The Da Vinci Code (video game soundtrack)

The original musical soundtrack of The Da Vinci Code video game was composed by Winifred Phillips. The original music for the video game was produced by Winnie Waldron. Choir and solo vocals were performed by Winifred Phillips [ [http://www.mobygames.com/game/ps2/da-vinci-code/credits "Game Credits for The Da Vinci Code"] Mobygames.com. Accessed July 22, 2008.] As of July 2008 The Da Vinci Code videogame soundtrack has not received a commercial release, although a medley of tracks from the score is available for online streaming via the composer's website. Music from the soundtrack album is also available as unlockable bonus content in the game itself.

Tracks

The soundtrack of The Da Vinci Code videogame includes the following tracks [ [http://screensounds.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html "ScreenSounds: June 2006"] ScreenSounds.blogspot.com. Accessed July 22, 2008.] [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20061109045812/http://www.winifredphillips.com/DVC_lyrics_contents.html "The Da Vinci Code Lyrics"] Web.archive.org. Archived from WinifredPhillips.com. Accessed July 22, 2008.] :

* The Louvre
* Bank of Zurich
* St. Sulpice Church
* Sauniére’s Mansion
* Château Villette
* Biggin Hill Airport
* Temple Church
* Westminster Abbey
* Rosslyn Chapel

Background

Early Development

Winifred Phillips’ involvement as the composer for The Da Vinci Code videogame was announced by the game’s publisher 2K Games in a press release on May 16th, 2006. The press release included the following information: “Selected by the development team at Collective Studios for her imaginative and innovative approach to choral composition, Winifred was given extensive creative control to produce an original sound for the game inspired by Dan Brown’s novel… Cordy Rierson, producer of The Da Vinci Code game at Collective Studios, said, “When we heard Winifred’s music, we knew she was the one to bring the video game alive with inspiring and innovative sound. Her music and vocals provided vision and helped shape what is going to be a true one of a kind gaming experience.” [ [http://www.lockergnome.com/game/2006/05/16/winifred-phillips-scores-the-da-vinci-code-video-game-soundtrack/ "Winifred Phillips Scores The Da Vinci Code Video Game Soundtrack ~ Game Invasion"] Lockergnome.com. Accessed July 22, 2008.]

oundtrack Album Production

The tracks included in The Da Vinci Code videogame soundtrack were especially produced for the album, each track incorporating several pieces of music from the game. Discussing the production of the soundtrack CD for The Da Vinci Code game, Phillips’ told interviewer Louis Bedigian of GameZone.com, “When we were putting together the soundtrack CD for “The Da Vinci Code” game, my music producer Winnie Waldron was determined to make the experience of listening to the soundtrack more reminiscent of the musical experience in the game itself. She conceived the idea of presenting the music as a continuous sonic thread, with many in-game tracks melting in and out of each other in a way that would be at least somewhat more evocative of how the music sounds in the actual game… I mailed (the finished soundtrack CD) to Collective Studios and the publisher, 2K Games. Pretty soon after that, the game’s producer, Cordy Rierson, told me that she loved the soundtrack I’d sent, and that she intended to incorporate the entire album directly into the game itself. So the end result is this: the entire soundtrack album is now a part of the game as unlockable bonus content.” [ [http://pc.gamezone.com/news/06_15_06_02_37PM.htm "Breaking the “Code”: Winifred Phillips Interview Part 2 – PC News"] GameZone.com. Accessed July 22, 2008.]

oundtrack Musical Style

The musical style Phillips used for her game score was an amalgam of contemporary and classical instruments and techniques which were inspired by the Dan Brown novel, according to an interview with Phillips conducted by the site Music4Games.net. “…the novel constantly juxtaposes ancient traditions against the realities of the modern world. One moment the main characters are deciphering arcane symbols buried in timeless works of art, and the next they are using cell phones, security systems and global positioning technology to evade capture. I wanted to emphasize this relationship between old and new, so I wove them together in the music. In the game you’ll hear aggressive contemporary beats and instruments merged with classical uses of orchestra and choir.” [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20070611211729/http://www.music4games.net/Features_Display.aspx?id=87 "Interview with The Da Vinci Code video game composer Winifred Phillips"] Web.Archive.org. Archived from Music4Games.net. Accessed July 22, 2008.]

The music in The Da Vinci Code videogame also includes many choral tracks, which were recorded using only the composer’s singing voice and a unique production method, as described by music reviewer Jeff Hall of the web site ScreenSounds. “As with her previous game scores, that choir is again amazingly all her own work, being a classically trained vocalist as well as a composer. Winifred sang all the parts, employing a recording technique pioneered in her score for God of War, so that you really will believe that there are male as well as female voices performing on the game's soundtrack.” [ [http://screensounds.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html "ScreenSounds: June 2006"] Screensounds.blogspot.com. Accessed July 22, 2008.]

Critical Reception

The music of The Da Vinci Code videogame has received positive reviews. In his review of the videogame, Juan Castro of IGN wrote: “(The music is) fitting – moody, atmospheric and decidedly creepy. It’s the right kind of music for slow-paced puzzle solving.” [ [http://xbox.ign.com/articles/709/709818p2.html "IGN: The Da Vinci Code Review"] IGN.com. Accessed July 22, 2008.] In a review for BBC News, journalist Jonathan Fildes praised the musical soundtrack: “The accompanying music lends a suitably ethereal atmosphere to proceedings.” [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/5007998.stm "BBC NEWS | Technology | Da Vinci Code game disappoints"] News.BBC.co.uk. Accessed July 22, 2008.] In his review of the game for Play.tm, Andrew Macarthy wrote, “The accompanying musical score does a brilliant job in capturing the eerie and mysterious mood of the unfolding story. It twinkles away quietly while you explore, before breaking out into a suspenseful chorus when more interesting sequences occur. When it sparks up while you hide in the shadows from a pair of guards for instance, the atmosphere and tension that it brings is definitely affecting." [ [http://play.tm/story/7813 "The Da Vinci Code – review – play.tm"] Play.tm. Accessed July 22, 2008.]

Reviewing Phillips' soundtrack CD from the video game, Jeff Hall of ScreenSounds wrote, “…whereas Hans Zimmer's music for the film, beautiful though it may be, is pretty static, with surprisingly very little excitement to be had from a score to what is billed as a pretty exciting thriller, even in the more mysterious and suspenseful moments of Phillips' score, there is movement, as is of course necessary in a game score, either with or without choir. In fact, one of the more exciting tracks "Bank of Zurich" omits choir, but is nevertheless a fine piece of contemporary action scoring. That's not to say that Phillips doesn't provide beautiful moments of liturgical scoring, as in the opening track on the disc "The Louvre" and in "St. Sulpice Church," as well as the concluding "Rosslyn Chapel," but much of the music is indeed propulsive, with some pretty menacing choir-driven moments.” [ [http://screensounds.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html "ScreenSounds: June 2006"] Screensounds.blogspot.com. Accessed July 22, 2008.]

Promotion

Phillips' score for the video game was used prominently for marketing purposes. The opening cinematic from the game (featuring music in the "St. Sulpice" track on the soundtrack album) was released as a trailer, first via GameSpot.com, and then more widely across the web. [ [http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=8847090 "MySpaceTV Videos"] MySpace.com. Accessed July 22, 2008.] The official web site of The Da Vinci Code Video Game uses the first track from the game’s soundtrack album as its musical background. [ [http://www.2kgames.com/davincicode/unlockthecode.html "The Da Vinci Code Video Game"] 2Kgames.com. Accessed July 22, 2008.]

References

External Links

* [http://www.2kgames.com/davincicode/unlockthecode.html Official Da Vinci Code Videogame Web Site]
* [http://www.winifredphillips.com/ Winifred Phillips' Website]
* [http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=159412392 Winnie Waldron's MySpace Page]
* [http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,181549/ Winnie Waldron's Developer Listing in the MobyGames Database]
* [http://www.myspace.com/winifredphillips Winifred Phillips' MySpace Page]
* [http://www.soundtrack.net/composers/database/?id=1125 Soundtrack.net Profile of Winifred Phillips]