In the context of the story, it will have many bawling over their controllers. ‘Farewell Old Friend’ certainly does both. As noted by Przybylowicz, music should not only support the game, but also work autonomously. Key characters gather for the funeral, accompanied by ‘Farewell Old Friend’, a sombre and lyrical string piece. This is never more apparent than when, in one awful scene, a close mentor of our protagonist is killed. It also makes me hungry, but I’m not sure that was intended.Īs we’ve already established, stakes are high in the world of the Witcher. It calls to mind images of minstrels, mead, and draughty castles. ‘The Musty Scent of Fresh Pate’ is likely the clearest example of this. Without being bound by strict accuracy restrictions, the composers then used the biases of their listeners to write ‘illustrative music’ and evoke a sense of the period. In fact, the aural tradition of medieval music is represented in the Witcher 'universe' through the famous bard characters, Dandelion and Jaskier - novel/game and television characters respectively - who tell tales of woe and adventure in taverns. However, as Przybylowicz pointed out, folk music from the Middle Ages wasn’t written down, so accurate, authentic folk music would be difficult to replicate. Since the world of the Witcher features medieval European and folk influences, so too did the soundtrack. In an interview, the Witcher’s lead composer Marcin Przybylowicz remarked on the creative leeway the team was allowed when writing. This is kitchen-sink, epic writing at its best, and brilliantly paints a picture of our hero's struggle. However, Geralt’s theme triumphs, with full orchestra and driving string rhythms. The melody develops and bounces around the orchestra, but battles with menacing chromatic brass (later used with augmented 4ths in the big bad Wild Hunt’s theme). In the first few bars, an E minor cello solo starts, signifying Geralt, our protagonist – note that cello solos are used to represent Geralt in other tracks, like the Wolf and the Swallow. This is the first track heard on starting the Witcher, and it effectively sets the stage for our game. This performance is particularly chilling. In Velen, a cruel natural justice prevails: the titular ‘Ladies of the Woods’ are ancient beings who protect some Velen villages, but at an awful cost - an ear here… a few orphans there… In truth, this is a monster’s theme, with persistent, menacing repetition building tensionthroughout. Velen is wild and pagan, reflected by general ‘otherness’ in the score*: guttural female Slavic vocals, drones, and unusual instruments like the Kemenche, hurdy gurdy, gusli and Saz. However, the score for Velen must evoke a near-uninhabitable marshland, occupied only by war survivors and the monsters that plague them. Novigrad, characterised by its organised and restrictive religion, is more sophisticated, with male-dominated choral vocals and ominous bells in some tracks. Skellige has an aethereal Celtic feel (think Lord of the Rings Council of Elrond). Ladies of the Woods theme - Child of the Elder BloodĪs mentioned above, music for the three key regions in Witcher – Skellige, Novigrad and Velen – sound very different. It is one of the more melodically hopeful pieces, a great soother, and will likely give you a hankering to sit on a mountain somewhere. The track features string swells under recorder and bagpipe solos. ‘Spikeroog’, an island from the fictional archipelago of Skellige, has both Celtic and Norse influences. Each region’s idiosyncrasies are reflected through differing orchestration and motifs. It would have been easy to write with a general medieval aesthetic and call it a day, but the composers refused to do that. The Witcher features several regions, each with disparate social, religious, and cultural identities. Here are 10 of my favourite tracks from the world of Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Now that Witcher’s Netflix adaptation has become such a mainstream success, it might be worth remembering what the game has to offer. It's quite a challenge for any composer, but Marcin Przybylowicz, Mikolai Stroinski and others went above and beyond in bringing the story to life through music. On his path, he experiences loss, alienation, love and everything in-between while slaying monsters. In short, The Witcher, based on Andrzej Sapkowski's fantasy novels, follows the story of the monster hunter (Witcher) Geralt. However, game soundtracks have to be responsive to players' actions, and a game as complex as The Witcher needs far more music than most films. Questions facing the composers in both genres are similar: they must consider characters, setting, atmosphere and narrative. This time, I’d like to highlight a favourite game Soundtrack – Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (“The Witcher”). My last musical post featured 1917’s film score.
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