Music of Civ VI

[redfox85]

... am the only Canadian mixing the french and English languages when I hear o canada in Civ?

 

[altayrneto]

The Canadian theme, Atomic version. Definitely most of the music is based on "Vive le Canadienne", and "O Canada" is mainly present in the last minute and half of the music.

 

[Zaarin]

Kulning I could enjoy, but I don't know about the Hardanger fiddle, seeing as it would perhaps be a bit odd to use a Norwegian folk instrument instead of taking the opportunity to feature something more Swedish - like the låtfiol, if not the nyckelharpa again.

I know the Hardanger fiddle is Norwegian; I just happen to adore it. But Wikipedia says the låtfiol is similar, so I'm fine with that, too. The kulning is the important part, anyway...

 

[PhilBowles]

Perhaps that’s true, I didn’t realise you guys did that in Canada, I assumed it was purely an American thing. We certainly don’t start the school day with it here, and it’s only played before international sporting fixtures. No idea how it is in Sweden.

I certainly wouldn’t like God Save the Queen to be England’s theme in Civ, but that’s mostly because it’s a frightful dirge.

I've no idea why God Save the Queen gets so much hate at home (in the UK - no idea how the multiple other countries that have the same tune as their anthem feel about it. These, incidentally, include Norway so they could always use the same tune for two civs). And Brian May did a good version.

Having said that, as a Brit I actually feel "I Vow to Thee My Country" feels more patriotic and more like a national anthem, and an excellent version of that was in Civ V.

 

[Stomper66]

I've no idea why God Save the Queen gets so much hate at home (in the UK - no idea how the multiple other countries that have the same tune as their anthem feel about it. These, incidentally, include Norway so they could always use the same tune for two civs). And Brian May did a good version.

Having said that, as a Brit I actually feel "I Vow to Thee My Country" feels more patriotic and more like a national anthem, and an excellent version of that was in Civ V.

I'm English but not really a fan of God Save the Queen. We aren't all monarchists so a song about a king or queen reigning over us isn't going to go down well with everyone. I liked ''I Vow to Thee My Country'' in Civ5 but I prefer ''Scarborough Fair'' now. Especially with how the song evolves throughout the game.

So far I think Hungary has the best music out of the new civs. Can't wait to hear this in full with the ambient tracks as well.

 

[Canterbury]

I've no idea why God Save the Queen gets so much hate at home (in the UK - no idea how the multiple other countries that have the same tune as their anthem feel about it. These, incidentally, include Norway so they could always use the same tune for two civs). And Brian May did a good version.

Having said that, as a Brit I actually feel "I Vow to Thee My Country" feels more patriotic and more like a national anthem, and an excellent version of that was in Civ V.

Yeah, "I Vow to Thee My Country" is my favourite British patriotic song too.
But then I'm a rugby fan, so I'm biased.
I loved Civ V's rendition of the song.

 

[PhilBowles]

I'm English but not really a fan of God Save the Queen. We aren't all monarchists so a song about a king or queen reigning over us isn't going to go down well with everyone.

I've always thought that was a pretty silly reason to take against a song. I doubt many of the French particularly favour filling the streets with the blood of their enemies. For that matter I like plenty of country songs and protest songs that have strong political stances I don't share - they're just good, well-constructed songs. I can't imagine classics like Stagger Lee are as popular as they are due to a groundswell of enthusiasm for people killing one another in bar brawls, etc. etc. As for God Save the Queen, I'm indifferent to the monarchy but am an atheist, so if I were to object to it it wouldn't be for republican reasons.

 

[Trav'ling Canuck]

Now, now, you know that any words after the first stanza of a national anthem may as well not be there!

Seriously??? Again, in Canada students either sing or at least listen to the full lyrics every day.

... am the only Canadian mixing the french and English languages when I hear o canada in Civ?

I went to an English school, so learned the English version first, then in Grade 5 got a French teacher who played the French version to us every morning, so learned that one by heart, too. I almost never ever hear either of the single language versions any more, though, so yes, in my head, I always here the bilingual version.

My son goes to a bilingual school. The bilingual version is likely the only one he'll ever hear!

 

[Kimiimaro]

We have the Atomic theme above. Well, I just found a video with Canadian Medieval Theme. Here:

 

[Guandao]

We have the Atomic theme above. Well, I just found a video with Canadian Medieval Theme. Here:

Great!, I like it better than the Industrial/Atomic versions.

I might as well post this reply from Geoff Knorr. I asked him why he picked El Helwa Di for Egypt's themes, and the Epitaph of Seikilos again for Greece's themes:

Thanks for writing and it's good to hear from you again!

For the Egyptian theme choice, the answer is multifaceted. First, it's important to point out that in Civ VI the music is civilization-specific music, not leader music as in Civ V. Since adding multiple leaders for each Civ was a feature the developers wanted to include in Civ VI, going with leader-based thematic music would have been beyond the scope of what was possible with our composition team. There are some civs from whom we did tie part of the theme to a leader, such as the Georgian theme, but it wasn't a prerequisite for the choice of the main theme song choice. While working with Egyptian ney, oud, and qanun performers, they suggested "El Helwa Di" as a recognizable and well-loved Egyptian tune by their Egyptian musician friends. The composer of the song was very influential for modern Egyptian music and is still well-loved in Egypt as far as I can tell. The tune also was very recognizable and lent itself well to the various era arrangements that I needed to compose. Put together, the choice was a logical and practical one.

For Greece, I explored multiple options for the main theme, ranging from more modern Grecian folk music to the ancient melodies and melodic fragments we have from archaeological finds. After revisiting the Seikilos theme, I decided it is such a recognizable, likable, and important melody being the oldest surviving full melody we currently know, that it deserved a thorough era-based treatment in Civ VI.

All the best,
Geoff

 

[Kimiimaro]

In case you're interested, I also found a video with Hungarian Industrial Theme.

 

[CivLuvah]

... am the only Canadian mixing the french and English languages when I hear o canada in Civ?

Odd thing whenever I hear O Canada the French lyrics come into my mind. And I've never learned to memorize the French version.

 

[Zaarin]

Seriously??? Again, in Canada students either sing or at least listen to the full lyrics every day.

I was an adult before I learned our anthem had more than one verse. Maybe Canadians are more patient than Americans or Brits? Then again "O Canada" definitely has a more pleasant melody than "The Star Spangled Banner," as the Genovians seem to agree...

 

[Uberfrog]

Does O Canada even have a second verse? The official website gives one in each language, so it seems considerably shorter than the US, UK or French albums with all their lyrical bloat. So it may be a moot point about our relative patience.

 

[Zaarin]

Does O Canada even have a second verse? The official website gives one in each language, so it seems considerably shorter than the US, UK or French albums with all their lyrical bloat. So it may be a moot point about our relative patience.

Wikipedia says there are second and third stanzas. It also says they are rarely sung...so just like every other national anthem's second etc. stanzas.

 

[Basileus Rhomaion]

For Greece, I explored multiple options for the main theme, ranging from more modern Grecian folk music to the ancient melodies and melodic fragments we have from archaeological finds. After revisiting the Seikilos theme, I decided it is such a recognizable, likable, and important melody being the oldest surviving full melody we currently know, that it deserved a thorough era-based treatment in Civ VI.

While the choice of Seikilos was obviously a great choice for the main theme for Greece, it was kind of unfortunate that the rest of the ambient pieces are largely unknown/unmemorable ancient pieces rather than folk music. Especially since Civ VI music has done a great job with making people familiar with more obscure folk pieces from the civs in the game. It's a much better representation of their culture that way, I believe.

 

[Guandao]

While the choice of Seikilos was obviously a great choice for the main theme for Greece, it was kind of unfortunate that the rest of the ambient pieces are largely unknown/unmemorable ancient pieces rather than folk music. Especially since Civ VI music has done a great job with making people familiar with more obscure folk pieces from the civs in the game. It's a much better representation of their culture that way, I believe.

Certain Civs only got improvised music and no real folk songs for their ambient. So it could have been much worst.

 

[Zaarin]

Certain Civs only got improvised music and no real folk songs for their ambient. So it could have been much worst.

Not that there's anything wrong with improvisation. I love a good taksim.

 

[King William I]

Not that there's anything wrong with improvisation. I love a good taksim.

After all, pretty much every song was improv at some point

 

[Basileus Rhomaion]

Certain Civs only got improvised music and no real folk songs for their ambient. So it could have been much worst.

That's definite in the case of Sumer and Scythia (since folk music for those doesn't exist obviously), but I'm not sure about any others. Judging from some cases I stumbled upon, the videos from Peaches Lamb circulating that are tagged as "improv" are just set like that by default until someone recognizes the melody. I could be wrong though (that's another good question to ask mr. Knorr).