Behind the Score: Recording the Battle Themes

Forty players, three days, and a score that had to work at every intensity a match can reach.

The battle themes are layered rather than looped. Each one was recorded in six passes, from a single sustained string line up to the full ensemble, so the game can move between them as a fight escalates without ever cutting a cue short.

The hardest part was the quiet end. A score that only sounds right when everything is loud makes the calm between engagements feel empty, so the lowest layer had to carry a scene on its own.

The recordings were made over three days with the ensemble in one room, because the alternative sounded assembled rather than played.