Music of the Civilization series

The music in the Civilization video game series has been composed by various composers.

Civilization The soundtrack of the original Civilization game was available in either digital MIDI format for DOS version, or in tracker format for Amiga version. Most of original tunes were composed by Jeff Briggs, while others were taken from traditional or classic compositions, referring to each national culture (civilization) represented in the game. The same music used for the Aztecs was also applied to the Barbarians whenever they invaded a city.

Romans – "Augustus Rises" (original) Babylonians – "Hammurabi's Code" (original) Germans – DOS version: "Variatio 4: Lo stesso movimento" from Goldberg Variations (Johann Sebastian Bach); Amiga version: "Rondo alla Turca" (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Egyptians – "Harvest Of the Nile" (original) Americans – "Battle Hymn of the Republic" Greek – "Aristotle's Pupil" (original) Mongols – "Mongol Horde" (original) Russians – "Song of the Volga Boatmen" (traditional) Zulus – (original) French – "La Marseillaise" Aztecs – "Tenochtitlan Revealed" (original) Chinese – "The Shining Path" (traditional) English – "Rondeau" from Symphonies and Fanfares for the King's Supper (Jean-Joseph Mouret) Indians – "Gautama Ponders" (original)

Besides the main theme, sometimes known as "Civilization Opening Theme", other tunes used in the game were Ode to Joy from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in the "leader's day" celebration in cities, as well as the Funeral March from Beethoven's Third Symphony.

Civilization Jukebox Microprose created a DOS application called 'Civilization Jukebox' as a way to listen to Civilization MIDI files directly outside of game play. It is compatible with Adlib, Tandy or Roland MT32 sound cards, along with PC Speaker. It includes a menu system to select tracks.

Civilization II

Civilization IIs music is in the Red Book CD-audio format, the same as that found on normal music CDs. The songs are quite varied; some are from the 19th century classical era, such as the Blue Danube Waltz, while others have a tribal, tropical sound to them. The music can be played back through any CD-ROM drive. Over 200 MB of space on the Civilization II CD is taken up by the music, 280 MB is occupied by the videos (many of them are historical footages), whereas the actual program data takes up less than 30 MB.

The five different releases of Civilization II have added and subtracted tracks from the mix, with Fantastic Worlds containing the largest number of tracks of all releases.

Wonders of the World Music

Whenever a player builds a Wonder of the World, a short video with music is played. The music is often taken from other sources:

King Richard's Crusade – Dance of the Furies, Christoph Willibald Gluck Leonardo's Workshop – Cantaloupe Island, Herbie Hancock Michelangelo's Chapel – Credo from Missa Papae Marcelli, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina J.S. Bach's Cathedral – Toccata and Fugue in D minor, Johann Sebastian Bach Shakespeare's Theatre – taken from the prologue to Henry V Statue of Liberty – El Capitan March, John Philip Sousa Isaac Newton's College – Concerto For 4 Violins & Strings in B minor, Antonio Vivaldi Adam Smith's Trading Company – The Entrance of the Queen of Sheba from the oratorio Solomon, George Frideric Handel

Most videos, however, feature original compositions with often discernible inspiration,Wonder Music Revealed - Civilization Fanatics' Forums either from Peter Gabriel's soundtrack to The Last Temptation of Christ:

Pyramids – "The Feeling Begins" Great Wall of China – "Gethsemane" Sun Tzu's War Academy – "Gethsemane"

Trevor Jones' and Randy Edelman's soundtrack to The Last of the Mohicans (1992):

Colossus – main title Great Lighthouse – "Elk Hunt" Marco Polo's Embassy – "Promontory" Magellan's Expedition – "Fort Battle" United Nations – "The Glade"

Or various other sources:

Oracle – Theme from Harry's Game by Clannad Women's Suffrage – Swinging at the Daisy Chain by the Count Basie Orchestra Hoover Dam – a remix version of "Arkham Bridge" from the soundtrack of the PC game Mechwarrior 2 Ghost Bears Legacy by Gregory Alper & Jeehun Hwang. Manhattan Project – I Had My Chance by Morphine Apollo Program – Telegraph Road by Dire Straits

Civilization III Civilization III is a 2001 strategy game from Firaxis Games. As the game progresses, the music changes to reflect the era. There are five different mixes that represent the five major cultural groupings of the Civs in the game (European, North American, Middle Eastern, Greco-Roman, and Asian).

During diplomatic negotiations with leaders of other civilizations, there are both aggressive and passive tracks for each culture grouping that play depending on the mood of the civilization the player negotiates with. All the music in the game is stored in MP3 format.

Roger Briggs and Mark Cromer are credited with the game's music.

Ambient Music EraCulture groupingTrackOther InformationAncientEuropean/CelticAncECFullGreco-RomanAncGRFullBased on First Delphic HymnMiddle Eastern/AfricanAncMEFullNorth AmericanAncNAFullAsian/OrientalAncORFullMiddle AgesEuropean/CelticMidECFullGreco-RomanMidGRFullMiddle Eastern/AfricanMidMEFullNorth AmericanMidNAFullAsian/OrientalMidORFullIndustrialEuropean/CelticIndECFullGreco-RomanIndGRFullJoseph Haydn's Piano Sonata No. 49, FinaleMiddle Eastern/AfricanIndMEFullNorth AmericanN/AAsian/OrientalIndORFullModernAllSmashFullStarsFullTechno MixFullModernFullAdded in Conquests expansion Diplomacy Music EraCulture groupingTrackAncient/Middle AgesEuropeanDipECEarlyPeaceDipECEarlyWarGreco-RomanDipGREarlyPeaceDipGREarlyWarMiddle Eastern/AfricanDipMEEarlyPeaceDipMEEarlyWarNorth AmericanDipNAEarlyPeaceDipNAEarlyWarAsian/OrientalDipASEarlyPeaceDipASEarlyWarIndustrial/ModernEuropeanDipEuLatePeaceDipEuLateWarGreco-RomanN/AMiddle Eastern/AfricanDipMELatePeaceDipMELateWarNorth AmericanDipNALatePeaceDipNALateWarAsian/OrientalDipASLatePeaceDipASLateWar

Civilization IV

The music of the computer game Civilization IV features a large variety of tracks both original and historical, from Gregorian chants to modern minimalism, and makes extensive use of classical music as well as both world music and folk music. Such a focus on the soundtrack and the inclusion of classical, world and folk music are rare among games, though relatively common for strategy games.

Original music was composed by Jeff Briggs, Mark Cromer, Michael Curran, and Christopher Tin. Additional original music was created for the expansions, Civilization IV: Warlords and Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword, including music for each of the several scenarios. Civilization IV: Warlords also adds music from Civilization III to fill out the background music for the Classical Era. All tracks are stored on the hard drive in MP3 format, making them perfectly usable outside the game.

Christopher Tin composed both the opening movie theme and the game's main theme "Baba Yetu", which went on to win the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s).

Vocals for all pieces by Christopher Tin were performed by Stanford Talisman.Talisman featured on Civilization 4 The other tracks (especially the polyphony from the Medieval section) are performed by a variety of groups, who are not credited on the original soundtrack.Sid Meier's Civilization IV Official Soundtrack, VGMdb

Leader themes Each leader has his or her own theme music, reflecting the country or culture of that leader. Each leitmotif has three variants, corresponding to different time periods in the game. These original arrangements are shorter and simpler pieces, from just under 40 seconds to three minutes. Some are renditions of famous pieces of classical music, such as Frederick's piece, which is a paraphrase of the fourth of the Goldberg Variations, or Bismarck's, which is the opening theme of the second movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 3. Other themes have been modified from earlier Civilization games. +CivilizationLeaderArtist/ComposerTitle/InformationAmericaWashingtonMichael Curran, Mark Cromer, Jeff BriggsWashington's Artillery MarchAmericaRooseveltMarines' HymnAmericaLincoln Original MelodyArabiaSaladinMark CromerOriginal MelodyAztecsMontezumaTenochtitlan Revealed (adapted from previous Civ games)BabylonHammurabiOriginal MelodyByzantiumJustinian I ?En IordániCarthageHannibal ?CeltsBrennus and Boudica ?Fear an Dùin MhòirPuirt a beul, or Scottish peasant musicChinaMao ZedongJeff Briggs, Mark CromerThe Shining Path (adapted from previous Civ games)ChinaQin Shi HuangJeff Briggs, Mark CromerHuang Shi Ti, based on ancient folk tuneEgyptHatshepsut and RamessesHarvest of the Nile (adapted from previous Civ games)EnglandElizabethJean-Joseph MouretFanfare-RondeauEnglandVictoria and ChurchillThomas ArneRule BritanniaEthiopiaZara Yaqob ?FranceLouis XIVDomenico ScarlattiHarpsichord Sonata in E Major, K.380FranceNapoleon and De GaulleClaude Joseph Rouget de LisleLa MarseillaiseGermanyFrederickJohann Sebastian BachThe fourth of the Goldberg VariationsGermanyBismarckLudwig van BeethovenThe second movement of Symphony No. 3GreeceAlexander and PericlesJeff Briggs, Roger Briggs, Mark CromerHoly Roman EmpireCharlemagne ?Similar to Domine, Ad Adjuvandum and Hurrian Hymn 6IncaHuayna CapacJeff Briggs, Michael CurranIndiaAsokaJeff Briggs, Mark CromerIndiaGandhiGautama Ponders (adapted from previous Civ games)JapanTokugawaJeff Briggs, Mark CromerSakura Sakura Traditional Japanese (Edo period)KhmerSuryavarman II ?KoreaWang Kon ?MaliMansa MusaMichael CurranMayaPacal II ?MongoliaGenghis Khan and Kublai KhanMagsarshawyn Durgarshaw, Jeff BriggsMongol Internationale (Mongol National Anthem)Native AmericaSitting Bull ?NetherlandsWillem van Oranje ?Kent Gij Het LandOttomansMehmed II and Suleiman ?PersiaCyrus and Darius IHammurabi's Code (adapted from previous Civ games)PortugalJoao IIValsa ChilenaRomeJulius Caesar and Augustus CaesarAugustus Rises (adapted from previous Civ games)RussiaCatherineRussiaPeter the Great and StalinMily Balakirev, Jeff BriggsThe Song of the Volga BoatmenSpainIsabellaErnesto Lecuona, Mark CromerMalagueñaSumeriaGilgamesh ?VikingsRagnar Lodbrok ?ZuluShaka Zulu ?

Background music

Each of the game's time periods has its own set of background music appropriate for the era. The Ancient and Classical eras are limited to four original tracks that mostly focus on ambience and primitive instruments such as drums and the flute. The Medieval era features medieval and Renaissance music, both instrumental and chants, such as Kyrie by Ockeghem. The Renaissance era uses baroque and classical music by Mozart, Beethoven, and Bach. The soundtrack to the Industrial era focuses on romantic music mostly by Brahms, Dvořák, and Beethoven. The Modern era music consists exclusively of music by American minimalist composer John Adams.

For the classical music in the game's renaissance and industrial eras, game designer Soren Johnson selected pieces with a focus on dance music and middle movements of symphonies, as pieces with more dynamic range were not suitable for ambient game music. Johnson's choice of background music was praised for its modern-era focus on works by John Adams, as well as its inclusion of both well-known and relatively obscure classical composers.

Orchestral samples in the game are from the Vienna Symphonic Library, which features recordings of classical music by members of the Vienna Philharmonic.Civilization IV manual, page 224