Lakeshore Records is set to release The Day of the Jackal—Original Series Soundtrack today, December 13 featuring an original score by Oscar and BAFTA Award-winning composer Volker Bertelmann (All Quiet On The Western Front). Bertelmann keeps the orchestra taught and angular in his score and maintains a dark tension throughout. The dramatic thriller reimagined into a series by director Brian Kirk and writer Ronan Bennet and starring Eddie Redmayne, is streaming now on both Peacock and Sky in the UK.
The Day of the Jackal is based on the 1971 mystery novel by Frederick Forsyth and the 1973 film of the same name. The book earned the 1972 Edgar Award for Best Novel from the Mystery Writers of America and remains a beloved mystery tale to this day.
The Peacock series follows a group of British intelligence officers, seen primarily from the perspective of ambitious investigator Bianca (Lashana Lynch), as they hunt for a mysterious assassin known as the Jackal. Like the novel, the film and TV series are loosely based on actual events.
Notes Bertelmann: “Working on such a great thriller series and collaborating with Brian Kirk and all the other directors on the show was a pleasure and a wonderful experience. I think Eddie Redmayne and Lashana Lynch are amazing and to make the music for a series like that is a pleasure and a lot of fun!!”
ABOUT VOLKER BERTELMANN
Volker Bertelmann is an internationally-acclaimed pianist, composer and experimental musician. In 2023 he was honoured with an Academy Award and a BAFTA in the Best Score category for his work on All Quiet on the Western Front (directed by Edward Berger). Bertelmann’s latest project is Conclave for which he collaborated with director Edward Berger again. The film has garnered critical acclaim at the Telluride and Toronto International Film Festivals, securing Volker a Golden Globe nomination in the Best Original Score – Motion Picture category. His most recent projects are the prequel series Dune: Prophecy (HBO Max), the Peacock series The Day of the Jackal, and the documentary Hollywoodgate.
His score to Garth Davis’ Oscar-nominated film Lion, which he composed in collaboration with Dustin O’Halloran, was nominated for multiple awards: Oscar for Best Original Score, Golden Globe for Best Original Score, Best Score at the Critics’ Choice Awards, and for Best Film Music at the BAFTAs.
Bertelmann has provided music for several leading films and television series. He composed the score for Patrick Melrose, The Old Guard, Stowaway, the episode “Beyond The Sea” from Black Mirror, and Life After Life for BBC. He also composed film scores for Adrift, the 2018 romantic drama directed by Baltasa Kormákur, and, again in collaboration with O’Halloran, for Ammonite, which was short-listed for The Academy Awards in 2020. In 2022, he scored War Sailor, which was an official selection at the Toronto International Film Festival. His film One Life premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. His most recent film work was on Lionsgate’s The Crow which premiered this summer.
Bertelmann, who in his solo work goes by the name Hauschka, is a uniquely innovative pianist; he is renowned both for his trademark sound, which he achieves by preparing the piano with various small objects, and his ability to improvise entire performances. His output is prodigious: he tours extensively, and has produced over twenty albums and EPs, both solo and in collaboration with others. He has worked, among many others, with the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he was the artist in residence, with Múm, the Icelandic experimental musical group, and with the Grammy-winning violinist Hilary Hahn.
Bertelmann is an active member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
TRACKLIST
01. Opening
02. The Jackal
03. Pinwheel
04. Observation
05. Getaway
06. Free Country
07. Lookout Meeting
08. Adiós
09. Bavaria
10. Helle Linie
11. Infiltration
12. We Had a Great Life
13. The Canal
14. The Concert
15. Stabilizer
16. Stay Under Water
17. Check the Car
18. I Quit
19. Set the Truck on Fire
20. Nice and Easy
21. Don’t Draw It Out
22. Take Him Alive
23. Face to Face
24. Congratulations
25. Postlude
