Concept for the Children of Liberty Score

The main themes for Children of Liberty's score were developed from two historical sources - military drum and fife music, and orchestral music of the early classical era. These, along with a couple of ad hoc pieces, such as a traditional folk piece for the Green Dragon Tavern cutscene, will provide most of the material for the score.

Theme I: "Children of Liberty" - Military Drum and Fife

The main theme of the game represents it's namesake characters and their development through the story. It is a traditional military drum-and-fife piece, a version of which plays during the opening menu. In line with the use of toys in the game and with the sound effects concept, this early incarnation uses recorders to reflect the characters of the children. As the children evolve and succeed, the presentation of this theme will become more dramatic, with larger orchestrations. The use of percussion in particular is perfect for creating tension and suspense, as can be heard in a couple of places in the Warehouse level walk-thru. I've also incorporated traditional source material, such as the Scotch and English Duties, to reflect activities of the British troops.

Theme II: "Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!" - Early Classical Orchestra

The second theme is period orchestral music that drives much of the suspense and action scenes of the game. Writing historically relevant music based on the early classical period provided an opportunity to create a score that has an antiquated quality that could stand out from the typical orchestral game or film score, many of which take their musical language from the late 19th-century forward.

Orchestration:

As Mozart once said, “What's even worse than a flute? - Two flutes!” Prior to the addition of keys, flutes were considered a bit unwieldy with regard to pitch. Woodwind writing for early-classical orchestras tended to emphasize double reeds such as the oboe and bassoon. I knew that focusing on these instruments, along with the strings and horns, would give the music an eerie and mysterious character that would be perfect for a stealth game and help give the score a unique sound.

Compositional Style:

Classical-era music by it's nature is particularly melodic oriented, with accompaniment patterns that shift every several measures and harmonies that continually strive towards some expected resolution or goal. For key dramatic moments in the story, such as Revere's ride, this is perfect. One concern however was that in some ways this sound is antithetical to what is often needed for a game - music with moody, ambient qualities that can continue for extended periods. I came up with three approaches to address when this more atmospheric effect was needed:

1. Focus on sound effects to enhance the mood. This is common within the stealth genre. The first floor of the Warehouse uses this approach, with only sparse musical interludes.
2. Create atmospheric percussion ideas and loops based on the drum and fife music. The first encounter with a redcoat in the walk-thru uses this approach.
3. When moody music is really what is needed, I went with an anachronistic solution, going back in time in order to maintain both historical reality and the antiquated quality for which I was going. Incidentally, this approach is used by Leonard Rosenman in his score for the Stanley Kubrick film Barry Lyndon, where he adapted a Sarabande by Handel for long, tension-filled sections. An example of this approach can be heard towards the end of the walk-thru. Here, I wrote a chaconne based on the "Give Me Liberty!" theme. A chaconne is a Baroque-era form based on a repetitive chord progression and/or bass line, which provides a great framework for writing a moody piece.