While in a recording session for the latest season of NBC's Hannibal, composer Brian Reitzell (pictured) was unsatisfied with a scene in which a teacup shatters, then rewinds back together. The key, it turned out, wasn't your average swell of strings. “I needed to break two sake bottles to add texture,” he says, “and then I swirled around chunks of broken glass in a bucket.” For someone who frequently maxes out Pro Tools with 256 distinct tracks of sound, it's just another day at the office.
Reitzell's eerie, ever-present soundtrack is as much a part of the show's success as Mads Mikkelsen's disquieting performance as Hannibal Lecter. Most series have occasional light scoring accompanied by recognizable songs; Hannibal is nearly wall-to-wall ambient compositions. Reitzell, 49, who has also worked on numerous films and even the videogame Watch Dogs, needs to create about 40 minutes of music for each episode; that means working 12-hour days, six days a week, for two weeks—for each of the 13 episodes per season.
The third cycle, which begins in June, continues the show's winking culinary theme with episodes named after Italian courses. (Nothing as obvious as “Fava Beans and Chianti”—more like “Antipasto.”) For his part, Reitzell embraced Mediterranean influences, citing Francis Lai's Live for Life and composer Ennio Morricone. More instruments will also make it into the mix, from a 100-year-old celesta to a Renaissance-era organ. But it's not all high art—Reitzell recently recorded the melodious sound of bouncing Ping-Pong balls. Delectable.
