Uploaded September 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
This is my compilation of John William's Score to the film Amistad. Listed below are the tracks I used, in order:
1 - Dry Your Tears, Africa (0:00) (The solo from the opening of the film was used here without the accompanying happy choir behind it. I didn't want to much happiness in this suite because there is not a whole lot to be happy about for Cinque.)
2 - Sierra Leone, 1839 And The Capture Of Cinque (0:39) (Low male choir with drum and brass, it sets the tone for Cinque's capture and subsequent rip from his family. We hear his theme in a child's choir towards the end, accompanied with more drum. The original edit was going to take 2 minutes of the drums out from the end but I kept it and how it ties into the harpsichord at the end)
3 - Crossing the Atlantic (4:10) (It starts off like something from Braveheart, it's another statement of Cinque's Theme with drums and pressing into a grander statement of his theme with accompanying choir instead of the other way around. This music is featured in the film with the birth of a child on the slave ship La Amistad.)
4 - July 4th, 1839 (7:20) (A fantasy style overtone to the beginning like vintage John Williams from the late 90's to the early 2000's, this track is used primarily for the chanting and unison strings.)
5 - Cinque's Theme (9:39) (That's Jim Walker on solo flute paired with Harp. As a side note, Mozart was not a fan of either instrument. The full string treatment that follows sounds like the music is imploring you for help, like it's in a low place, the lowest its ever been, and cannot get back up. Solo horn at the end is James Thatcher.)
6 - Middle Passage (13:33) (I said I didn't want to much happiness in the suite and this is all I included. It's not articulate, it's not overly jovial, it's more like something that might be but hasn't gotten there yet as it ends as solemnly as it began.)
7 - The Long Road to Justice (15:04) (Tim Morrison on solo trumpet, as John Williams his written for before with Born on the Fourth of July, the Olympic Theme to the 1996 Olympics and Saving Private Ryan, Tim has also played with the late James Horner on Apollo 13. This score is featured in the end credits but is not the music that brings our suite to a close.)
8 - Going Home (18:16) (In the end, Cinque wins his freedom but that's all he gets. He returns to Africa and his family is gone. While some might see this as a film primarily about slavery, I see it as the story of one man who was forced to fight against the world and he, ultimately, lost. His theme is now a soliloquy as we see Cinque at the bow of the ship in eager anticipation of a reunion that would never come.)
I do not own any copyright music from Amistad, just ownership of this suite. Purchase Amistad by John Williams on iTunes if you liked the score. I had never heard of this film until my mom purchased it for me for Easter one year mistaking it as Amadeus. I'm glad for the confusion because I was introduced to my first John Williams film score not released in theaters. There is a lot of tribal instrumentation and is his premier work on an African score. It was very impressive, especially all of the solos in the score. There are a total of 14 tracks on the album and I only used score from 8 of them. Honestly, though, there are really only 13 tracks on here as the first and last tracks are the same. It was part of his "Reprise" days of having the same music track on there twice, like Stepmom, Saving Private Ryan, Seven Years in Tibet and others. At least when he did it in Schindler's List, we got a different instrumentation. As always, comments are welcome and encouraged.
This is my compilation of John William's Score to the film Amistad. Listed below are the tracks I used, in order:
1 - Dry Your Tears, Africa (0:00) (The solo from the opening of the film was used here without the accompanying happy choir behind it. I didn't want to much happiness in this suite because there is not a whole lot to be happy about for Cinque.)
2 - Sierra Leone, 1839 And The Capture Of Cinque (0:39) (Low male choir with drum and brass, it sets the tone for Cinque's capture and subsequent rip from his family. We hear his theme in a child's choir towards the end, accompanied with more drum. The original edit was going to take 2 minutes of the drums out from the end but I kept it and how it ties into the harpsichord at the end)
3 - Crossing the Atlantic (4:10) (It starts off like something from Braveheart, it's another statement of Cinque's Theme with drums and pressing into a grander statement of his theme with accompanying choir instead of the other way around. This music is featured in the film with the birth of a child on the slave ship La Amistad.)
4 - July 4th, 1839 (7:20) (A fantasy style overtone to the beginning like vintage John Williams from the late 90's to the early 2000's, this track is used primarily for the chanting and unison strings.)
5 - Cinque's Theme (9:39) (That's Jim Walker on solo flute paired with Harp. As a side note, Mozart was not a fan of either instrument. The full string treatment that follows sounds like the music is imploring you for help, like it's in a low place, the lowest its ever been, and cannot get back up. Solo horn at the end is James Thatcher.)
6 - Middle Passage (13:33) (I said I didn't want to much happiness in the suite and this is all I included. It's not articulate, it's not overly jovial, it's more like something that might be but hasn't gotten there yet as it ends as solemnly as it began.)
7 - The Long Road to Justice (15:04) (Tim Morrison on solo trumpet, as John Williams his written for before with Born on the Fourth of July, the Olympic Theme to the 1996 Olympics and Saving Private Ryan, Tim has also played with the late James Horner on Apollo 13. This score is featured in the end credits but is not the music that brings our suite to a close.)
8 - Going Home (18:16) (In the end, Cinque wins his freedom but that's all he gets. He returns to Africa and his family is gone. While some might see this as a film primarily about slavery, I see it as the story of one man who was forced to fight against the world and he, ultimately, lost. His theme is now a soliloquy as we see Cinque at the bow of the ship in eager anticipation of a reunion that would never come.)
I do not own any copyright music from Amistad, just ownership of this suite. Purchase Amistad by John Williams on iTunes if you liked the score. I had never heard of this film until my mom purchased it for me for Easter one year mistaking it as Amadeus. I'm glad for the confusion because I was introduced to my first John Williams film score not released in theaters. There is a lot of tribal instrumentation and is his premier work on an African score. It was very impressive, especially all of the solos in the score. There are a total of 14 tracks on the album and I only used score from 8 of them. Honestly, though, there are really only 13 tracks on here as the first and last tracks are the same. It was part of his "Reprise" days of having the same music track on there twice, like Stepmom, Saving Private Ryan, Seven Years in Tibet and others. At least when he did it in Schindler's List, we got a different instrumentation. As always, comments are welcome and encouraged.
