I can't believe we haven't had a thread for this guy already. He's the genius behind the music in BG and SoA.
Here we can discuss the music and post our favourite tracks.
Romance I: used for the Aerie and Jaheira convos. Very sweet sounding, I remember where I was when I first it (in front of my computer obvs, but) in the Graveyard district, next to the Lathander priest and orphan girl, and the mood was just perfect.
[spoiler]![image]()
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Romance II: This darker track is for the Viconia romance, and uses the main theme of BGII very skilfully (something that Hoenig does a lot). This does make the individual tracks stand out less, but as a whole I think it ties the game together very nicely.
[spoiler]![image]()
[/spoiler]
Exploring the Plains: This is so nostalgic for me. It encapsulates for me the feeling of well, exploring those plains, and also the medieval feel I got more from the first game than the second, playing as a child. It reminds me of meeting all those weird and wonderful NPCs you'd see in the wilderness.
[spoiler]![image]()
[/spoiler]
Safe in Beregost: You're there, you've finally made it, past the wolves, gibberlings, or bandits if you're really unlucky, you've got your fragile level 1 self to Beregost, the newbie's Baldur's Gate, now chill with Golin Vend and dig this sweet tune.
[spoiler]![image]()
[/spoiler]
Night Falls on Baldur's Gate: This one is just perfectly creepy - "the Gate'll get ya, soon enough". Whether you're robbing the Hall of Wonders, lugging a corpse back for a seedy necromancer, or just lurking round the underbelly of the city this track makes everything come together.
[spoiler]![image]()
[/spoiler]
I think Michael Hoenig's work contributed massively to the feel of these games we love. His use of deep horns and dark tone really emphasised the danger of the world, and your slightly corrupt place within it, as a Bhaalspawn. At the same time things never got so grim that there weren't discernible melodies within the tracks that are beautiful in their own right. See the title track from BGII for a perfect example. And of course that's not to leave out Inon Zur's work in ToB, but that's a post for another day.
Here we can discuss the music and post our favourite tracks.
Romance I: used for the Aerie and Jaheira convos. Very sweet sounding, I remember where I was when I first it (in front of my computer obvs, but) in the Graveyard district, next to the Lathander priest and orphan girl, and the mood was just perfect.
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Romance II: This darker track is for the Viconia romance, and uses the main theme of BGII very skilfully (something that Hoenig does a lot). This does make the individual tracks stand out less, but as a whole I think it ties the game together very nicely.
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Exploring the Plains: This is so nostalgic for me. It encapsulates for me the feeling of well, exploring those plains, and also the medieval feel I got more from the first game than the second, playing as a child. It reminds me of meeting all those weird and wonderful NPCs you'd see in the wilderness.
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Safe in Beregost: You're there, you've finally made it, past the wolves, gibberlings, or bandits if you're really unlucky, you've got your fragile level 1 self to Beregost, the newbie's Baldur's Gate, now chill with Golin Vend and dig this sweet tune.
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]Night Falls on Baldur's Gate: This one is just perfectly creepy - "the Gate'll get ya, soon enough". Whether you're robbing the Hall of Wonders, lugging a corpse back for a seedy necromancer, or just lurking round the underbelly of the city this track makes everything come together.
[spoiler]
[/spoiler]I think Michael Hoenig's work contributed massively to the feel of these games we love. His use of deep horns and dark tone really emphasised the danger of the world, and your slightly corrupt place within it, as a Bhaalspawn. At the same time things never got so grim that there weren't discernible melodies within the tracks that are beautiful in their own right. See the title track from BGII for a perfect example. And of course that's not to leave out Inon Zur's work in ToB, but that's a post for another day.