John Debney’s score for Chapter 1 of Horizon: An American Saga is an immense stylistic throwback to grand orchestral western scores of old, with thunderous action setpieces, gently melancholic romantic cues and all abound that dramatic sense of hope and grandiosity that Newton Howard’s Wyatt Earp and Horner’s Legends Of The Fall for example had in spades. The main theme for Horizon could be a bit more prevalent though.

John Debney’s first Horizon score begins with “Horizon Main Title Theme”, and right off the bat low-pitched, noble brass sets a gently hopeful and indeed very western-styled tone; said brass then slowly sounds out the main theme for Horizon, overall a rather typically hopeful and grandly dramatic motif that’s perhaps a little light on the side of memorability, but it does work tonally so it’s hard to fault it too heavily here (it’s rather short debut here also doesn’t help it). Gentle woodwinds and strings then really cement the western setting for much of the rest of the eighty second track, before grandiose brass then bursts in towards the end with the full orchestra at its back, reprising the main theme for a wondrous crescendo finish. Now serious props to Debney here; while the actual theme perhaps is a little generic, he’s got the sheer grandness of the orchestration here absolutely nailed; genuinely, it sounds unbelievable. It’s really got that classic 1990s Horner and Howard-esque fully orchestrated western feel to it, and we just don’t get scores like this any more, so I’m honestly pretty impressed. Second cue “Desmarais Off Track” then leans more into atmosphere with gentle strings, before “Desmarais Finds Bodies/Young Surveyor’s Death” then delves into rather sinister territory with moody strings and solemn, funeral-esque vocals. “James Sykes” then introduces an upbeat strings motif for the titled character, leaning into hope and confidence for much of its three minute runtime. Orchestral tension however starts to build in “Mimbreno Brave” before seguing into action piece “Start Of Massacre”; here loud bursts of frantic brass set a furiously fast-paced tone alongside worrisome strings and crashes of drums that continue through much of the track.

The subsequent “Russell Escapes/Nathaniel Leaving Frances And Elizabeth” then surges pure orchestral heroism to the forefront, with loudly triumphant Horner-esque brass and thunderous percussion leading a fist-pumpingly upbeat charge for one of the finest and indeed loudest moments on the album. “Tunnel Collapse” then leans briefly back into tension before “Battle Pauses/Opening Jar Of TNT” and “End Of Massacre” side with solemnity, with gently sorrowful strings playing a particularly downtrodden lament that’s then backed by the arrival of pensive vocals in the latter track. This orchestral sorrow then continues across many of the next few cues, with “Leaving Horizon/The Tribe Splitting Up” finally offering a slight reprieve as gentle hints towards hope are layered between the western-esque string twangs and rattling percussion. This hope then surges to the forefront in the subsequent “Hayes Entrance” as playful strings and brass leap happily into centre stage for much of this two minute piece. “Horizon” then reprises the main theme in grandiose brass form, reaching a particularly powerful crescendo at the thirty second mark before then simmering optimistically for the remainder of the track. “Horizon Line Shack” leans heavily into ambient western-isms before “Caleb Beats Walt” then starts to fall back into eerily ominous territory, followed by the similarly tense “Gunfight At Marigold’s”; crashes of ominous drums and worrisome strings occupy much of this atmospheric five minute setpiece, before a tense string crescendo then closes it out.

“Elizabeth Meets Mrs. Riordan” is a lovely piano-based piece, evoking a gentle solemnity for much of its eighty second runtime before then quietly fading out. I do wish it was longer though, and I must say that is another slight criticism I have of this album so far; there’s a lot of minute-long tracks that feel like they could build into something much grander if only they were longer, and Chapter 1‘s album does drag a little as a result at times. Lots of stopping and starting, and the many purely ambient tracks don’t help this either. The subsequent “Pawnee Braves Observe Wagon Train” for example is little more than atmospheric mood setting that could belong in any western movie really. That said though I think this is a minor issue for now, as this is a supposedly four film long franchise of which this is only the first, so there is that potential for further thematic and stylistic development down the line. And the score of course isn’t all atmosphere either; “Trading Post Standoff/Migrant Camp” for example contains a quietly pensive rendition of the main theme, and the boldly grandiose “One More Night” utilises a powerful orchestra to spellbindingly dramatic effect at its midpoint. Continuing on, melancholic strings and brass open and then occupy much of “Cloth Flowers”, with the subsequent “Seducing Hayes/Frances And Gephart” continuing this gentle string ambience now with an added touch of romance, and the warm instrumentation then sways peacefully until the happily lengthy four minute track’s end. The sub-minute “Soul Of Honor” them continues much in a similar vein.

With the album fast approaching its end, moody tension is the subject of “Tonto Sentry Spots Janney’s Party”, with ominous percussion and worrisome strings taking the forefront until “Tonto Sentry Prepares To Shoot” then dials up the tension with bursts of sinister brass building to a frantic crescendo. “Janney’s Party Finishes Massacre” then brings this tense action segment to a close, opening with similar bursts of frenetic action with loud brass and dramatic drums abound until the music then slows in the track’s back half, and quieter, more melancholic strings then take over. Final and standout cue “Horizon Montage Begins/Closing Survey” then surges hope and heroism back into the fray, with much more optimistic strings and noble brass occupying the first two minutes before the main theme reprises for a lengthy and enjoyably grandiose performance, closing the score on quite a high note two further minutes later on a thunderous crescendo.

Overall, John Debney’s score for Chapter 1 of Horizon: An American Saga harkens heavily back to the grandly orchestral western soundtracks of old (the ’90s, mainly), and one can’t help but smile whenever that incredible-sounding orchestra swells with sheer hope and heroism as it does many times across this soundtrack. While Debney’s work here does lean on the side of just standard western at times – its certainly got those classic string twang westernisms down, the main theme could do with a tad more presence and there’s a lot of just pure ambience going on – it’s hard to fault it too much, as the sheer power and excellence of the orchestral writing across the album here is a thing to behold just on its own. Take the gently hopeful “Horizon Main Title Theme” for instance, or the thunderously action-centric “Russell Escapes/Nathaniel Leaving Frances And Elizabeth”, or the quietly romantic “Seducing Hayes/Frances And Gephart” – they all just sound simply sublime, and are a genuine joy to listen to despite perhaps not being the most memorable of cues. And then take standout track “Horizon Montage Begins/Closing Survey” – now if ever there was a dramatically hopeful hint for the franchise’s future, it’s this track. The main theme swells with optimism and grandiosity throughout this glorious piece, and I for one am intrigued to hear the score for Chapter 2 (and indeed 3 and 4 when they’re made) purely because of how epic this cue sounds.

All-in a thunderously enjoyable start, Mr. Debney. Let’s hear more of that main theme.

Score: 7.5/10

Standout Cue: Horizon Montage Begins/Closing Survey

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