When a tragedy occurs such as the mass shooting in an Aurora, society often shows both its ugliest sides and its most beautiful. On the ugly side of things, gun sales skyrocketed after the shooting, and many of the injured were left with astrologically high medical bills. On the positive side, the saner people of America have rallied together to prevent further gun violence, Batman star Christian Bale visited the injured, and ‘Dark Knight Rises’ composer Hans Zimmer released an astonishing eight minute long composition dedicated (and with proceeds going towards) the victims of the senseless tragedy. Zimmer announced this, as people do these days, through his Facebook page.

The composition, available here on iTunes for $1.29, is a masterwork in restraint – at three and a half minutes in the chorus of voices fades in and out of a low hum before coming back for a middle stretch that is better than anything on the ‘Dark Knight Rises’ soundtrack itself. The last minute is chilling. It’s hard to place a piece of music like this “above” the actual soundtrack, yet “Aurora” is simply a fucking beautiful, heartfelt, and raw piece of music if there ever was one.

You should already have clicked the link and bought it, but here it is again. You don’t need my help to donate to this terrible tragedy. But if you’re a a Zimmer fan, this is some of his best work. Period. It’s a wonderful, eerie, startling composition. Good on Hans Zimmer for doing this.