Original score from the Italian feature documentary film directed by Nicolas Brown, produced and released by YouTube Originals.

THE STORY: A powerful – and surprising – dialogue with the Pope in the Vatican brings new hope for our common home as The Letter tells the incredible story of the Laudato Si’ encyclical letter by Pope Francis through the eyes of  frontline leaders battling the ecological crisis across continents.

THE SCORE: “The Letter is essentially attempting to light the fire of hope in the human race. That was the first line of briefing given to me by the film’s director. Musical inspiration for this score came from a 15th century vocal setting of the Canticles of Creation by Saint Francis to an 11th century Gregorian Chant. The Allelulia from this setting initially presented 7 pitches (C–D–F–G–E–D–F). I began exploring the potential of these pitch relationships in different musical contexts against the film and narrative: the emerging theme developed into a reference point, presented in variation throughout the score, sometimes explicitly, sometimes discreetly. In this way the score brings some archaic material (relating generally to the Roman Church with its long history, and specifically to Pope Francis who is named after the Saint) into a contemporary secular setting. In keeping with the universal message of The Letter, there is no hint of religiosity or reverence, although the score works to support an unfolding sense of hope and compassion. The score is beautifully performed by the Budapest Art Orchestra conducted by Péter Pejtsik.” – William Goodchild

THE COMPOSER: William Goodchild has scored over 100 films for the major broadcasters including Netflix and BBC. In 2016, his score to Jago – A Life Underwater was nominated for the Music Award at the prestigious international Wildscreen Festival. In 2017 William won Best Score at the Hollywood International Moving Pictures Film Festival for his score to Living Spirit Pictures’ Seeing Him. In 2021, William won Best Composer at the Royal Television Society West of England Awards for his score to Tibet: Roof of the World and he was a Finalist in the Music+Sound Awards’ Best Original Composition in Film and TV Titles category for the same score. His most recently composed scores include Surviving Paradise: A Family Tale narrated by Regé-Jean Page (Netflix), Hippos – Africa’s River Giants narrated by Sir David Attenborough (BBC), and Chimp Empire (Netflix).

RB03001 THE LETTER: A MESSAGE FOR OUR EARTH (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Music Composed by WILLIAM GOODCHILD
Release date (digital): July 6, 2023