'Unlike most press conferences, the first sound heard was an orchestra tuning up. Then, I emerged from behind the red curtain and walked to the front of the group. I took a bow, turned to my musicians, and raised my hands. The crowd hushed. Clearly this show would not start with speeches or visuals, but would begin with music. With my arms raised in anticipation, I took a deep, long breath. I reminded myself to enjoy every second of what was about to unfold: scoring a live playing of a video game in real time with a full orchestra.'
'This moment was the culmination of a long journey, because my work on God of War began nearly two years ago. One rainy November afternoon, I was called into Sony’s Santa Monica Studio to meet with acclaimed music producers Pete Scaturro and Keith Leary (with whom I had collaborated closely on Sony’s SOCOM 4: US Navy Seals), to discuss a secret project. Our conversation revolved around folk music, mythology, Nordic ethnic instruments, vocal writing, and classical thematic development. “Wait a minute.” I asked. “Is this… a new God of War?!”
'I met game director Cory Barlog early in the process, and immediately knew the franchise was in good hands. Cory was the director of my favorite game in the series thus far (God of War II), and I could immediately see why. He is a natural-born storyteller. Hours flew by in our engrossing story sessions, where he would share his vision for the narrative. I felt like our meetings were being held around a campfire.'
'The development team and I gravitated towards low orchestral instruments, Icelandic choir, deep male vocals, powerful female vocals (in particular Faroese singer Eivør Pálsdóttir, whom we flew in to Los Angeles for the performance), folk percussion, and Nordic stringed instruments such as the nyckelharpa and hurdy gurdy. The main theme features all of these elements.
When the decision was made to unveil God of War at E3 2016, Playstation came to me with a radical idea. They asked me if I would be willing to perform my original score live to picture with a full orchestra at the press conference. Naturally, I was on board immediately and enthusiastically.'
More here: http://www.bearmccreary.com/#blog/blog/video-games/god-of-war-at-e3/
Eivør Pálsdóttir:
The PS5 Exists.
