When choosing a composer for the film, director David Lean assumed that Malcolm Arnold—who had scored Lean's 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai—would compose for Lawrence of Arabia.[1] When producer Sam Spiegel screened a rough draft of the film for Arnold and composer William Walton, however, the composers reportedly disliked the film, calling it "terrible" and "a travelogue that would require hours of music".[2][3]
Spiegel then engaged Broadway composer Richard Rodgers to compose the film's soundtrack and young French composer Maurice Jarre—who had recently scored Sundays and Cybèle—to orchestrate it. Reportedly, Rodgers did not review any footage to compose themes for the film, and Lean and Spiegel were both extremely dissatisfied with his work, with Lean calling it "rubbish" and "nonsense". Jarre, meanwhile, had composed a piece called "The Theme from Lawrence of Arabia", which Lean liked so much that he asked Jarre to score the entire film.[2][3][4]
Production
Jarre had six weeks to compose the film's soundtrack.[1][3][5] Because of the tight schedule, instead of orchestrating his own film music as he was accustomed to, he invited Gerard Schurmann to orchestrate.[6] Jarre had originally brought Adrian Boult on to conduct, however, as Boult had no experience pacing the tempo of music to fit the action onscreen, Jarre conducted.[3][5] Spiegel, wanting to keep as many prestigious names on board as possible, insisted that Boult's name still be listed in the film credits as having conducted.[4] Jarre, however, is listed as the conductor on the record.[2][5]
As in The Bridge on the River Kwai, which employed Kenneth Alford's "Colonel Bogey March", Lean wished to incorporate another Alford march in Lawrence of Arabia: "The Voice of the Guns".[3] The march is used in the overture as well as in fragmentary motifs throughout the film.[2]