There are literally dozens of Star Trek games, spun off from the television series that started in 1966, yet no one's ever released a soundtrack from those games... until now.
BSX Records released compilations of Star Trek music from the TV series and from the movies. Then, producer Dominik Hauser had an idea:
"Why not do some of the music from those video games because they have never been released and they are quite fantastic, the music, so we thought, why not do a compilation of something that has never been done before?"
Composer Alexander Courage wrote the iconic theme to the original television series. That theme evolved when veteran film composer Jerry Goldsmith scored the first Star Trek feature film that the theme evolved into the swelling orchestral theme recognized for its use in the movies and seven seasons of The Next Generation series.
"To me still that's actually the most Star Trek. I don't know why - maybe because I watched The Next Generation and they used that theme for the main title of Next Generation."
"A lot of the themes like the Star Trek Online which is played right now and is hugely successful, has an amazing theme that Kevin Manthei wrote. They're so much in the style of Star Trek, that if you wouldn't know them and you hear them, you'd instantly say, Oh yeah that's Star Trek."
In a sci-fi show, it's common to hear synthesizers and other electronics. Hauser says those sounds would be out of place in Star Trek.
"I think that was just a choice from the producers very early on. Obviously, when the TV show came out originally, electronics were not really around yet or — very very expensive still — so it wasn't done. Then, when the movie came out, big orchestras were becoming really very popular again for movies after John Williams did Star Wars and used this big orchestra. So I think Jerry Goldsmith, being an orchestral writer, used a full orchestra and that set the tone, and when the movies went on and they started the TV show with the Next Generation, they just stayed with that sound."
Dominik Hauser arranged all of the music which was re-recorded for this compilation.
"I arrange everything on the computer with synthesizer sounds, and then once all that is done and we have the structure, we decide what needs to be replaced."
"We replaced most of the lead instruments, all the trombones, trumpets and woodwinds, and we recorded them in my own studio. And then for the horns and violins and violas, we went into the studio and recorded those."
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