Got a long car ride ahead? Make a Spotify playlist of these notable tunes and soundtracks from various MHz Choice series before you embark on your trip! Don’t have a Spotify account? Click here to create a free account and listen to all of the songs on this list in their entirety.
NOTE: This is by no way an a exhaustive list, nor are the songs listed from “Best to Worst” (you can stop writing that email right now). Think of this as a primer of all of the great songs and scores on MHz Choice. Sing along if you can! Did we miss a song? Let us know here!
Above L to R: Olivia Sellerio, Shirley Bassey and Jonathan Johansson
Spring Tide
No Rest for Me – Jonathan Johansson
The opening title sequence from Spring Tide features the haunting No Rest for Me from Jonathan Johansson. As if conjured from the afterlife, Johansson vocals foreshadow a strange, dark journey ahead.
Acquitted
Keep That Letter Safe – Highasakite
Similar to Spring Tide, the opening sequence from Acquitted, featuring the ethereal vocals of Ingrid Helene Håvik from Norwegian pop band Highasakite, sets the stage for this hugely popular Nordic noir series. (Available in the U.S. only)
Detective Montalbano
Montalbano Noir Concertante – Franco Piersanti
From the opening swirl of tense strings to the sweeping tango-like flourishes throughout, composer Franco Piersanti has penned an unforgettable classic to open each and every episode of one of our favorite detective series, Detective Montalbano.
Detective Montalbano
Nuddu è di nuddu (e nuddu m’avi) – Olivia Sellerio
Montalbano fans will immediately recognize vocalist Olivia Sellerio’s voice as the show’s producers use her talents throughout the series. Nuddu è di nuddu (e nuddu m’avi) comes from the end credits of Detective Montalbano: Merry Go Round (Ep 31). Fun fact: Olivia is the daughter of the husband and wife team who published all of Andrea Camilleri’s Detective Montalbano novels and short stories. AND she also sings the opening title theme to Montalbano prequel The Young Montalbano. Read more about Oliva Sellerio here.
Maigret
Générique (Maigret Et Les Plaisirs De La Nuit) – L’Orchestre Symphonique Français
Is it weird that the opening phrase of brass and strings immediately conjures up Parisian street lamp lights obscured with wafts of pipe smoke? Maybe it’s just me.
NOTE: The entire Maigret collection has been remastered and can be seen in its original HD glory on MHz Choice digital streaming here and on a newly restored SD DVD set here.
Mafia Only Kills in Summer
A Palermo – Santi Pulvirenti
Season 1 of Mafia Only Kills in Summer proved to be a big hit with MHz Choice subscribers! Film composer Santi Pulvirenti’s opening theme music A Palermo is the perfect blend of offbeat energy and melancholy to introduce the wonderfully chaotic world of ten-year-old Salvatore Giammarresi and his family.
The Bridge
Hollow Talk – Choir Of Young Believers
Breathtakingly brilliant, this series is perhaps the gold standard by which all other Nordic Noir series are judged. Hollow Talk Choir Of Young Believers instantly transports you deep into the dark, emotional depth of this award-winning crime drama.
Wallander
The Opening – Fleshquartet featuring Ane Brun
The Opening by Fleshquartet featuring Ane Brun comes from the Season 3 finale of Wallander. If this tune isn’t striking a bell, it definitely worth re-watching. Like, right now.
Wallander
Quiet Night – Fleshquartet featuring Anna Ternheim
The Wallander series is just bursting with amazing, evocative music perfectly tailored to the dramatic arcs contained within author Henning Mankell’s brilliant stories. In the opening line of Quiet Night singer Anna Ternheim muses “Quiet night, a thought becomes a whisper” and boom, you’re transported.
A French Village
Un village français (Générique) – Eric Neveux
Sweeping, epic, tragic. All present in Eric Neveux’s almost march-like opening theme to A French Village. If you’ll allow me a second to brag — A French Village is not just one of the best French series ever made — it is one of the best series ever produced, period. If you haven’t yet seen this spectacular series, GO WATCH NOW!
NOTE: MHz Choice subscribers who’ve been agonizing over the end of A French Village can take a bit of solace in the fact that actors Robin Renucci and Nicolas Gob take star turns in Chefs on MHz Choice! Read more here!
Browse full list of songs below:
