Soundtrack.net reports that Lakeshore Records will release the soundtrack to Last Days in the Desert on May 13, the same day the movie — which stars Ewan McGregor as both Jesus and the Devil — opens theatrically in limited release.
The soundtrack will initially be available digitally only. The CD comes out June 3.
The music was written by Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans, who stated:
“The music is meant to be simple, like the film. No miracles, no magic, just a real human encounter between Jesus and a family,” said Bensi. “We thought it was important that the film’s ensemble cast not be overwhelmed by orchestration, so we settled on just a few select instruments, each voicing its own part.”
“This sparseness helped create a mournful, spacious sound that complements the mournfulness and spaciousness of the desert. Even the sound of the desert itself is recalled by the instrumentation–arid, attenuated, sometimes brittle, often bleak,” Jurriaans described. “The core of the score is made up of violins and cellos, although you can’t always tell since they’re often played eerily, scratchily, or austerely. On the other hand, there are key moments of relief when they’re played more expressively and emotively–almost romantically.” The score also features gamelan and singing bowls to help create a more metaphysical/meditative feel.
Bensi and Jurriaans also talked about their work on the film when it premiered at the Sundance film festival last year. I linked to a couple of those interviews here.
There are no album-cover images or music samples available online to my knowledge, but I will add them to this post if and when they become available.
May 12 update: Here is a video with a preview of the soundtrack album:
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