There may not have been performances of the two Original Song Oscar contenders on Sunday at the 84th Academy Awards, but there sure was music.

And fans of that music can now buy all or part of those songs on iTunes, thanks to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the music directors for the 2012 Oscars, Hans Zimmer and Pharrell Williams.

The compilation is called “The 84th Academy Awards — Celebrate the Music” (preview the music below).

Songs include Zimmer’s “Celebrate the Oscars” theme and Esperanza Spalding’s  breathtaking version of “What a Wonderful World” (with the purchase of the full album). Spalding sang the song during the 84th Academy Awards’ “In Memoriam” segment, along with the Southern California Children’s Chorus, conducted by Carol Aspling.

Musicians on the soundtrack include percussionist/drummer/composer Sheila E.; Grammy-winning double bass player/singer Spalding; guitarist/composer Stephane Wrembel (“Midnight in Paris”); three-time Oscar-winning composer Giorgio Moroder; two-time Oscar winning composer/musician A.R. Rahman; violin/cello virtuosi Ann Marie Calhoun and Martin Tillman; Dutch hit remixer/composer/electronic musician Junkie XL; and multiple Grammy-winning British musician/producer Peter Asher.

Each artist created their own piece of music inspired by or derived from Zimmer’s basic thematic framework.

Find the songs here (and below):

Toledo Free Press Lead Designer and Film Editor James A. Molnar blogs about all things Oscar at TheGoldKnight.com.

Tags: 84th Oscars, Academy Awards, Esperanza Spalding, Hans Zimmer, iTunes, James A. Molnar, Oscars, Pharrell Williams, score, soundtrack, The Gold Knight, The Oscars

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 29th, 2012 at 2:03 pm and is filed under Arts and Life, Film, Music, Star, The Gold Knight.
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