Compositions encompass far more than style alone. This week on Next Level we take a look at voicings and the resulting music's color. The styles here may be vastly different, but the color palettes are distinctly similar.
First comes a suggestion for those who enjoy a masculine, musical punch in the ears. After that you'll find a treble-phobe's dream come true.
For classical music lovers
If you like …
The Red Army Choir
Then you should check out …
Cris Velasco - Company of Heroes 2
Because …
Company of Heroes 2 comes across, very distinctly, as a game soundtrack. Cris Velasco, its composer, was at the end of the day writing for a war game. Velasco is far too clever and far too musically trained, however, to toss together video game music tropes and call the result good enough. This is a man able to pay musical homage to Copland, Beethoven and modern electronica with equal ease.
For Company of Heroes 2, Velasco turns to the commanding weight of Russian music. His work in the game is varied, from a darkly emotive and dread-filled opening number (featuring a lovely sighing and singing violin-cello duet), to an energetic, driving march with bellowing horns and a full men's chorus. Velasco purposely included the men's chorus, minor tonality, and violin-cello motif in an homage to Russian and Eastern European musical sensibilities. The liveliness and vigor of the Red Army Choir has been celebrated for years, and its weighty tone is emulated well in Velasco's work.
For those interested in such things, there is also a hidden fugue in one of the tracks of Company of Heroes 2: Western Front if you listen carefully. Good luck!
For video game music lovers
If you like …
Gustavo Santaolalla - The Last of Us
Then you should check out …
Bach - Brandenburg Concerto No. 6
Brahms - Serenade No. 2
Because …
If you've ever thought, "Yeah, classical music is nice … but why do they have to use all the squeaky instruments?" then it makes sense that you liked The Last of Us. Gustavo Santaolalla used an orchestra devoid of any high-pitched instruments: no violins, no piccolo, nothing that lives in upper ledger lines. It gave the music a dark, warm, sometimes foreboding sound.
If that's your cup of zombie tea, look at Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6. That one contains nothing higher than a viola.
Or, if you don't mind some upper woodwinds, you can listen to Brahms's Serenade No. 2. Look, ma! No violins!
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