Released October 2, 2020

In 2014, I first applied for the rights to this score, which was accepted early 2015. However, the royalty fee was too high for a young company to afford, so I waited Omni was in a better financial position. By then, the offer expired and I was informed it couldn’t be honored. So, I applied again but this time I was denied. So, I contacted John Powell and ran the idea past him. I also sent a sample book (The Matrix) to show what I was planning. He was impressed. In 2016, Universal acquired Dreamworks and the publishing rights now transferred studios.

Between 2016 and 2019 there was nothing but back-and-forth emails between myself, John Powell, his assistant Batu Sener, and people in the licensing department at Universal, trying to figure out who exactly owned the rights. At one point, the prospect of publishing seemed imminent as long as Omni released a digital copy, which was a deal breaker.

In early 2019, Powell was more insistent about the status and once again we went through the chain of emails trying to figure things out. John stepped in at some point (around June) and wrote an email stating he was keen on having this published by my company. After that, Omni was granted permission.

I spent the next two months assembling the book. Batu sent Sibelius files and between him, myself, and John Powell, we edited the score to match the recording as exactly as possible. We referenced the conductor scores and transferred notes made by Gavin Greenaway during the recording sessions.

We also referenced the live concert version, but there was a lot of percussion elements missing. John insisted that the published version be as faithful to the recording as possible. A lot of time and care was spent looking through audio stems to make things like pre-lay percussion matched the recording.

Omni Music Publishing is proud to release this score. You won’t find a more accurate representation anywhere!

One of the most notable features of Powell’s score, is how it blends musical styles and instrumentation. John Powell was inspired by the “Scandinavian Scotland” from Cressida Cowell’s books. Based upon his own Scottish heritage, he used instruments such as bagpipes, dulcimers, and whistles, to portray Viking protagonists. Additionally, the score features as many as ten themes, and endless orchestral imagination. Be the first to own of of the finest scores Powell has ever produced.

348 pages, 9X12 inches. Paperbound, printed in U.S.A