I don’t know about you, but I am taking a much needed break from my political driving and I am going to pursue some of my other passions. Tonight it is music!

I am the son and grandson of some very gifted musicians. My grandfather was a violinist for the Dallas Symphony in the 50’s. My mom is a very accomplished pianist and has  directed choirs and taught music to more young people than I can name. I grew up listening to (among other things) classical music. John Williams has been a staple of my musical diet since I was 2 years old. Imagine a boy being purposefully exposed to Bach and Barber and then taught to pick out the different instruments and the competing parts melodies. That was my youth.  I tell you these things to help you understand that I do not exaggerate when I say that few musical compositions have affected me so much as Bear McCreary’s Battlestar Galactica Season 2 Soundtrack. The soundtrack is an elegant, intelligent piece of classical music with a very distinct eastern flare.

The album starts out with a hat tip to the original BSG series, an overture that includes a fanfare of the original theme song. It is light, happy, and triumphant, and then you hit the second track and the real journey begins. From that point forward the listener experiences a series of tracks that each contains a music that cannot help but evoke emotion. In watching the series, the song that really caught my attention and made me have to get up and go buy the album was track 17, “Prelude to War”, which someone wonderfully made a YouTube video for:

I do not exaggerate when I say that I have listened to this album a thousand times in the last few years. I have never grown bored with it. In fact, I find that my favorite songs shift from month to month. One song from BSG Season 2 that has risen to the top of my list is a classical piece that evokes both hope and sadness every time I listen is called “A Promise to Return:

These are but two of the wonderful pieces that I love from the Battlestar Galactica Season 2 Soundtrack. Throughout the series Bear has done a masterful job at blending very different, yet beautiful and emotional soundscapes together. I will likely post reviews of both soundtracks in weeks to come, but in the mean time, go over to Amazon and buy this album. You won’t be sorry and it will give you some great music for working or for relaxing or for background music for having guests.