Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture
Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the film of the same name composed, orchestrated, and conducted by James Horner. The soundtrack was released by Sony Classical/Sony Music Soundtrax on November 18, 1997. Riding the wave of the film's immense success, the soundtrack shot to the top of the charts in nearly two-dozen territories, selling over 30 million copies, making it one of the top 100 best-selling albums in the United States. It is one of the best-selling albums of all time, and the highest-selling  primarily orchestral soundtrack ever. In 2012, the album, along with its successor "Back to Titanic" (1998), was re-issued as part of the "Collector's Anniversary Edition" set for the 3D re-release of the film. In 2017, La-La Land Records released the "20th Anniversary Edition" in a limited edition 4-disc release. Album information. Director James Cameron originally intended Enya to compose the music, and in fact put together a rough edit of the film using her music as a temporary soundtrack. After she declined, he approached James Horner. Their relationship was strained after their first collaboration in  Aliens, but the soundtrack of "Braveheart" made Cameron overlook it. Horner composed the soundtrack having in mind Enya's style; Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø performed the wordless vocals on the soundtrack. Horner knew Sissel from the album "Innerst i sjelen" and he particularly liked how she sang the song "Eg Veit I Himmerik Ei Borg" ("I Know in Heaven There Is a Castle"). Horner had tried 25 or 30 singers and, in the end, he chose Sissel to sing the wordless tune. Céline Dion, who was no stranger to movie songs in the 1990s, since her contribution to Walt Disney 's Beauty and the Beast, sang "My Heart Will Go On", the film's signature song written by James Horner and Will Jennings. At first, Cameron did not want a song sung over the film's ending credits, but Horner disagreed. Without telling Cameron, he went ahead and wrote the song anyway, and recorded Dion singing it. Cameron changed his mind when Horner presented the song to him. "My Heart Will Go On" became a worldwide smash hit, going to the top of the music charts around the world. "My Heart Will Go On" also ended up winning the 1997  Academy Award for Best Original Song as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1998. Other artists were invited to submit songs for the movie including contemporary Christian artist Michael W. Smith. He mentions in the liner notes to the song "In My Arms Again" from his 1998 album "Live the Life"; "Inspired and written for the movie "Titanic", grateful for the opportunity to send them a song; grateful it landed on this record." For the choral background of certain tracks, Horner made use of a digital choir instead of a real one; after the orchestral  music was recorded, Horner personally performed the synthesized choir over a playback of the recording. The idea behind using electronics, rather than a real choir, stemmed from Horner wanting to avoid a 'church'-like sound. Principal leitmotifs. Throughout the film, the composer created themes for particular characters, events, locations, and ideas. Commercial performance. "Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture" became the highest-selling primarily orchestral film score in history, with worldwide sales surpassing 30 million copies. The soundtrack quickly moved up the US "Billboard" 200, going from number eleven to number one on the chart in January 1998, keeping Shania Twain 's "Come On Over" and Madonna's "Ray of Light" from reaching the top spot. It remained at the top for sixteen straight weeks until it was replaced by the Dave Matthews Band album "Before These Crowded Streets". No album would spend at least ten consecutive weeks at number-one until Adele's "21" in the winter of 2012. The soundtrack has been certified 11× Platinum for 11 million copies shipped in the United States, becoming the best-selling album of 1998, and the fastest-certified soundtrack album ever. The soundtrack also hit number-one in at least 14 other  countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. The soundtrack was certified 5× Platinum by the ARIA in Australia for 350,000 copies shipped. It was certified 3× Platinum in the United Kingdom for over 900,000 copies shipped; and was certified diamond by the CRIA in Canada for 1 million copies shipped. The soundtrack is the best-selling non-Chinese CD album in Taiwan, selling 1.1 million copies. The soundtrack's success led to the release of a second volume, called "Back to Titanic" which contained a mixture of previously unreleased soundtrack recordings and newly recorded performances of some of the  songs in the film, including one track recorded by Clannad (of which Enya is an ex-member) singer, Máire Brennan. "Back to Titanic" was certified platinum by the RIAA. Track listing. Two-Disc Anniversary Edition. All tracks performed by I Salonisti. Each tracks written by various composers as noted. Four-Disc Anniversary Edition. All tracks performed by I Salonisti. Each tracks written by various composers as noted. Each tracks performed by various artists as noted. 20th Anniversary Edition. Tracks performed by various artists as noted. Each tracks written by various composers as noted. Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture Titanic