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Jerry Goldsmith's original score for Star Trek Nemesis. Additional music by Frederic Mompou and Irving Berlin.

Overview[]

Jerry Goldsmith's penultimate completed score before his 2004 death (Looney Tunes: Back in Action being his last) finishes out the TNG-era films with a bang... of sorts. Touted as Goldsmith's most "aggressive" effort to date, the score for Star Trek Nemesis delves into darker and certainly harsher action/adventure music than any other Star Trek score. Composed with a similar mix of electronic and traditional orchestral elements, Nemesis features far more subdued synthesized instrumentation than heard in Star Trek: Insurrection, with bracing percussive elements taking center stage. Playing a much more ethereal role in this score, the synthesized elements are comparable to Vangelis' Blade Runner, though more integrated with the live orchestra.

Themes from earlier Goldsmith Star Trek incarnations such as the now standard Enterprise theme (Star Trek: The Motion Picture) and the "adversity" or "Busy Man" theme (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier) return, while, for the first time Worf's Klingon theme (also from The Motion Picture and Star Trek V) is strangely left out. New material, of course, representing Shinzon and the Remans is heard, based on a five-note motif that carries throughout the film, culminating in a beautiful concert performance during the end credits suite.

Unlike Goldsmith's previous Star Trek compositions, Nemesis grapples with the darker thematic content in the film and generally strays from the softer emotions like those evoked in The Final Frontier and even First Contact. The score acts as an almost neutral party, playing to full bombast during exciting action sequences, but remaining relatively detached during such delicate moments as the Riker/Troi wedding and Data's wake.

Another unique aspect of Nemesis is the use of Irving Berlin's "Blue Skies", integrated into the film's finale, though ultimately fleeting. Bookending Shinzon's theme and Data's "final fight" is a traditional rendition of Goldsmith's end credit theme, performed with slightly less vigor than earlier versions, possibly a reminder of the melancholy nature of this "Generation's final journey" and Goldsmith's own final contribution to the Star Trek legacy.

Track listing[]

The commercial soundtrack release of Star Trek Nemesis contained a sampling of the music used in the film. Below is a list of the tracks made widely available.

# Title/Runtime
1 Remus ‡ (1:58)
2 The Box (2:20)
3 My Right Arm (1:02)
4 Odds and Ends (4:37)
5 Repairs (6:26)
6 The Knife (3:09)
7 Ideals (2:15)
8 The Mirror (5:21)
9 The Scorpion (2:21)
10 Lateral Run (3:54)
11 Engage (2:12)
12 Final Flight (3:47)
13 A New Friend (2:36)
14 A New Ending ‡ † (6:08)
Total 48:31
Contains TOS theme composed by Alexander Courage
Contains "Blue Skies" written by Irving Berlin
Previous soundtrack release: Series Next soundtrack release:
Star Trek: The Motion Picture - 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition Star Trek Movie Soundtrack
Star Trek Nemesis
Star Trek
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