Casper

 

Casper

(Music From The Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Music Composed and Conducted by

James Horner

Few composers could balance whimsy, warmth, and heartbreak as gracefully as James Horner, and his music for Casper (1995) remains one of the finest examples of his gift for scoring family fantasy. Combining mischievous comedy, orchestral playfulness, and one of the most tender lullabies of his career, Horner elevated this Steven Spielberg-produced film far beyond its ghostly hijinks. Now, Renovatio Records is proud to present a newly remastered 70-minute edition of this beloved score, restored and presented in nearly complete chronological order for the first time in a single-disc release.

Directed by Brad Silberling and produced by Universal Pictures and Amblin Entertainment, Casper brought the iconic Harvey Comics character “Casper the Friendly Ghost” to the big screen with groundbreaking visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic. Bill Pullman stars as a paranormal therapist who moves into the crumbling Whipstaff Manor with his daughter Kat (Christina Ricci), hired by the greedy Carrigan Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty) to rid the mansion of its ghostly inhabitants. While Kat befriends Casper—a lonely spirit of a young boy who died a century earlier—his three mischievous uncles, the Ghostly Trio, provide manic comic relief. Mixing slapstick humor, supernatural spectacle, surprising cameos (including Dan Aykroyd’s sly Ghostbusters nod), and a bittersweet story of love, loss, and acceptance, the film became a mid-1990s family cinema staple.

Horner approached Casper with the same sincerity he brought to his most epic dramas, weaving playful orchestration, comical pastiche, and a devastatingly beautiful central theme. The score reflects both the film’s cartoonish energy and its unexpectedly poignant emotional core.

At the heart of the music is “Casper’s Lullaby,” one of Horner’s most touching creations. A lyrical melody for piano and strings, later joined by ethereal choir, it embodies Casper’s loneliness and his memories of his former life, as well as his longing to be alive again and his fleeting connection with Kat. First hinted at in cues like “No Sign of Ghosts” and “Casper Makes Breakfast,” the theme blossoms in “The Lighthouse – Casper & Kat” and reaches its most radiant form in “One Last Wish,” when Casper is briefly restored to human form. The lullaby stands among Horner’s most cherished melodies, later inspiring material in works such as The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008).

Balancing this tenderness is a colorful palette of comic and jazzy motifs. For Carrigan and her hapless accomplice Dibs (Eric Idle), Horner employs harpsichord, saxophone, and even a wink of theremin, parodying haunted-house tradition. “March of the Exorcists” lampoons heroic bravado with flamboyant orchestrations, while “Dying to Be a Ghost” plays their scheming with tongue firmly in cheek.

Equally distinctive is the Ghostly Trio’s material: swaggering, saxophone-driven swing motifs that inject brassy irreverence whenever Stretch, Stinkie, and Fatso wreak havoc. Introduced in “No Sign of Ghosts,” the theme gets rowdy development in “First Haunting/The Swordfight” (with nods to Danny Elfman’s carnivalesque gothic style and Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s swashbuckling flair), resurfaces in “Dad Returns,” and bursts out triumphantly in “The Uncles’ Swing/End Credits.” This jazz-inflected writing adds a vaudevillian edge, contrasting sharply with the heartfelt lullaby, and shows Horner reveling in an unusually comic register.

The score also showcases Horner’s flair for fantasy textures and orchestral color. Percussion-driven set pieces like “Descent to Lazarus” anticipate his later rhythmic innovations in Bicentennial Man, while woodwinds and choir add spectral shimmer. An Americana-tinged theme surfaces in “On to Whipstaff,” underscoring the film’s more domestic, father-daughter moments.

Taken together, these elements form one of Horner’s most diverse and thematically rich works of the decade—at once as heartfelt as Legends of the Fall, as magical as The Land Before Time, and as playful as anything Danny Elfman was writing at the time.

The original 1995 MCA album ran over 70 minutes, combining Horner’s cues into long suites and including two songs. While generous, it often prioritized album flow over film chronology and omitted certain highlights. In 2020, La-La Land Records issued a lavish two-disc expansion with the complete score, alternates, and source cues. While exhaustive and invaluable to completists, its sheer length and repetition could be overwhelming for casual listeners.

Renovatio Records’ new 70-minute edition offers the ideal middle ground. Presented in a largely chronological sequence, it restores key unreleased cues, highlights the score's narrative arc, and features newly remastered sound in a cohesive single-disc program. 

From the mischievous antics of the Ghostly Trio to the tear-stained beauty of “Casper’s Lullaby,” James Horner’s Casper captures both the comic spirit and haunting heart of this beloved story. Rich in orchestral color, thematic depth, and emotional sincerity, it remains one of Horner’s standout works of the mid-1990s—a hidden gem overshadowed at the time by Legends of the Fall, Braveheart, and Apollo 13. A must-have for collectors and newcomers alike, this new edition celebrates the magic, mischief, and melancholy that only James Horner could conjure.

Track listing:

1. Prologue (1:44)*

2. Casper's Lullaby (5:36)

3. March of the Exorcists (1:43)

4. On to Whipstaff (1:38)

5. No Sign of Ghosts (7:28)

6. First Haunting/The Swordfight (5:22)

7. Casper Makes Breakfast (3:39)

8. The Lighthouse - Casper & Kat (4:53)

9. Kat in the Attic (3:57)

10. Descent to Lazarus (10:17)

11. 'Dying' to be a Ghost (5:35)

12. Carrigan Crosses Over (2:30)

13. Dad Returns (2:30)

14. One Last Wish (6:13)

15. The Uncles Swing/End Credits (6:25)

*Contains "Casper The Friendly Ghost" Written by Mack David and Jerry Livingston

Total Running Time: 70:13

Download Link

Size: 379.5 MB

Files type: FLAC Audio File [.flac]

Channels: 2 (stereo)

Sample Rate: 44.1 KHz

Sample Size: 16 bit

Bit Rate: 1,411 kbps

Cover Artwork:

Credits:

Music Composed and Conducted by James Horner

Produced by James Horner and Shawn Murphy

Executive In Charge of Music for Universal Pictures: Harry Garfield

Executive Producer for Renovatio Records: John M. Angier

Orchestrations: Greig McRitchie, Art Kempel, Don Davis and James Horner

Concertmaster: Clayton Haslop

Orchestra Contractor: Sandy De Crescent

Vocal Contractor: Ron Hicklin, Killer Music

Music Copying: JoAnn Kane Music Service

Supervising Music Editor: Jim Henrikson

Music Editor: Joe E. Rand

Recorded and Mixed by Shawn Murphy 

Recorded and Mixed at Todd AO, Los Angeles, CA 

Scoring Crew: Andy Bass, Dave Marquette and Jay Selvester

Mastered by Dave Collins and Patricia Sullivan at A&M Mastering, Hollywood, CA

Album Sequencing: John M. Angier

Art Direction: Mira Ellis

All James Horner compositions Published by USI A Music Publishing (ASCAP), © 1995.

Cue Assembly:

Track Title	Cue Title
1. Prologue	Kids with Camera (Alternate) (Edited) Kids with Camera (Edited)
2. March of the Exorcists	March of the Exorcists (Edited)
3. On to Whipstaff	On to Whipstaff
4. No Sign of Ghosts	No Sign of Ghosts
5. First Haunting / The Swordfight	First Haunting (Edited) Kat Walks to School (Edited) The Swordfight (Edited)
6. Casper Makes Breakfast	Casper Makes Breakfast
7. The Lighthouse - Casper & Cat	The Lighthouse Casper & Cat
8. Kat in the Attic	Kat in the Attic Fond Memories Costume for Kat
9. Descent to Lazarus	Descent to Lazarus
10. ‘Dying’ to be a Ghost	Carrigan & Dibs (Edited) ‘Dying’ to be a Ghost
11. Carrigan Crosses Over	Carrigan Crosses Over
12. Dad Returns	Dad Returns
13. One Last Wish	Casper Gets His Wish Fatso As Amelia (Edited) One Last Wish
14. The Uncles Swing/End Credits	The Uncles Swing End Credits

Motion picture artwork and artwork title © 1995 Universal City Studios, Inc. & Amblin Entertainment Inc. "Casper" and "The Ghostly Trio" © Harvey Comics, Inc. This compilation and cover artwork © 2025 Renovatio Records. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws. For promotional use only.

Avatar

 

Avatar (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Music Composed and Conducted by James Horner

Here at Renovatio Records, we wanted to start 2023 with a bang, so our first release of the year is the score for the blockbuster Avatar by late composer James Horner. Directed by James Cameron and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Stephen Lang, Michele Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi, and Sigourney Weaver, the 2009 film is an epic science fiction set in the mid-22^nd century, when humans are colonizing the habitable moon Pandora in the Alpha Centauri star system with the purpose of mining the mineral unobtanium. Conflict arises when the mining colony threatens the local indigenous tribe of the Na’vi, a race of blue-skinned humanoid creatures who, as expected, do not enjoy having the humans exploiting their beautiful planet. Sam Worthington plays Jake Sully, a disabled corporal sent to Pandora as part of the Avatar Program, which sees humans operating genetically engineered Na’vi bodies remotely with their brains, to infiltrate and interact with the natives of Pandora. While on an expedition in the Pandoran forests, Jake’s avatar is attacked by wildlife and rescued by Neytiri (Saldaña), a female Na’vi who takes him to her clan and teaches him of their customs. Soon, Jake sees himself torn between his military duty and his new found love and respect for the aliens.

Even though the plot is quite simple and modeled after the American interactions with Iraq in the 2000’s, the film is thought-provoking in regards to environmental awareness while also delivering on cinematic action. Drawing concepts from works such as Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, and even Starship Troopers, the film asks audiences to examine their views and prejudices on deep topics such as colonization, facism, obliteration of native cultures, and exploitation of natural resources. At the time of its release, Avatar quickly became the highest-grossing movie of its time, while also being highly praised for its groundbreaking visual effects, which makes extensive use of motion capture filming techniques –achieved in cooperation with Weta Digital. Furthermore, the film was so successful that Cameron went on to develop four more sequels, the first of which (Avatar: The Way of Water) was recently released in late 2022 and once more broke various box office records.

Also the recipient of much attention was Avatar’s musical score, for which Cameron turned to James Horner. The two had previously collaborated on Aliens (1986), an infamous and unpleasant assignment for Horner, and on Titanic (1997), for which Horner earned an Academy Award. For Avatar, the composer devoted eighteen months of work to develop a sound palette that would represent the Na’vi culture and the visual bioluminescence of Pandora. And it shows, for the result is one of Horner’s most distinguishable scores, not only because of its unique and captivating sounds, but also because it remains a solid representation of Horner’s musical career and contributions to the world of film music. The score works as a sort of "Greatest Hits" compilation; you will hear snippets and nods to several of Horner’s previous scores such as The Four Feathers, Troy, Aliens, Titanic, Mighty Joe Young, Apocalypto, among many others. To get an early idea of what is to come, Horner introduces his effective signature four-note danger motif within the first minute of the first track “You Don’t Dream In Cryo”, a motif that is later used prominently in the second half of the score to accompany the death of nature provoked by the greedy humans. Horner’s detractors may jump on this "recycling" approach, but one cannot deny that the composer kept raising the bar with each new assignment, showcasing his impressive dramatic sense and masterful compositional skills. That being said, Avatar is a richly thematic score. Horner introduces his main theme for Avatar in the latter half of “Jake Enters His Avatar World”, and it consists namely of a series of four chord progressions, which are a stripped variation of Titanic’s love theme. This idea is listened throughout the score, sometimes in the form of humble violin, woodwind and synth performances (“Pure Spirits of the Forest”), and also played by the full ensemble in “Become One Of The People”. It is in this track that Horner fully depicts his intentions with this chord progression, making it part of a larger theme. The progression represents Jake’s growing love for the beauty and nature of Pandora, which is later combined with the discovery theme introduced by a solo boy’s voice in “Become One Of The People”, a montage cue which shows Jake learning of the customs and lives of the Na’vi. The main four-chord idea goes on to eventually cement itself as Avatar’s love theme, as Jake and Neytiri bond and become in love.

There are two more prominent themes in the score, one representing the Na’vi culture, which is very derivative of Horner’s main theme for The Four Feathers. The theme is introduced in full at the beginning of “Becoming One With Neytiri”, and is further explored during the “The Destruction of Hometree”, before becoming the Na’vi’s battle theme in “Gathering All the Na'vi Clans for Battle”, where it generates momentum during the first half and then reaches a full orchestral climax that will sends shivers down your spine. This theme is later used effectively during the battle sequences of the film’s climax, to highlight the heroic yet futile efforts of the Na’vi’s to fight with the technologically advanced humans. The other main idea is an ascension theme that is first heard during “Climbing Up Iknimaya”, on children’s choir and percussion, and then on the glorious “Jake’s First Flight”, with the love theme effectively playing as an interlude. The ascension idea is related to Jake’s assimilation of the Na’vi culture, as he rediscovers his purpose in life. This theme fittingly appears at the end of the film when Jake fully embraces the Na’vi culture and becomes one of them, in mind and in body. These three main identities and the way Horner intertwines them with one another speak of how complex and subtle the composition for Avatar is, narratively accompanying Jake’s journey and quickly captivating the listener, the same way the film visuals captivated the audiences. Horner’s four-chord progression alone is so pleasant and appealing that you cannot help but to wait for it to reappear throughout the score. This once more shows the composer’s talent to capture the essence of a film and its scenes, even when using the same techniques and instruments he resorted to many times in his career.

Things turn sour in “Diplomacy Fails”, when the human’s menacing force starts to become more and more apparent, with brass and militaristic snare taking the lead. By the time we reach “Shutting Down Grace’s Lab”, the aftermath of the human’s greed strikes like an arrow through your chest, with haunting vocalizations accentuated by the four-note danger motif expressing a mournful sense of overwhelming tragedy. After the force generated by “Gathering All the Na'vi Clans for Battle”, we enter into 20 minutes of rousing action music, comprised by “War”, “Quaritch Down” and “Fight To The Death”. The battle music displayed here indeed has themes and motifs battling each other, a clear example being the way in which the Na’vi battle theme establishes itself as a response to the military motif at the 0:50 mark of "War". While the action passages are far overshadowed by the romantic side of the score, they are certainly impressive and rank among the most thoughtful action material Horner has ever written.

The score ends with the pop song “I See You” by Leona Lewis, with the score introduction by Horner, as heard in the film. Though criticized for having too much post-processing, the song actually makes an interesting use of the discovery and love themes, its chorus being the already well-established four-chord progression.

Back in 2009, the score for Avatar received two album presentations by Atlantic Records, one being a regular physical CD release, and the other being a Deluxe digital release with 20 additional minutes of music. Though both releases are quite generous in the amount of music they provide, the first one lacked most of the cues from the climax, and the second one presented the new additions at the end of the album, disrupting the listening experience. This new release by Renovatio Records addresses these issues and provides new unreleased music, as well as film versions of several cues, all presented in chronological order in the form of a 2-CD presentation. The program has namely the film’s first act in CD 1, focusing on Jake’s journey of falling in love with Pandora and Neytiri, while the conflict and action cues are mostly reserved for CD 2. We kindly invite you to revisit Pandora once more with this new album. You will see that there is still plenty to admire.

Track Listing:

CD 01:

1. You Don't Dream In Cryo (6:06)

2. Jake Enters His Avatar World (5:48)

3. Pure Spirits Of The Forest (8:15)

4. The Floating Mountains (3:00)

5. Becoming One Of The People (3:09)

6. Night Iridescence (3:36)

7. Climbing Up Iknimaya (4:04)

8. Jake's First Flight (5:24)

9. Becoming One With Neytiri (4:47)

CD 02:

1. Diplomacy Fails (4:39)

2. The Destruction Of Hometree (6:28)

3. Shutting Down Grace's Lab (2:46)

4. Gathering All The Na'vi Clans For Battle (5:11)

5. War (8:51)

6. Quaritch Down (4:27)

7. Fight To The Death (4:43)

8. A New Beginning (3:25)

9. I See You (Theme From Avatar)* - Performed by Leona Lewis (5:19)

*Includes score introduction by James Horner

Total Running Time: 79:58

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Titanic

Titanic (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Music Composed and Conducted by James Horner

Renovatio Records’ next release is legendary composer James Horner’s score to the 1997 epic film Titanic, written and directed James Cameron and starring Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gloria Stuart, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde and Bill Paxton. Based on accounts of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, the plot involves a love story between wealthy 17-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater and poor young artist Jack Dawson, who meet on board the infamous ship and quickly fall in love. As if the conflict between their social classes was not enough to doom their relationship, they are thrown right into the middle of disaster when the ship hits an iceberg and starts to sink.

Little more can be said about the famous film’s success: it became a critical and commercial hit, it received numerous accolades (11 Oscars) and it remained the highest grossing film of all time until Cameron’s Avatar surpassed it in 2010. Much of the attention of the film went to its soundtrack, being regarded to this day as one the 100 greatest scores of all time, and the culmination of James Horner’s 90s peak after already having struck gold with Apollo 13, Legends of the Fall and Braveheart. Titanic would earn Horner his two Oscar wins for both the score and the accompanying song performed by Celine Dion, which at the time ranked as the most popular radio song and helped sell over 25 million copies of the original album, making Horner the highest selling contemporary composer, even surpassing John Williams.

Cameron’s initial idea was to have Irish singer Enya compose the score, even temp-tracking the film with her music. However, after she declined, the director turned to Horner, even though they had been through a rough experience at the time of scoring Aliens in 1986. Horner’s music for Braveheart was the hint that gave Cameron that the composer was the right man for the job, as Titanic called for a deep and sensitive score to touch on the sensibilities and intimacies of the relationship between the two leads and on the emotional impact of the disaster. As expected, Horner succeeded at this task and, while his new age music for Titanic may sound very much in parts like Enya’s style, he composed what would probably become the most recognizable love theme in the history of film music. This love theme consists of two gorgeous adjoined melodies that often exists separately throughout the score and played by different instruments. The opening track “Main Title” introduces the love theme with the haunting vocals of Norwegian vocalist Sissel Kyrkjebø, playing as a mournful lamentation of the souls lost at sea in the tragedy. The second sequence of the theme is hinted at in piano and Sissel’s voice at the beginning of “Suicide Attempt” to highlight the scene in which Jack sees Rose for the first time. Horner himself plays a lovely piano solo version of the full theme in “The Portrait”. However, where it truly shines is in the track “Rose”, which can be regarded as an achievement in filmmaking, with music, cinematography and romance working together in what may be one of the finest sequences of cinematic history: as the Titanic sees sunlight for the last time, Rose and Jack embrace their love and kiss at the ship’s bow, and Horner uplifts the moment with solo woodwinds, Sissel’s beautiful vocals, synth voices, piano and bass. After bringing quivers and tears with its climax, the shot quickly transitions to the image of the sunken ship, and Horner skillfully accompanies this with a solo flute with a delay effect that evokes the sound of a distant ship whistle.

The other main theme that stands out in the score is the one for the ship itself. While hinted at the second part of “Distant Memories” with French horns, this majestic theme makes its full debut in “Southampton”, accompanying the impressive scene in which the Titanic departs. However, it is during the final part of “Take Her to Sea, Mr. Murdoch” when the theme truly shines, played by the full ensemble while the camera pans over the ship as it sails into the Atlantic horizon line. A number of other secondary leitmotifs exist through the score, namely a menacing four-note low brass line for the iceberg in the middle and final portions of “Hard to Starboard”, and a slow descending four-note motif in low strings with an eerie effect for the concept of death, best heard in “Suicide Attempt” and at the end of “End Credits”. Horner’s action music is also worth noting. While not the highlight of the score, the action passages keep the full orchestra quite busy in tracks like “Hard to Starboard”, “A Building Panic”, “The Sinking” and “Death of Titanic”. “Hard to Starboard” is probably the standout of these cues; in it, Horner whimsically intertwines the rhythm of a telegraph effect before moving to frantic action as the crew does everything in their power to avoid that the ship hits the iceberg. At the 2:30 minute mark, the track quickly shifts to the iceberg motif over a martial drum ostinato accentuated by piano low-keys and bells, as all that the crew can do now is wait and hope that the ships makes the turn in time. Once more, this is another one of the most effective confluences of music and image in the movie, as the audience knows that the ship will hit the iceberg but still, we are on the edge of our seats waiting for the ship to miss it and continue its maiden voyage safe and sound.

In 1997, Sony Music Soundtrax released the successful commercial album, and in 1998, the same company released “Back to Titanic”, which included additional music from the film, namely source music. The third release for the score was La-La Land Records’ 2017 4-disc special 20^th anniversary edition, containing Horner’s complete score, with alternate versions of several tracks, and all the source music heard in the film. Renovatio Records’ release provides a presentation of the film score that plays in chronological order, going through its most significant highlights, as well as introducing different versions of several tracks, namely “Hard to Starboard”, which is stripped from the distracting synthesizer effects heard in the original album, and “An Ocean of Memories”, which is available for the first time ever in a release as a full reconstruction of the music as heard in the film’s ending, a combination of alternate versions for “Rose” and “Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave”. We invite you go back to the Titanic and enjoy what can very well be considered the crowning achievement of the entire career of late composer James Horner.

Track Listing:

1. Main Title (1:29)

2. Distant Memories (2:22)

3. Southampton (3:00)

4. Take Her to Sea, Mr. Murdoch (4:29)

5. Suicide Attempt (2:43)

6. The Portrait (5:29)

7. Rose (2:52)

8. Hard to Starboard (6:46)

9. Unable to Stay, Unwilling to Leave (3:52)

10. A Building Panic (8:36)

11. The Sinking (6:31)

12. Death of Titanic (7:48)

13. A Promise Kept (4:27)

14. An Ocean of Memories (4:27)

15. My Heart Will Go On (Love Theme from 'Titanic') (5:06) - Performed by Celine Dion

16. End Credits (2:33)

Total Running Time: 72:30

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Aliens

Aliens (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Music Composed and Conducted by James Horner

To accompany Renovatio Records previous release, we present you the score for 1986 sci-fi action film Aliens by James Horner. The film is the second installment in the Alien franchise and has Sigourney Weaver returning as Ellen Ripley, who joins a group of marines with the mission of surveying the now colonized planet of the first film. They not only find that everyone is missing, but also that the place is filled with a vicious and hostile horde of Xenomorphs building up their own hive. Directed by James Cameron and featuring an ensemble that includes Lance Henriksen, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser and Bill Paxton, the movie quickly became a critical and commercial success and is currently considered one of the best action films ever made.

The same can be said about Horner's terrific music. The composer, despite dealing with tight schedules, managed to produce a score that merged action with sci-fi horror, highlighted by the magnificent performances of The London Symphony Orchestra. It never made it to the film as it was originally conceived, though, since Horner saw his music being replaced, moved to other scenes and chopped into unrecognisable shorter cues. The score, however, made it to receive proper recognition as it gave Horner his first Academy Award nomination and continues to inspire many composers that tackle the genre nowadays.

The score received two album releases, both by Varèse Sarabande, one in 1986 and the other in 2001, in the form of Deluxe edition that includes all the music written by Horner. Both album compilations proved to be quite troublesome: the first one for being way too short and not following a chronological order of tracks, and the second one for being way too long, a trait that affects fluidity and the proper enjoyment of the listener. Now, Renovatio Records brings you this new arrangement, for you to enjoy Horner's thrilling ride once more!

Track Listing:

1. Main Title (5:20)

2. The Sulaco (1:15)

3. Combat Drop (3:31)

4. Sub-Level 3 (5:52)

5. The Aliens Attack (2:25)

6. Ripley's Rescue (3:20)

7. Facehuggers (4:28)

8. Approaching Aliens (3:09)

9. Futile Escape (5:17)

10. Dark Discovery (2:07)

11. Going After Newt (3:18)

12. Bishop's Countdown (2:52)

13. Resolution And Hypersleep (6:38)

Total Running Time: 51:48

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