Piano collections and songbooks are published only for a limited number of films and television series each year – unfortunately, with a declining tendency. That there are multiple official sheet music books for the same movie (excluding easy piano/big-note editions etc.) with completely different arrangements is rare – one notable exception is “Dances with Wolves” (1990).
Excerpts from the score by John Barry, which earned him his fourth and final Academy Award, were adapted for piano solo both by Hal Leonard (arrangements by Phillip Keveren) and Warner Bros. While Hal Leonard’s piano collection is more extensive, featuring eleven titles compared to six, Warner Bros’s – which I think is likely unfamiliar to most – includes one unique title: “Ride to Fort Hays”.
Dances with Wolves, Hal Leonard 1991, 978-0-7935-0376-6, HL00308093
Contents: Main Title (Looks like a Suicide), The John Dunbar Theme, Journey to Fort Sedgewick, Two Socks (The Wolf Theme), Kicking Bird’s Gift, The Buffalo Hunt, The Love Theme, Two Socks at Play, The Death of Cisco, Rescue of Dances with Wolves, Farewell and End Title
Dances with Wolves (Soundtrack Selections), Warner Bros 1991, PF0747
Contents: The Buffalo Hunt, The John Dunbar Theme, Journey to Fort Sedgewick, The Love Theme, Ride to Fort Hays, Two Socks (The Wolf Theme)
The most well-known instrumental composition from the film is probably “The John Dunbar Theme”. It has been released as single sheet music by both Hal Leonard and Warner Bros: While the Warner Bros arrangement is identical to the version in their piano collection, Hal Leonard provides a different one (special radio version). In Australia, an additional arrangement has been issued by both Warner/Chappell and Alfred. Including the version by Phillipp Keveren from Hal Leonard’s piano collection, a total of four different piano arrangements of the “The John Dunbar Theme” has been published.
