ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

SPECIAL DIGITAL EDITION

Composed and Produced by Neil Davidge
01 AWAKENING
5:41
02 BELLY OF THE BEAST
2:39
03 REQUIEM
2:16
04 LEGACY
2:29
05 FAITHLESS
5:02
06 HAVEN
5:45
07 NEMESIS
3:31
08 ASCENDANCY
4:20
09 SOLACE
4:45
10 TO GALAXY
4:58
1 1 IMMATERIAL
7:33
12 117*
7:28
13 ARRIVAL
5:37
14 REVIVAL
7:19
15 GREEN AND BLUE
8:06
BONUS TRACKS
16 AWAKENING - GUI BORATTO REMIX
7:23
1 7 TO GALAXY - SANDER VAN DOORN & JULIAN JORDAN REMIX
6:46
18 ASCENDANCY - CASPA REMIX
3:53
19 REVIVAL - DJ SKEE & THX REMIX
3:36
19 REQUIEM - BOBBY TANK REMIX
5:45
21 THE BEAUTY OF CORTANA - APOCALYPTICA VS. NEIL DAVIDGE REMIX
5:08
Composed and Produced by Neil Davidge for
Neil Davidge Productions Ltd.
Arrangements and programming by Neil
Davidge and Andrew Drew Morgan.
Additional production and orchestration by
Andrew Morgan.
*117 composed by Kazuma Jinnouchi.
granular level. And Marty ODonnell and Mike
Salvatores incredible collection of orchestral
bombast, metal viscera, haunting electronica, and
rousing anthems is not only a part of the game, its
a significant part of millions of peoples formative
experience.
So yeah, I kind of see why they were nervous. But I
wasnt. Wide-eyed optimism and a genuine love for
the way Neil puts instruments, artists, and
performers together were a perfect recipe for my
receptivity. I swear I could hear some of these
themes in my head before Neil ever put pen to
paper.
And people have been a big part of this. The project,
all serious video game projects and all great music
projects, are enhanced by collaboration and by the
input and expertise of artists and technicians. Neil
surrounded himself with people to whom we
immediately gravitated. There are literally too many
to name but there were standout heroes in the
difficult assembly of this project and Im thinking
about the heroically hirsute Andrew Morgan,
ostensibly Neils right-hand man. Im thinking about
the delicate political maneuvering of James
Cassidy, Neils manager, and Im thinking about the
imaginative problem solving and creativity of
orchestrator Matt Dunkley.
And the way those individuals formed into teams,
and worked so beautifully, so perfectly, with the
constantly shifting pieces of our game was a sight
to behold. And a sound to envelop yourself in.
The process of achieving that sound was by
necessity gated in stages. Neil would prototype
themes and melodies and moods in Midi. These
roughs were designed around characters, around
environments, and around specific encounters. This
isnt unusual for us games are by necessity
thematic and level-oriented but for Neil it was a
new way to approach scoring. I think initially that
high-level approach was one of the things that drew
him to the project and inspired some of the most
compelling themes. As we got to themes we all felt
worked for the motes of story and character, wed
start firming up the collection and start thinking
about how it would apply to the finished game.
There were moments of despair, horror, rage,
tension, and all of the three main fluids associated
with proper artistic endeavor blood, sweat, and
tears. But even in the toughest times, we could see
both projects arrowing forward, and I think both
sides of the equation game and music could see
the target where those arrows would come together.
The trick was making them both hit the bullseye at
precisely the same moment. And we were also
composing internally with in-house musician and
audio maven Kazuma Jinnouchi layering in
significant themes and score elements to fit with
and layer into Neils score.
Neils process is grueling. Harrowing even. If he
cant find a sound hes looking for, hell invent it
either from scratch or by creating monstrous
hybrids of digital and analog material. Blending
instruments. Rending audio. Bending sounds. And
this is long before these things get to an orchestra.
But its definitely where some of the charisma of
this project comes from. Even in the most
conventionally orchestral pieces in the soundtrack,
there are elements of the unreal. Sounds and tones
and instruments youve never heard before. They
dont always stand out and theyre sometimes
incredibly subtle, but the way the entirety of this
musical arsenal forms the overall sound is to me
magical.
The technical and logistical feats around bringing
over 100 tracks to our games score (theyre not all
featured in the Soundtrack here) were obviously
herculean. The multiple recording sessions at
Abbey Road Studios with a 60-piece orchestra. The
Bulgarian choral singers assembled to capture a
brand new sound. The individual performers
gathered from all over the world to lend their voices
and instruments to this intricate soundscape. And
then taking those tracks and grafting them into our
technology so that they adapt to your journey
through the game, so that those sounds map to the
worlds and experiences youre exploring, well, its
something to behold. Something to be proud of.
Im not a musician. Im barely qualified to write this
foreword, but Im an avid consumer of music. So
when I hear tiny homages to Vangelis, or hear a
fleeting snatch of Prodigy in a beat, I have the
context to embrace it, and I know Halo. This thing
sounds like Halo, but its not relying on the past
its building from it, launching from it, and taking it
somewhere new.
My hope is that you love this as much as I do. My
hope is that years from now, when youre humming
a haunting theme, or whistling an inspirational
march, that youre accidentally culling it from a
body of music you first learned to love on
November 6th, 2012.
Frank OConnor
Franchise Development Director 343 Industries
FOREWORD
I remember the first time Tajeen and Ken from the
audio team approached me to ask if I could come
and talk to them about a possible composer for the
Halo 4 soundtrack. They seemed palpably nervous
and Ill be honest, I thought they were going to
propose a Bieber or some kind of Gaga from their
tremulous, timorous approach.
But they proposed Neil Davidge. Although Ive lived
in the US since 1996, I grew up in the UK, worked in
Bath, and was immersed in the Bristol and West
Country music scene of the early 90s and of course
was listening to artists like Neneh Cherry,
Portishead, and, of course, Massive Attack. So I
waved them down from their mild terror and said
lets hear his pitch. And it was perfect.
Some of the nervousness from Tajeen and Ken, I
suspect, came from a fear of change. Were all
terrified of change in some ways, but Halos musical
legacy is one of its pillars.
Its hard to even discuss Halo music without hearing
those monks chant their funereal, portentous
theme in your head. That kind of musical resonance,
gravity, is unique, I think to games. Because you may
watch your favorite movie five, six times. But your
favorite game? Youll play it a hundred times, a
thousand times, and each note becomes cemented
deeper and deeper into your subconscious and is
directly, linearly associated with joy, or terror, or
victory and that heightens the connection, as far
as Im concerned.
So you might be whistling the Koji Kondos Super
Mario theme and realize that not only do you know
the whole thing, but that you have every note,
nuance, and tempo change down to the most
Orchestration and Arrangements, Matt Dunkley
Additional arranging on Librarian and Green and Blue, Jeremy Holland Smith.
Engineer and technical support, Marco Migliari.
Additional Programming, Gaetan Schurrer.
Mixed by Andy Bradfield and Jeremy Wheatley for 365 Artists.
Additional mixing, Niall Acott, Marco Migliari, Paul Walton and Neil Davidge.
Music Director 343 Industries, Sotaro Tajeen Tojima.
Music supervision by Kazuma Jinnouchi for 343 Industries.
Executive Audio Producer 343 Industries, Ken Kato.
Recorded in Bristol.
Orchestral recordings at Abbey Road Studios, London.
London Bulgarian Vocal Choir recorded at Angel Studios, London.
Copyists, Dakota Music.
All Orchestral and choir recordings engineered by Geoff Foster.
Assistant engineers, Lewis, Jones, Paul Pritchard, Matt Mysko, Chris Parker and
Rupert Coulson.
Orchestra performed by the The Chamber Orchestra of London:
Conducted by Matt Dunkley.
The Chamber Orchestra of London: Steve Morris, Warren Zielinsky, Harvey De
Souza, Darrell Alexander, Ania Safonova, Simon Blendis, Laura Samuel, Julian
Leaper, Charles Mutter, Rita Manning, Ofer Falk, Gabriel Lester, Clare Duckworth,
Robbie Gibbs, Ben Buckton, Philippe Honore, Eliza Marshall, Miranda Dale, Gareth
Griffiths, Corinne Chappell, Annabelle Meare, Ursula Gough, Amanda Smith, Kathy
Gowers, Jan Regulski, Jeremy Issac, Alison Dods, Ralph De Souza, Richard George,
Harriet Davies, Kerenza Peacock, Maya Bickel, Non Peters, Sonia Fairbairn, Andrij
Viytovych, Vicci Wardman, Julia Knight, Reiad Chibah, Martin Humbey, Samuel
Parrat, Rebecca Low, Rosie Bliss, Alistair Blayden, Sally Alexander, Garfield
Jackson, Catherine Bradshaw, Ian Rathbone, Chris Goldscheider, Emma Sheppard,
Jessica Beeston, Melanie Martin, David Cohen, David Daniels, Rebecca Gilliver,
Adrian Bradbury, John Heley, Vicky Matthews, Mary Scully, Chris West, Tim Gibbs,
Simon Oliver, Paul Kimber, Rupert Bing Ben Griffiths, Dom Kelly, Daniel Pailthorpe,
Katie Bedford and Ileana Ruhemann.
Brass arrangements performed by
Richard Watkins, Nigel Black, Martin Owen, Mark Almond, Bryan
Fulcher, Colin Sheen, David Pyatt, Angela Barnes, Carston
Williams, Lindsay Shilling, Andy Wood, Steve Saunders and Owen
Slade.
Male Choir: RSVP Voices.
Contracted by Rob Johnston.
All UK Orchestral fixing by Gareth Griffiths, Cool Music Ltd.
Female Choir Vocals performed by the London Bulgarian Choir:
Dessislava Stefanova, Vivienne Boucherat, Mirella Koleva, Kalina
Koleva, Tanya Jackson, Lora Kaleva, Deanna Benedict, Diana
Tsokova, Katarzyna Sommerfeld, Catriona Langmuir, Joanna Burke,
Atsuko Cottam, Alison Conway, Polly Hunt.
London Bulgarian Choir conducted and arrangements by
Dessislava Stefanova.
Female vocal and vocal arrangements on Legacy, Awakening,
Solace performed by Claire Tchaikowski.
117: Composed by Kazuma Jinnouchi.
Orchestrated by Nobuko Toda; Music Preparation, Thanh Tran;
Recordist, Tim Lauber. Stage Manager, Tom Steel; Stage Engineer,
Denis St. Amand; Additional Stage Crew, Greg Dennen; Orchestra
Contractor, Peter Rotter; Conductor, Nick Glennie-Smith;
Recorded at Newman Scoring Stage, 20th Century Fox.
Orchestra performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony:
Bruce Dukov, Julie Gigante, Tereza Stanislav, Lisa Sutton, Roger Wilkie,
Jackie Brand, Katia Popov, Phil Levy, Natalie Leggett, Sarah
Thornblade, Marc Sazer, Helen Nightengale, Charlie Bisharat, Darius
Campo, Jay Rosen, Rafael Rishik, Jeanne Skrocki, Shalini Vijayan, Irina
Voloshina, Sara Parkins, Songa Lee, Lorenz Gamma, Kevin Connolly,
Yelena Yegoryan, Cheryl Norman, Alwyn Wright, Neil Samples, Radu
Pieptea, Brian Dembow, Roland Kato, Shawn Mann, Robert Brophy,
Alma, Fernandez, David Walther, Jennie Hansen, Keith Greene, Laura
Pearson, Carolyn Riley, Andrew Picken, Aaron Oltman, Steve Erdody,
Andrew Shulman, Dennis Karmazyn, John Walz, Kim Scholes, Trevor
Handy, Paula Hochhalter, Erika Duke, Tina Soule, Paul Cohen, Ed
Meares, Drew Dembowski, Bruce Morgenthaler, Steve Dress, Sue
Ranney, Geoff Osika, Nico Philippon, Thomas Harte, Geri Rotella
Heather Clark, Lara Wickes, Leslie Reed, Stuart Clark, Ralph Williams,
Rose Corrigan, Judy Farmer, Jim Thatcher, Brian O'connor, Steve
Becknell, Phil Yao, Jon Lewis, David Washburn, Rob Schaer, Rick
Baptist, Alex Iles, Steve Holtman, Phil Keen, Doug Tornquist, Wade
Culbreath, Greg Goodall, Brian Kilgore, The American Federation of
Musicians on the United States and Canada.
Score Mixed by Alan Meyerson at Remote Control Productions,
Santa Monica, CA; Assistant Engineer, Christian Wenger.
Score Production Producer, Nobuko Toda (FILM SCORE LLC);
Executive Score Production Manager, Daniel Monteverde; Score
Production Manager, Kurt Jessen, Nicolas Alvarez ; Assistant Score
Production Manager, Takashi Baker (Arriba Entertainment Inc.)
Mastered by Shawn Joseph at Optimum Mastering, Bristol.
Artwork design by Paul Chessell.
Neil Davidge Management: JABA Music Ltd., Barry Campbell and James Cassidy.
Worldwide Soundtrack Licensee: 7Hz Productions Ltd.
Executive Producers 7Hz Productions, James Cassidy and Barry Campbell.
Worldwide Sales, Marketing & Distribution: The End Records, RED,
Essential Music and Sony Music.
Neil Davidge would like to thank:
Andrew Morgan, James Cassidy, Sotaro Tojima, Kazuma Jinnouchi, Ken Kato, Frank
O'Connor, Josh Holmes, Kiki Wolfkill, Kenneth Scott, Bonnie Ross Ziegler, Ed Kalletta, Dan
Chosich, and all at 343 industries, Kyle 'Kid Hops' Hopkins, Barry Campbell, Matt Dunkley,
Marco Migliari, Andy Bradfield, Jeremy Holland Smith, Claire Tchaikowski, Geoff Foster,
Abbey Road Studios, Jeremy Wheatley, Darrell Alexander and Christopher Gutch of Cool
Music, The Chamber Orchestra of London, Gareth Griffiths, Gaetan Schurrer, Niall John
Acott, Shawn Joseph, Lewis Jones, Dessislava Stefanova and The London Bulgarian Choir,
John Tuff, The Bristol Ensemble, William Goodchild, Roger Huckle, Christchurch Studios,
Ian Humphries, Michael Jennings, Bruno Ellingham, Euan Dickinson, William Fuller, Eliza
Marshall, Irina Artamonova, Joanna Swan, Marnie and Robyn, Cosmo Jarvis, Bella Gough,
Craig Williams, Jean and Pete Davidge, Claire Devas, Natalia Rivera Jimenez, Ali Chant, Joel
Evenden, Dan and James at Sonic couture, Susan Langan and Andreas Allan at Native
Instruments, Jed Allen at Universal Audio, Andy Brooks at Media Pros, Simon Caton of Avid
UK, Marty ODonnell and
Mike Salvatore.
Microsoft Studios would like to thank:
Xbox, 343 Industries, 7Hz Productions Ltd., Neil Davidge Productions Ltd., JABA Music Ltd.,
Cool Music Ltd., The End Records, Sony RED, Essential Music & Marketing, Sony ANZ /
Asia, Fifa Riccobono, FILM SCORE LLC, Arriba Entertainment Inc., Global Music Copying,
STEVE JULIANI MUSIC, Peter Rotter Music Services, Remote Control Productions, 20th
Century Fox Studios, The American Federation of Musicians of The United States and
Canada, Soundtrack Music Associates, All the remixers and their management companies,
the performers, the back room staff, James Cassidy, Paul Chessell, Bonnie Ross Ziegler,
Kenneth Scott, Sparth, John Liberto, Adrien Cho, Christine Finch, Michelle Ballantine,
Justin Harrison, Ed Kalletta, Kevin Grace, Tyler Jeffers, Carlos Naranjo, Matt Skelton, Lily
Kohn, Carla Woo, and finally to Sotaro Tojima, Neil Davidge, Kazuma Jinnouchi, Josh
Holmes, Kiki Wolfkill and Frank OConnor for the creative vision and special thanks to Marty
ODonnell and Mike Salvatore for blazing a trail and building a musical foundation for us to
follow and build upon.
c& p2012 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, Halo, the Halo logo, Microsoft Studios, the Microsoft Studios logo, 343 Industries and the 343 Industries logo, Xbox, Xbox 360 and the Xbox logos
are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. Soundtrack distributed worldwide by 7Hz Productions Ltd and affiliates. Publishing administered by 7Hz Music Publishing.
Unauthorized copying, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting of this recording prohibited. All rights reserved.