that thanks for letting me know! I don't have Cubase but still, what a learning tool eh?


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## tebling (Nov 11, 2020)

Great thread! Coincidentally, I'm in the midst of mocking up the title track. I'll post here when I'm done, but it may be a while


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## Markrs (Nov 11, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> I didn’t know that! That’s a nice extra detail.
> 
> Not sure you’re aware, but Lorne has made many of his Cubase sessions available for download on Facebook, he just asks for a donation for charity. It’s been a really cool learning tool. For that choir part in his mock-up he used the Strezov Bulgarian choir Rhodope.


That's fantatstic, where on Facebook does he share them?


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## Strezov (Nov 11, 2020)

David Kudell said:


> I didn’t know that! That’s a nice extra detail.
> 
> Not sure you’re aware, but Lorne has made many of his Cubase sessions available for download on Facebook, he just asks for a donation for charity. It’s been a really cool learning tool. For that choir part in his mock-up he used the Strezov Bulgarian choir Rhodope.


We also recorded S01 and S02 over at www.fourformusic.com - pretty cool project! I love the series...


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## Mornats (Nov 12, 2020)

Strezov said:


> We also recorded S01 and S02 over at www.fourformusic.com - pretty cool project! I love the series...


Oh, nice. So I imagine there's a lot of synergy between the use of samples in the early stages and the recordings later on, given that you're involved in both?


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## C.Franzén (Nov 12, 2020)

love both the show and Lorne´s score. I also think that his main theme is one of the best on TV right now. Sooo memorable


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## Strezov (Nov 12, 2020)

Mornats said:


> Oh, nice. So I imagine there's a lot of synergy between the use of samples in the early stages and the recordings later on, given that you're involved in both?


Yes - in those cases we'd be involved at the end, usually receiving scores and prelays days before the actual session. Usually by that time a director/producer/or-whoever-s-in-charge would have approved the music so while recording we need to be as close as possible to the reference. That's why the conductor (in this case Vanya Moneva and her ethnic choir) and the session producers would listen to the projects with the prelays and scores so that they know how it's supposed to sound like in the end.


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## David Kudell (Nov 12, 2020)

Markrs said:


> That's fantatstic, where on Facebook does he share them?


They’re on his Facebook page, scroll down a ways back to July and you’ll start seeing all of them. If you have Spitfire libs you can actually play it.





Log into Facebook


Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know.




www.facebook.com


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## David Kudell (Nov 12, 2020)

Strezov said:


> Yes - in those cases we'd be involved at the end, usually receiving scores and prelays days before the actual session. Usually by that time a director/producer/or-whoever-s-in-charge would have approved the music so while recording we need to be as close as possible to the reference. That's why the conductor (in this case Vanya Moneva and her ethnic choir) and the session producers would listen to the projects with the prelays and scores so that they know how it's supposed to sound like in the end.


That’s so cool, I was wondering if you were involved George. The middle section of the opening theme with that Bulgarian choir is so beautiful. It makes me want to pick up Rhodope!


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## David Kudell (Nov 12, 2020)

Ok, now let's talk Season 2! The soundtrack is out, what are some of your favorite tracks so far. Here are a couple of mine:

The Witch Queen of Lake Lubana: Beautiful woodwind melody on this one

A New Cardinal Rises: love the multi-layered choir part and haunting melody


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## LamaRose (Nov 12, 2020)

Never heard of the books/series before... need to get out of the cave a bit more. Definitely going to check it out... thanks for the heads-up!


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## grabauf (Nov 12, 2020)

A New Cardinal Rises is my favorite. I love the use of the choir


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## Mornats (Nov 12, 2020)

LamaRose said:


> Never heard of the books/series before... need to get out of the cave a bit more. Definitely going to check it out... thanks for the heads-up!


Fantastic books, I'd recommend them.


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## Mornats (Nov 12, 2020)

I liked the unexpected (for me) synths in Children of the Prophecy. They suit the show much more than I'd have thought they would.


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## tebling (Nov 24, 2020)

As promised, I just posted my mockup (with many thanks to Lorne Balfe's own mockup!)





__





His Dark Materials (Main Title) by Lorne Balfe (mockup)


Time to finally call this one finished! I started this after listening constantly to the Season One soundtrack, and then getting excited about Season Two (now released). I was already well underway when I found out that Lorne Balfe posted his mockup of this to his Facebook page. A bittersweet...




vi-control.net


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## David Kudell (Nov 24, 2020)

tebling said:


> As promised, I just posted my mockup (with many thanks to Lorne Balfe's own mockup!)
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wonderful job!


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## Jetzer (Dec 16, 2020)

It was so nice to study some of the mockups that LB shared on his facebook. Absolutely love these two soundtracks. Definitely among my favorite scores of this year!

This is my favourite track (of the 1st season):


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## SlHarder (Jan 7, 2021)

Here's the Dark Matters midi and stems for a remix from LB's Faceboook.


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## Fenicks (Jan 9, 2021)

I have to admit that while I enjoyed some of the tracks from the first season I found the second season underwhelming. None of the music was interesting to me and I feel that the show lacks impactful melodies and character themes. His Dark Materials deserves a complex musical world on par with Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter and I don't feel Lorne Balfe's music is up to the task.

In general I am unhappy with the show. The writing lacks nuance and depth thanks to Jack Thorne's obsession with blunt exposition and scenes are not translated from book to screen in ways that make dramatic sense. I'm sad to say I probably won't watch season three.


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## harmaes (Jan 10, 2021)

David Kudell said:


> They’re on his Facebook page, scroll down a ways back to July and you’ll start seeing all of them. If you have Spitfire libs you can actually play it.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Can someone share the direct FB pages like post #24? I don't have FB and can't lookup the posts.


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## Maurenon (Jan 10, 2021)

Fenicks said:


> I have to admit that while I enjoyed some of the tracks from the first season I found the second season underwhelming. None of the music was interesting to me and I feel that the show lacks impactful melodies and character themes. His Dark Materials deserves a complex musical world on par with Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter and I don't feel Lorne Balfe's music is up to the task.
> 
> In general I am unhappy with the show. The writing lacks nuance and depth thanks to Jack Thorne's obsession with blunt exposition and scenes are not translated from book to screen in ways that make dramatic sense. I'm sad to say I probably won't watch season three.


I agree with you that the music was better in season one, especially when you listen to "the musical anthology"- album where the tracks are made as separate pieces not designed to match a particular sequence of film. This is something I think should be done more often because it really lets the composer show us how good certain pieces can be if they are free from the shackles of having to fit the images. But on the other hand; said images are probably a vital part of the inspiration for the pieces in the first place so...

As for the show itself, the problem for me is that it never seems to quite take off. Instead it just putters along in a rather ok/quite good way without distinguishing itself either one way or the other. The acting is fine, the production values are great, and the music(at least season one) is fantastic. But the writing, which to me is the single most important factor when I watch a series or a movie, is not. I have not read the books, but my guess is that it's difficult to translate certain key elements from the pages to the screen. The daemons is probably the most crucial of those elements. In the series this feature is barely explained and feels tacked on because any adaptation of Pullmans work simply has to include them. But just watching it, they could almost have left them out and the story would have worked just fine(or rather made more sense if they'd rewritten parts of it) without them. 

I'm also curious about how the show uses Lorne's music, or rather UNDERuses it. In both seasons very little of the music on the anthology albums can actually be heard in the series. An example of where they could have utilized it to achieve a greater effect(at least IMHO) is in S2E6(Minor spoiler alert coming up) when Lee Scoresby and Wills father are about to crash with the balloon. In the footage, you can hear the build up to the track "the shaman", which obviously is Wills fathers theme track. But instead of using the part of the track where the trumpet plays the quite catchy main melody, they only use the much more subdued orchestral part and that only for a short moment. Who decides these things? The director? The producer? The editor? I know this is a more general question, but I think this way of handling the score is not unique for this show but rather common in the world of soundtracks.


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## SlHarder (Jan 10, 2021)

harmaes said:


> Can someone share the direct FB pages like post #24? I don't have FB and can't lookup the posts.



Lorne Balfe

Calling all musicians and audio enthusiasts! Ever wanted to try your hand at a #HisDarkMaterials remix? Download the mix, midi and score for this season’s main theme Between Two Worlds now, get mixing, and get sharing! I’d love to hear what you’ve created so tag me and #HisDarkMaterials in your posts. While these are completely free to download, the Stagehand Crew Relief Fund would appreciate a small donation in return. 

Download the mix, midi and score: bit.ly/3bqrpaX 

Donate here: platform.nationalfundingscheme.org/psa-welfare-and-benevolent-fund-(stagehand)/TIPCREW#.X_b3q-n7TrQ


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## harmaes (Jan 10, 2021)

SlHarder said:


> Lorne Balfe
> 
> Calling all musicians and audio enthusiasts! Ever wanted to try your hand at a #HisDarkMaterials remix? Download the mix, midi and score for this season’s main theme Between Two Worlds now, get mixing, and get sharing! I’d love to hear what you’ve created so tag me and #HisDarkMaterials in your posts. While these are completely free to download, the Stagehand Crew Relief Fund would appreciate a small donation in return.
> 
> ...


Is that the only example posted on FB? I was able to download this one from the direct FB post at #24. I can't lookup any others.


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## harmaes (Jan 10, 2021)

Here's some I found via searching:









Hightail Spaces


Hightail Spaces lets you send unlimited files, of any size, to anyone. Collaborate with your team and evolve your work.




spaces.hightail.com













Hightail Spaces


Hightail Spaces lets you send unlimited files, of any size, to anyone. Collaborate with your team and evolve your work.




spaces.hightail.com













Hightail Spaces


Hightail Spaces lets you send unlimited files, of any size, to anyone. Collaborate with your team and evolve your work.




spaces.hightail.com













Hightail Spaces


Hightail Spaces lets you send unlimited files, of any size, to anyone. Collaborate with your team and evolve your work.




spaces.hightail.com


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## SlHarder (Jan 10, 2021)

harmaes said:


> Here's some I found via searching


At your request I searched his Facebook page for "download". Hightail Spaces was included in all the download links. I didn't determine if you got all of them but you are looking in the right places.

And I'll try to remember to post on this thread anything new, I follow him on Facebook.


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## David Kudell (Jan 10, 2021)

Maurenon said:


> especially when you listen to "the musical anthology"- album where the tracks are made as separate pieces not designed to match a particular sequence of film. This is something I think should be done more often because it really lets the composer show us how good certain pieces can be if they are free from the shackles of having to fit the images....
> 
> ....I'm also curious about how the show uses Lorne's music, or rather UNDERuses it. In both seasons very little of the music on the anthology albums can actually be heard in the series. An example of where they could have utilized it to achieve a greater effect(at least IMHO) is in S2E6(Minor spoiler alert coming up) when Lee Scoresby and Wills father are about to crash with the balloon. In the footage, you can hear the build up to the track "the shaman", which obviously is Wills fathers theme track. But instead of using the part of the track where the trumpet plays the quite catchy main melody, they only use the much more subdued orchestral part and that only for a short moment. Who decides these things? The director? The producer? The editor? I know this is a more general question, but I think this way of handling the score is not unique for this show but rather common in the world of soundtracks.


The musical anthology is the CD I listen to, I love having the full themes...I agree that when cut into the show, it's often disappointing because I want to hear more. Maybe the screenwriters should have written the scenes to perfectly time out to Lorne's themes.  

Of course, that's not how it works when writing to picture. So the Anthology CD is perfect. There are 20 tracks and each one has a great theme or melody - you can listen straight through and each one is a little gem.


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## SlHarder (Jan 10, 2021)

Heres today's Facebook Balfe for those not on FB.

Looking for a special Sunday treat? I’ve got another set of mix, midi and score from #HisDarkMaterials for you. I’m looking forward to hearing what your take on The Witch Queen of Lake Lubana is.

Download the mix, midi and score: https://bit.ly/3owNGrh 

Once again these are completely free to use, but I would like to urge you to consider giving to The CALMzone. 

Please follow the link below: 








Donate


Donate to CALM and help us be there for whoever needs us, no matter what. Your support will help raise awareness, tackle mental health stigma, and save lives.




www.thecalmzone.net


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## Fenicks (Jan 11, 2021)

Maurenon said:


> I agree with you that the music was better in season one, especially when you listen to "the musical anthology"- album where the tracks are made as separate pieces not designed to match a particular sequence of film. This is something I think should be done more often because it really lets the composer show us how good certain pieces can be if they are free from the shackles of having to fit the images. But on the other hand; said images are probably a vital part of the inspiration for the pieces in the first place so...
> 
> As for the show itself, the problem for me is that it never seems to quite take off. Instead it just putters along in a rather ok/quite good way without distinguishing itself either one way or the other. The acting is fine, the production values are great, and the music(at least season one) is fantastic. But the writing, which to me is the single most important factor when I watch a series or a movie, is not. I have not read the books, but my guess is that it's difficult to translate certain key elements from the pages to the screen. The daemons is probably the most crucial of those elements. In the series this feature is barely explained and feels tacked on because any adaptation of Pullmans work simply has to include them. But just watching it, they could almost have left them out and the story would have worked just fine(or rather made more sense if they'd rewritten parts of it) without them.
> 
> I'm also curious about how the show uses Lorne's music, or rather UNDERuses it. In both seasons very little of the music on the anthology albums can actually be heard in the series. An example of where they could have utilized it to achieve a greater effect(at least IMHO) is in S2E6(Minor spoiler alert coming up) when Lee Scoresby and Wills father are about to crash with the balloon. In the footage, you can hear the build up to the track "the shaman", which obviously is Wills fathers theme track. But instead of using the part of the track where the trumpet plays the quite catchy main melody, they only use the much more subdued orchestral part and that only for a short moment. Who decides these things? The director? The producer? The editor? I know this is a more general question, but I think this way of handling the score is not unique for this show but rather common in the world of soundtracks.


If you found the show interesting but underbaked I encourage you to read the books. They are brilliant, charming and powerful in ways the show hasn't come anywhere close to portraying. I don't think the show writer understands what makes the heart of His Dark Materials beat, and the result is a muddled and underwhelming script with awful dialogue that consistently fails to land the story's pivotal moments. That the show's portrayal of daemons has left you thinking they could be omitted without impacting the story speaks to how it has blundered in adapting a crucial element of the books. Beyond this, I also think the show doesn't know how to competently use visual language when translating from book to screen. It tells more than it shows - the exposition is frequently mind-numbing - which is a cardinal sin in the screen arts.

Even though the movie adaption was also a failure, it achieved two things the show doesn't: the characters and their relationships feel true to their book counterparts, and the daemon-human relationship has greater depth. Its music was composed by Alexandre Desplat, if I remember correctly. That's another score worth discussing!


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## Maurenon (Jan 11, 2021)

Fenicks said:


> If you found the show interesting but underbaked I encourage you to read the books. They are brilliant, charming and powerful in ways the show hasn't come anywhere close to portraying. I don't think the show writer understands what makes the heart of His Dark Materials beat, and the result is a muddled and underwhelming script with awful dialogue that consistently fails to land the story's pivotal moments. That the show's portrayal of daemons has left you thinking they could be omitted without impacting the story speaks to how it has blundered in adapting a crucial element of the books. Beyond this, I also think the show doesn't know how to competently use visual language when translating from book to screen. It tells more than it shows - the exposition is frequently mind-numbing - which is a cardinal sin in the screen arts.
> 
> Even though the movie adaption was also a failure, it achieved two things the show doesn't: the characters and their relationships feel true to their book counterparts, and the daemon-human relationship has greater depth. Its music was composed by Alexandre Desplat, if I remember correctly. That's another score worth discussing!


I might read the books, but not for a while since I've come to understand that even though the show fails to capture the spirit of the books, it still follows the main plotlines reasonably well. So if I were to read them now, having just seen the shows first two seasons(the first two books I believe) would lessen my reading experience quite considerably.. 🤔

I think season two was a bit better than season one. It was still trying to be too much at the same time, but at least now it succeeded somewhat in picking up the pace and tightening the plotlines. The part that worked best was probably the scenes in Cittagaze(hard to believe it's a built set and not a real city! ) with Lyra and Will. 

As for Desplat's movie score, even though he is my absolute favourite among film composers, i've never really cared much for The Golden Compass. It's well made, Desplat is a pro after all, but it doesn't speak to me like other scores of his does.


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## Zamenhof (Jan 12, 2021)

Can I just say how incredibly excited I am to be able to mess around with Lorne's midi files! My appreciation for his work has just skyrocketed! Do you know of any other TV composers who have released their work files?

However, as a beginner, I'm a bit puzzled by some of the track names. Do any of you know what the latter part of "Violin 1b (g to k)" means? What are all the "Full strings" tracks, full emsemble libraries? What libraries are AIR and SYM? Of course, part of the fun is to completely reorchestrate the piece.


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## David Kudell (Jan 12, 2021)

Yes the projects are awesome. The MIDI is cool, but if you get a chance to download the Cubase files and you have Cubase and Spitfire symphonic libraries you actually get a mostly working project. I learned a lot about how he organizes his tracks/stem groups and used this format when I built my own template. ie separating string shorts and longs, etc.

I believe Violin 1b would be the second group of 6 violin players, with each letter referring to a player. Violin 1a would be a to f. This is for orchestration.

Full strings are ensemble patches like Albion, etc. SYM is Spitfire Symphonic Strings. AIR must be some sort of older Spitfire library that is no longer around or was private. There's also one called Mural that's like that, I believe it was the precursor to the Symphonic line.


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## SlHarder (Jan 13, 2021)

Another day of Lorne on FB.

The third #HisDarkMaterials mix, midi and score giveaway comes in the form of The Subtle Knife. Don’t forget to tag me in your creations. I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

Download the mix, midi and score: https://bit.ly/2MKGdGZ 

As previously mentioned, these are provided at no cost, but I would encourage you to donate to Highland Hospice. 

Please follow the link below: https://highlandhospice.org/donate


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## SlHarder (Jan 18, 2021)

And more FB Lorne for those not on FB.

#######
Season two of #HisDarkMaterials introduced us to the fearless Mary Malone. Now take a closer look at the mix, midi and score of her theme, Play The Serpent, put your own spin on it and tag me in your new creations.

Download the mix, midi and score here: https://bit.ly/2LJRSoV 

This time, I’d like you to send any possible donations to Toybox, in support of vulnerable children across the world. You can contribute via the link below:





__





Donate / Toybox







toybox.org.uk


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## SlHarder (Jan 22, 2021)

And one more Lorne from FB.
#######
I have one final #HisDarkMaterials mix, midi and score for you. A New Cardinal Rises was specifically composed for Father McPhail. Keep this in mind when you work on your new creations and don’t forget to tag me in them.

Download the mix, midi and score here: https://bit.ly/2Kdu1NY 

The last charity I would like to bring to your attention is Choose Love. Any contribution will be appreciated. Please donate via the link below, if you can: 






Donate to Choose Love


Choose Love provides funding, support and volunteers to more than 80 projects across the world. 94% of the funds we raise are directly spent on supporting ...




donate.helprefugees.org


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## SlHarder (Dec 7, 2022)

https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/aNgAeFMzkZ


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