Apocalypto reunites the Braveheart team of composer James Horner and director Mel Gibson in a tale of revenge set among Mayan tribesmen. The short prologue draws us deep into a jungle setting where a falling string theme with birdsong overlay suggests an unspoken narrative. Horner goes on to chart the sounds of the jungle with an employment of voices chanting, wailing and singing from the throat in an uncanny representation. Qawwali singer Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Terry Edwards of the London Voices create this illusion of a lost world that lends this soundtrack its most distinctive feature. The ensemble of synthesisers and solo instruments such as the panpipe are the only other players. The principal theme of the jungle music, scored for flutes, occurs in “The Games” and “Escape”, which is a key track on this soundtrack offering a good sample of the diversity of this score. Less desirable are those heavy percussion cues that have become a cliché of so much contemporary movie scoring. Horner's music is clearly well integrated into the action, but how far this reaches out to the listener at home will depend on whether or not they have seen the film prior to hearing the CD.