CONQUESTS OF THE LONGBOW - ROBIN HOOD: Update!

[Tom]

I received a detailed listing of the music and composers for CONQUESTS OF THE LONGBOW, from Aubrey Hodges.  I've updated both the MIDI and DIGITAL Longbow pages to reflect the true composer for each song in the game's soundtrack.  

It's interesting that Mark Seibert and Aubrey Hodges were able to stay so closely focused and on the same 'wave-length' in the music's production style, especially considering it's not a popular style.  Yet, the soundtrack flows well from the two, individual composers.

[Alistair]

I 'spose this'd be a good time to request an 'enhanced CD' of Robin Hood. It's my opinion that the MT-32 score is somewhat bare and even boring in places (not that I don't like it, it's just not masterful)- I'd love to hear what you could do with it, Tom!!

- Alistair

[Tom]

I'd love to, and am looking forward to getting back to doing some more enhanced soundtracks.  I'll keep it in mind for next in line after Camelot, which is next in line after Al Emmo.

[Alistair]

<nods> I haven't burnt a soundtrackCD of yours for a while (Got CB though). Been too busy to listen!! Must get those recent ones on CD.

I would love to hear both 'Conquests' games music, now that both Laura Bow games are done. Look forward to it!

- Alistair

P.S. By the way- can you reply to the last email I sent you?

[Tom]

Sorry.  You'll have to resend it as I've updated my hard drive, operating system, and email client within the last couple of weeks -- I lost a lot of email addresses and letters in the process.

[Caliburn]

Cool!  I've always wanted a list that specified which Longbow tracks were from which composer.  Sometimes it was possible to guess based on musical touches that were characteristically Seibert or Hodges, but it's nice to finally have a more or less definitive list.

I agree that they did an admirable job of converging on a single style.  I know Mark Seibert studied early guitar music, and Aubrey Hodges is a professional guitarist as well, though sometimes in a different vein (I believe he wrote solos for Metallica, which helps explain QfG4, eh?), so perhaps he did similar study or just had good instincts for this kind of music.  At any rate, there are several Sierra scores that feature little contributions here and there from in-house composers other than the main one(s) in charge of the project, so they all must have had a fair bit of experience working toward a mutual sound (especially folks like Orpheus Hanley and Aubrey Hodges, who seemed to do these small contributions frequently).

In fact, the matter of small contributions raises a question for me: The game also credits Ken Allen, Chris Braymen, and Orpheus Hanley with music and sound.  While I suppose some of these persons may have just worked on sound effects (I think Orpheus Hanley did this more often than music in his Sierra career), the list Aubrey Hodges gave doesn't mention any of them for music, which, while it may be true, I find a little hard to believe.  Anyone have a guess as to what they may have done?  It needn't necessarily be composing, either.  Perhaps a bit of orchestrating?

Truth be told, the Conquests of the Longbow music is not authentic to the period: it would make more sense as Renaissance music, and even then it isn't as strictly governed by counterpoint as most of that music would be.  However, the instrument textures and the polyphonic tendencies make it feel a whole lot more authentic than the Hollywood approach to this kind of story would have been with full orchestra and Korngold-esque dramatics.  I particularly like the way the Longbow uses percussion as its chief means of driving action sequences, which is much more period-appropriate than the alternatives of swirling brass and strings.

Whoops, rambling.  I love this score, and could discuss it interminably.  Thanks, Tom, for adding this new information; and thanks also to Aubrey Hodges (wherever he is) for supplying it.

Take care,
-Luke