Benjamin Wallfisch conducts soloist Tereza Stanislav and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra in the 2012 world premiere of his own violin concerto. (Photo: Lee Salem)

Benjamin Wallfisch is the composer riding the top of the box office chart for the weekend of Sept. 8 with his score for Stephen King’s IT chilling audiences to the tune of $117.15 million for North America, according to comScore. The composer also scored the No. 4 film, Annabelle: Creation, putting him in the elite category of composers who have two of the top five. His work will next be heard on the Oct. 6 release Bladerunner 2049.

“Creating a score to tell the story of a shapeshifting antagonist of unimaginable evil that can only be defeated when a group of individuals come together as one required metamorphic themes and extremes of sonic irreverence,” Wallfisch said describing the score. He also drew on stores of “heartfelt quiet and, most importantly, a musical language that strived to be constantly informed by the profound emotional truth driving the heartbeat of the filmmaking.”

The the New Line Cinema release IT’s  original motion picture soundtrack, featuring music by Benjamin Wallfisch,  is available from WaterTower Music, the in-house music label for Warner Bros. Double CD and Digital versions of the album became available worldwide on Sept. 8, the day the film opened theatrically.  A special vinyl picture disc and double vinyl version will come to market Oct. 27, timed to Halloween. Described as “thrillingly unsettling,” the 38-track soundtrack for IT captures “adventure and anarchy,” according to Wallfisch, who used a full symphony orchestra and children’s choir to create the film’s music.

IT original soundtrack featuring music by Benjamin Wallfisch

“To collaborate with [director] Andy Muschietti on IT was to be invited into a thrilling, deeply inspiring and richly creative dynamic space. It was a true honor, and, as a lifelong Stephen King fan, a great privilege. Every now and again, you come across a movie where the storytelling is so powerful, the subtext so visceral, the synergy between director, narrative and actors so palpable that as a composer you can feel the music being energized by something so much bigger than what’s just on the screen,” the composer added.

Wallfisch’s other credits include Twentieth Century Fox’s underrated 2016 release A Cure for Wellness and New Line’s Annabelle: Creation, an Aug. 11 release that is still going strong. For that project, the composer collaborated with director David F. Sandberg, who he calls “a master filmmaker, but also a great musician. His deep understanding of what a score can bring to the table in such a finely nuanced, beautifully crafted piece of cinema as Annabelle: Creation, gave me a lot of freedom to think outside the box.”

WaterTower Music also released the 28-track score to Annabelle: Creation, the follow up to 2014’s hugely successful Annabelle.  “Our only rule was everything in the score had to be acoustic; as the drama is set in the 1950s, everything needed to feel authentic to the time.” As a supplement to the large orchestra on that score, “we utilized a whole bunch of dusty toy instruments from the 1950s, with one in particular appearing more than any other – a seemingly innocent sounding Jaymar toy piano. Just the kind of instrument you might catch Annabelle herself playing.”

LISTEN: “Pennywise’s Tower” by Benjamin Wallfisch from the IT soundtrack

LISTEN: “You’ll Float Too” by Benjamin Wallfisch from the IT soundtrack

LISTEN: “Creation” from the Annabelle: Creation soundtrack

LISTEN: “The Possession” from the Annabelle: Creation soundtrack