The Twilight saga is one of the biggest movie franchies of the 21st century, made up of five box-office hits. Based on a series of young-adult novels by Stephanie Meyer, the series follows the romantic triangle between Bella Swan (a human), Edward Cullen (a vampire) and Jacob Black (a werewolf). The films have enjoyed renewed interest with the TikTok generation, thanks to the rise of the ‘romantasy’ genre: a blend of romance and fantasy popular in both novels and films. It’s not just the films themselves that have captured the public’s imagination, however. The soundtracks have helped launch bands and artists, with scores written by some of Hollywood’s top film composers. Here, we look into the music of the Twilight universe, examining what it is that makes the Twilight soundtrack so successful.
Classical music featured in the Twilight soundtrack
Debussy‘s Clair de lune is featured in the first Twilight film when Bella first visits Edward in his house and examines his extensive music collection. She asks what he is listening to, presses play on his sound system, and he answers, ‘Debussy’.
We named ‘Clair de lune’ as one of the best pieces of Debussy’s music for beginners.
Earlier in this same scene as Bella enters the house, you can hear the faint whisperings of ‘Libiamo ne’lieti calici’ from Verdi‘s La traviata playing on the family’s speakers. It’s a good fit for the scene, as the family of vampires are cooking an Italian meal for Bella, believing her to be a fan of Italian food due to her name. The duet for tenor and soprano is one of the most famous opera melodies and is a drinking song.
We named La traviata as one of the best operas for beginners.
Twilight soundtrack
The music for the original Twilight film was selected by the film’s music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas and immediately captured the public’s imagination, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Paramore’s Decode was the first single released from the soundtrack and went on to be nominated for a Grammy in 2010 for Best Song Written for a Movie.
The score for the film was composed and orchestrated by Carter Burwell, who has also scored films including Carol; Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri; and The Banshees of Inisherin, all of which were nominated for Academy Awards. The score is based aroung the ‘Love Theme’ for the film’s protagonists Edward and Bella. This then evolves into ‘Bella’s Lullaby’, which Robert Pattinson plays on the piano during the film.
Another major theme introduced in the first film is the ‘Predator Theme’, which represents the dark, vampiric side of Edward and the threat he poses to Bella.
Twilight: Full tracklist
- Supermassive Black Hole – Muse
- Decode – Paramore
- Full Moon – The Black Ghosts
- Leave Out All the Rest – Linkin Park
- Spotlight (Twilight Mix) – Mutemath
- Go All the Way (Into the Twilight) – Perry Farrell
- Tremble for My Beloved – Collective Soul
- I Caught Myself – Paramore
- Eyes on Fire – Blue Foundation
- Never Think – Robert Pattinson
- Flightless Bird, American Mouth – Iron & Wine
- Bella’s Lullaby – Carter Burwell
New Moon soundtrack
Alexandra Patsavas took on the role of music supervisor again for the second film in the Twilight series, but this time the score was composed by Alexandre Desplat, who had worked on The Golden Compass with New Moon director Chris Weitz previously. Desplat is one of the leading film composers of the 21st century, writing scores for Oscar-nominated films including The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Shape of Water.
New Moon: full tracklist
- Meet Me on the Equinox – Death Cab for Cutie
- Friends – Band of Skulls
- Hearing Damage – Thom Yorke
- Possibility – Lykke Li
- A White Demon Love Song – The Killers
- Satellite Heart – Anya Marina
- I Belong To You (New Moon Remix) – Muse
- Rosyln – Bon Iver and St Vincent
- Done All Wrong – Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
- Monsters – Hurricane Bells
- The Violet Hour – Sea Wolf
- Shooting the Moon – OK Go
- Slow Life (with Victoria Legrand) – Grizzly Bear
- No Sound but the Wind – Editors
- New Moon (The Meadow) – Alexandre Desplat
Eclipse soundtrack
Alexandra Patsavas stepped in as music supervisor again for the third instalment in the Twilight saga, but the film had a new composer again for its score. It was the legendary Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore that was behind the orchestral score for this film.
Eclipse: full tracklist
- Eclipse (All Yours) – Metric
- Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever) – Muse
- Ours – The Bravery
- Heavy in Your Arms – Florence + the Machine
- My Love – Sia
- Atlas – Fanfarlo
- Chop and Change – The Black Keys
- Rolling in on a Burning Tire – The Dead Weather
- Let’s Get Lost – Beck and Bat for Lashes
- Jonathan Low – Vampire Weekend
- With You in My Head – UNKLE feat The Black Angels
- Million Miles an Hour – Eastern Conference Champions
- Life on Earth – Band of Horses
- What Part of Forever – Cee Lo Green
- Jacob’s Theme – Howard Shore
Breaking Dawn: Part 1 soundtrack
The fourth film in the Twilight saga once again saw Alexandra Patsavas returning as music supervisor.
The soundtrack was the first in the series not to feature a track from British rock band Muse, who had contributed songs to each of the previous three films. Carter Burwell returned to the franchise to deliver a new score for both Part 1 and 2 of Breaking Dawn.
Breaking Dawn: Part 1: full tracklist
- Endtapes – The Joy Formidable
- Love Will Take You – Angus & Julia Stone
- It Will Rain – Bruno Mars
- Turning Page – Sleeping at Last
- From Now On – The Features
- A Thousand Years – Christina Perri
- Neighbors – Theophilus London
- I Didn’t Mean It – The Belle Brigade
- Sister Rosetta (2011 version) – Noisettes
- Northern Lights – Cider Sky
- Flightless Bird, American Mouth (Wedding version) – Iron & Wine
- Requiem on Water – Imperial Mammoth
- Cold – Aqualung & Lucy Schwartz
- Lloverá (It’s Going to Rain) – Mía Maestro
- Love Death Birth – Carter Burwell
Breaking Dawn: Part 2 soundtrack
Alexandra Patsavas returned to the role of music supervisor for the final film in the Twilight series, with Carter Burwell in the composing seat. It’s a much gentler score than some of the others, bringing Twilight fans to the end of the franchise with an emotional finish.
Breaking Dawn: Part 2: full tracklist
- Where I Come From – Passion Pit
- Bittersweet – Ellie Goulding
- The Forgotten – Green Day
- Fire in the Water – Feist
- Everything and Nothing – The Boom Circuits
- The Antidote – St Vincent
- Speak Up – POP ETC
- Heart of Stone – Iko
- Cover Your Tracks – A Boy and His Kite
- Ghosts – James Vincent McMorrow
- All I’ve Ever Needed – Paul McDonald & Nikki Reed
- New for You – Reeve Carney
- A Thousand Years (Part 2) – Christina Perri feat Steve Kazee
- Plus Que Ma Propre Vie (More Than My Own Life) – Carter Burwell
If you’re a fan of the orchestral score from the franchise, the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra recorded the music from the Twilight saga in 2012.