Nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for his work in 2005-2006 on the cult show Supernatural, Christopher Lennertz may be the perfect example of the hard-working composer and talent many film music fans may not be familiar with, because so little of his work exists on CD.

Aside from Saint Sinner - his best-known work, and a perfect calling card sampler for any composer - little else has been commercially released, although that may change as the first season of Supernatural is slated for a September 5th release on DVD from Warner Home Video.

There was a period when, to paraphrase Elmer Bernstein, 'the town was littered with people that could really write music,' and while he was expressing regret at the paucity of skilled composition in 2000, his personal involvement in university film scoring programs helped foster a work-styled education in which young composers could learn their craft with hands-on experience.

That's what helped transform aspiring composers into working professionals, and develop their ability to craft beautifully orchestrated music with fine nuances for a market that's no longer restricted to feature films and TV.

While our interview focuses on specific projects, those interested in Lennertz' work should check out his work in the video game realm, as his scores have fully developed dramatic and action cues, written for large orchestra in a diversity of styles.

Gun (for Xbox) is perhaps the best score never written for a feature film, and Lennertz' comfortably moves between massive percussive action cues to refreshing western-styled mood pieces for the game's characters. This is elegant, grand writing that belongs to a solidly crafted, big-budget western, and some of the colourful instruments - slide guitar and rustic violin - get their own complete cues, giving the overall score an extraordinary emotional depth.

Just as fun is the buoyant action music in From Russia With Love (PS2), which smoothly integrates the 007 theme with FRWL's title song into various cues, and starts the game with a great instrumental rendition that's more than faithful to a vintage sixties spy flick, with lots of jazzy brass and smooth, flowing strings.

Like Michael Giacchino, Lennertz also scored entries in the Medal of Honor Series. Pacific Assault (PC) offers a nice mixture of regal themes, subdued suspense music, while Rising Sun (PS2) has an amusing evocation of Jerry Goldsmith's famous Patton triplets. The action cues are bereft of the bombast typical of the genre, and while some tracks are designed for extended play during a game sequence, Lennertz' writing shifts between various instrumentation, so it rarely sounds like the same series of bars repeated ad infinitum.

Supernatural has its own distinct tone, with delicate moments of emotional sadness, sudden bursts of sharp orchestral nastiness, and lots of creepy underscore where Lennertz plays with ambiences, percussive textures, and fuses electronic and traditional instruments into some creepy and surprisingly tender cues.

Click on to Page 2 for our Interview...