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Music of the Spheres: Difference between revisions
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{{Soundtrack infobox | {{Soundtrack infobox | ||
|image=[[File:1 MOTS Cover square.jpg|200px]] | |image=[[File:1 MOTS Cover square.jpg|200px]] | ||
|release=December 25, 2017<br />June 1, 2018 | |release=December 25, 2017 (unofficial)<br />June 1, 2018 | ||
|genre=Classical<br />Orchestra<br />Video game soundtrack | |genre=Classical<br />Orchestra<br />Video game soundtrack | ||
|label=Bungie Music Publishing | |label=Bungie Music Publishing | ||
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== Track listing== | == Track listing== | ||
1. The Path - 6:20 | |||
:Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori / McCartney | :Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori / McCartney | ||
2. The Union - 4:28 | |||
:Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori | :Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori | ||
3. The Ruin - 5:20 | |||
:Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori | :Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori | ||
4. The Tribulation - 5:52 | |||
:Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori / McCartney | :Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori / McCartney | ||
5. The Rose - 5:25 | |||
:Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori / McCartney | :Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori / McCartney | ||
6. The Ecstacy - 6:39 | |||
:Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori | :Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori | ||
7. The Prison - 6:28 | |||
:Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori / McCartney | :Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori / McCartney | ||
8. The Hope - 7:47 | |||
:Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori / McCartney | :Credits: O'Donnell / Salvatori / McCartney | ||
== Production == | == Production == | ||
[[File:MusicofSpherespostcard.jpg|400px|right|The ''Music of the Spheres'' postcard, with track names, lengths, and art.]] | [[File:MusicofSpherespostcard.jpg|400px|right|The ''Music of the Spheres'' postcard, with track names, lengths, and art.]] | ||
In late 2010, Bungie management came to composer Martin O'Donnell, asking him to write music for ''Destiny''. He came up with a concept he called a "musical prequel," where the music would be released before ''Destiny'' to introduce people to the musical themes of the franchise | In late 2010, Bungie management came to composer Martin O'Donnell, asking him to write music for ''Destiny''. He came up with a concept he called a "musical prequel," where the music would be released before ''Destiny'' to introduce people to the musical themes of the franchise. | ||
O'Donnell | O'Donnell began work on the album in early 2011, with some elements of the album having been worked on in 2009.<ref name="Kate">[http://www.wshu.org/post/marty-odonnell-origin-story-music-spheres#stream/0 Music Respawn interview with O'Donnell on the origins of Music of the Spheres]</ref> O'Donnell created short drafts for each of the eight movements alone and later recruited his long-time collaborator, Michael Salvatori, to flesh them out. Lev Chapelsky, a manager at a video game talent agency, began speaking with O'Donnell about potential collaborators, and they decided on Paul McCartney. McCartney had previously been at an E3 press conference for ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles%3A_Rock_Band The Beatles: Rock Band]'' and appeared immediately after Bungie's showing of ''[https://www.halopedia.org/Halo_3:_ODST Halo 3: ODST].'' Based on this appearance, Chapelsky believed that McCartney might be interested in gaining a new audience through video games. Chapelsky reached out to McCartney and booked a meeting in Los Angeles between O'Donnell and McCartney. The meeting went well, and McCartney quickly became interested in working on ''Destiny''.<ref>[https://youtu.be/uZ2bQfJAD9w IGN interview with O'Donnell about McCartney's involvement.]</ref> | ||
McCartney contributed melodies to the game's soundtrack, such as a melody for Horn that appears in the tracks ''The Path,'' ''The Prison,'' and ''The Hope.'' This melody can also be heard in the [[Destiny Original Soundtrack]] in tracks such as ''Tranquility'' and ''The Fallen'', and at the beginning of the track ''The Traveler.'' McCartney also contributed voice loops to the tracks ''The Path'' and ''The Prison''. McCartney directly worked on five of the tracks from ''Music of the Spheres'' and his work is reused throughout the in-game soundtrack.<ref name="Beatle">[https://www.polygon.com/22996738/bungie-destiny-paul-mccartney-marty-odonnell-history Polygon - Bungie and the Beatle]</ref> McCartney's most well-known contribution is ''[[Hope for the Future]]'', a song that appears at the end of ''Music of the Spheres.'' McCartney released the song as a standalone single, separate from ''Music of the Spheres'', on December 8, 2014. The standalone song received mixed reviews.<ref>[https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/paul-mccartney-hologram-hope-for-the-future-destiny-video-6397780/ Billboard article on the reception of ''Hope for the Future'']</ref> | |||
''Music of the Spheres'' remained unpublished for several years after, being made available on Bungie's own webstore on June 1, 2018 as part of ''The Music of Destiny, Volume 1'' vinyl soundtrack collection. <ref>[https://twitter.com/BungieStore/status/1005151172469010432 Bungie announcing the first official release of Music of the Spheres]</ref> | O'Donnell took inspiration from the ancient concept "[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musica_universalis Musica Universalis]"<ref>[https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-04-12-the-day-the-music-died-when-bungie-fired-marty-odonnell O'Donnell's interview with Eurogamer on his firing from Bungie]</ref>, or the idea that the seven celestial spheres moved in relation to music. O'Donnell also used [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomantic_figures nocturnal geomantic figures] as the namesake for the individual tracks.<ref name="Kate">[http://www.wshu.org/post/marty-odonnell-origin-story-music-spheres#stream/0 Music Respawn interview with O'Donnell on the origins of Music of the Spheres]</ref> Each track in ''Music of the Spheres'' is based on a planet as laid out by ancient astrology. O'Donnell used C.S. Lewis' book on the subject, ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Discarded_Image The Discarded Image]'', as a basis and general inspiration for his interpretation of the ideas. O'Donnell also drew inspiration from Holst's ''The Planets'', namely for the track ''The Ecstacy''.<ref name="Kate">[http://www.wshu.org/post/marty-odonnell-origin-story-music-spheres#stream/0 Music Respawn interview with O'Donnell on the origins of Music of the Spheres]</ref> The track order is based on the "classical" order of the planets, as laid out by ancient philosophers. This order of the planets is Earth's Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The eighth track of the album, ''The Hope'', is based on The Traveler and Earth. Earth's Moon and the Sun are considered planets in this model, as the term "planet" meant, at the time, "wandering star."<ref name="Kate">[http://www.wshu.org/post/marty-odonnell-origin-story-music-spheres#stream/0 Music Respawn interview with O'Donnell on the origins of Music of the Spheres]</ref> | ||
''Music of the Spheres'' was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in November 2012, with the final session concluding on November 24, 2012. <ref>[https://twitter.com/MartyTheElder/status/933941224246931456 O'Donnell commemorating the anniversary of ''Music of the Spheres'' being recorded]</ref> ''Music of the Spheres'' featured a large ensemble, with a 106-piece orchestra, choir, and boys choir. Bungie sought out the best talent they could find for the recording, featuring a celebrity conductor and orchestrator.<ref name="Beatle">[https://www.polygon.com/22996738/bungie-destiny-paul-mccartney-marty-odonnell-history Polygon - Bungie and the Beatle]</ref> | |||
''Music of the Spheres'' completed production on December 10, 2012.<ref>[https://twitter.com/MartyTheElder/status/807462515248545792 O'Donnell commemorating the anniversary of ''Music of the Spheres'' being mastered]</ref> O'Donnell immediately began searching for a means to publish the album, and Bungie produced 100 promotional CDs of ''Music of the Spheres.'' At E3 2013, publisher Activision reworked O'Donnell's audio for a trailer without O'Donnell's permission, replacing his music and hiring a voice actor unrelated to Bungie or ''Destiny''. O'Donnell expressed his frustrations on Twitter, stating the music was not his own.<ref>[https://twitter.com/MartyTheElder/status/344620774235185152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E344620774235185152&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Farticles%2F2016-04-12-the-day-the-music-died-when-bungie-fired-marty-odonnell O'Donnell's tweet about the trailer music]</ref> This started internal arguments with O'Donnell and Bungie's management. O'Donnell believed that Activison was damaging Bungie's work culture. Bungie believed that O'Donnell was being disruptive and that he was elevating his interest in publishing his music over the best interest of the company. O'Donnell was fired from Bungie on April 11, 2014. A legal battle between O'Donnell and Bungie's former CEO Harold Ryan began shortly after, which was resolved on September 4th, 2015 in favor of O'Donnell. <ref>[https://www.engadget.com/2015/09/04/halo-destiny-composer-marty-odonnell-wins-lawsuit-against Engadget's report on O'Donnell winning his court case]/</ref> | |||
''Music of the Spheres'' remained unpublished for several years after, being made available on Bungie's own webstore on June 1, 2018, as part of ''The Music of Destiny, Volume 1'' vinyl soundtrack collection. <ref>[https://twitter.com/BungieStore/status/1005151172469010432 Bungie announcing the first official release of Music of the Spheres]</ref> | |||
== Leak == | == Leak == | ||
When the struggles between O'Donnell and Bungie went public, two ''Destiny'' fans began a project to reconstruct ''Music of the Spheres'' from publicly available material. In March 2017, a 40-minute speculative cut of the album | When the struggles between O'Donnell and Bungie went public, two ''Destiny'' fans began a project to reconstruct ''Music of the Spheres'' from publicly available material. In March 2017, a 40-minute speculative cut of the album was released, utilizing audio from promotional material and music that appears in the first ''Destiny'' game.<ref>[https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-06-05-the-teen-who-spent-over-a-year-piecing-together-destinys-unreleased-music Eurogamer report on "Music of the Spheres: Definitive Edition"]</ref> O'Donnell stated that while it was "not quite definitive," it was still close to the real work.<ref>[https://www.reddit.com/r/DestinyTheGame/comments/619zav/music_of_the_spheres_definitive_edition/dfdlnh2/ O'Donnell's comment on the Definitive Edition]</ref> | ||
In late 2017, O'Donnell posted to Twitter encouraging anyone with a promotional copy of ''Music of the Spheres'' to share it. <ref>[https://twitter.com/MartyTheElder/status/936349365496459264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fkotaku.com%2Fajax%2Finset%2Fiframe%3Fid%3Dtwitter-936349365496459264%26autosize%3D1 O'Donnell's tweet encouraging people to share ''Music of the Spheres'']</ref> On December 25, 2017, ''Music of the Spheres'' was posted online, first appearing on the ''Destiny'' subreddit.<ref>[https://kotaku.com/four-years-later-destinys-music-of-the-spheres-has-lea-1821572335 Kotaku report of ''Music of the Spheres'' being leaked]</ref> Many fans feared the legal ramifications this would lead to, but for four months, the leak remained online. In April 2018, the leaks began to be taken down, which led to a fan outcry for the music. Bungie's community manager Cozmo23 responded to the backlash on Reddit by stating that Bungie was taking down the leaks in anticipation of an official release of ''Music of the Spheres''. <ref>''[https://www.pcgamer.com/the-unreleased-destiny-album-music-of-the-spheres-has-leaked PC Gamer report on the official release of "Music of the Spheres"]''/</ref> | In late 2017, O'Donnell posted to Twitter encouraging anyone with a promotional copy of ''Music of the Spheres'' to share it. <ref>[https://twitter.com/MartyTheElder/status/936349365496459264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fkotaku.com%2Fajax%2Finset%2Fiframe%3Fid%3Dtwitter-936349365496459264%26autosize%3D1 O'Donnell's tweet encouraging people to share ''Music of the Spheres'']</ref> On December 25, 2017, ''Music of the Spheres'' was posted online, first appearing on the ''Destiny'' subreddit.<ref>[https://kotaku.com/four-years-later-destinys-music-of-the-spheres-has-lea-1821572335 Kotaku report of ''Music of the Spheres'' being leaked]</ref> Many fans feared the legal ramifications this would lead to, but for four months, the leak remained online. In April 2018, the leaks began to be taken down, which led to a fan outcry for the music. Bungie's community manager Cozmo23 responded to the backlash on Reddit by stating that Bungie was taking down the leaks in anticipation of an official release of ''Music of the Spheres''. <ref>''[https://www.pcgamer.com/the-unreleased-destiny-album-music-of-the-spheres-has-leaked PC Gamer report on the official release of "Music of the Spheres"]''/</ref> | ||
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In terms of the layout of the poetry, there are fourteen poems arranged in seven pairs. Each poem draws influences from Ward's book ''[http://www.planetnarnia.com/ Planet Narnia]'', and the poems are arranged in a format called a roundel, where each poem has a main phrase that is repeated throughout (for instance, The Moon's phrase is "The Moon is Full"). | In terms of the layout of the poetry, there are fourteen poems arranged in seven pairs. Each poem draws influences from Ward's book ''[http://www.planetnarnia.com/ Planet Narnia]'', and the poems are arranged in a format called a roundel, where each poem has a main phrase that is repeated throughout (for instance, The Moon's phrase is "The Moon is Full"). | ||
Every two poems are 'opposing pairs'. According to Guite, "Each of the seven spheres has a certain cluster of associations and influences, Venus with love, Mars with war and martial valor, the Sun with gold, but also poetry and inspiration, etc. But equally, it is possible for each of these celestial influences to become corrupted and malign, for, as St. Augustine says, good is primal and evil is always a corruption of some original good."<ref name="Malcolm">[https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/2019/02/23/the-music-of-the-spheres-a-poetic-adventure-resumes/ Guite's blog post on the release of his poems]</ref> As such, the first poem of the opposing pair is diurnal, or the 'heavenly' sphere, and the second in the pair is the nocturnal, or the 'hellish' sphere. | Every two poems are 'opposing pairs'. According to Guite, "Each of the seven spheres has a certain cluster of associations and influences, Venus with love, Mars with war and martial valor, the Sun with gold, but also poetry and inspiration, etc. But equally, it is possible for each of these celestial influences to become corrupted and malign, for, as St. Augustine says, good is primal and evil is always a corruption of some original good. [sic]"<ref name="Malcolm">[https://malcolmguite.wordpress.com/2019/02/23/the-music-of-the-spheres-a-poetic-adventure-resumes/ Guite's blog post on the release of his poems]</ref> As such, the first poem of the opposing pair is diurnal, or the 'heavenly' sphere, and the second in the pair is the nocturnal, or the 'hellish' sphere. | ||
[[File:DS66ZTEU0AAGhUe.jpg|200xpx|thumb|right|Poet Malcolm Guite in a Bungie Office]] | [[File:DS66ZTEU0AAGhUe.jpg|200xpx|thumb|right|Poet Malcolm Guite in a Bungie Office]] | ||
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==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
*The musical keys of the pieces | *The musical keys of the pieces go in the order of the overtone or Lydian dominant scale (C, D, E, F#, G, A, Bb).<ref name="Kate">[http://www.wshu.org/post/marty-odonnell-origin-story-music-spheres#stream/0 Music Respawn interview with O'Donnell on the origins of Music of the Spheres]</ref> This is used in-game during the Vault of Glass raid: each of the seven Oracles plays one note of the above scale determined by its position. | ||
* | *In an interview with Music Respawn, O'Donnell stated that an alternate mix of ''Hope for the Future'' by Paul McCartney with a boys choir is part of ''Music of the Spheres''.<ref name="Kate">[http://www.wshu.org/post/marty-odonnell-origin-story-music-spheres#stream/0 Music Respawn interview with O'Donnell on the origins of Music of the Spheres]</ref> Curiously, this is not on the promotional CD or the official vinyl release of the album. However, this additional boys choir did appear in O'Donnell's own YouTube upload of ''Music of the Spheres'', which has since been taken down. | ||
*The leaked version of ''Music of the Spheres'' included subtitles for each track so that listeners would know which track corresponds with each planet. This release erroneously lists ''The Hope's'' subtitle as "Arrival." ''The Hope'' represents The Traveler on Earth, and the intention of the subtitle "Arrival" is to represent "The Traveler arriving to Earth." "Arrival" is not an official title or subtitle for the track. Additionally, the planetary subtitles present in the leak are not part of the official, intended track titles. | |||
* | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||