The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion ~ Concert for Solo Piano ~ Part One

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0:25 - Reign of the Septims
2:36 - Through the Valleys
7:31 - Defending the Gate
8:44 - Fall of the Hammer
10:10 - Watchman's Ease
12:18 - Glory of Cyrodiil
15:03 - Minstrel's Lament

Everyone who was playing games ten years ago remembers when Oblivion came out.

I remember being struck by one of the E3 segments before its release. The demonstrator was walking through a forest, the sounds of birds overhead, a startled deer disappearing into the trees, and a pale ruin standing in a clearing.

It was only two minutes of wandering around, but this world had some atmosphere or quality which drew you in. There were the suggestions of adventure and the wild outdoors, of course. But there was also a sense of peace, that here would be a game where you could simply dwell and soak up the quiet magic of your surroundings.

Upon buying the actual game I was pleased to discover this ambience fully present, and spent hours under its spell like so many others. Even looking back and considering the flaws in the game’s mechanics, or the limited number of voice actors, or the repetitive levels, it somehow doesn’t matter. We don’t remember how Oblivion played, but how it felt to play.

A major part of this was undeniably due to its aesthetic beauty. The trees stood rich and green. The sun played on the clear mountain stream as you broke the surface, having forgotten that you were in your room. The stars and planets hung silently above you as you walked by night towards the distant town. If I chose one word it would be ‘luminous’. Everything shone gently; the faces, the armour, even the cobblestones under your feet.

A world of such lustre needed music of rare quality to match, and here Jeremy Soule delivered no less than an immortal soundtrack, one which plays no small part in the fact that people are still reminiscing about Oblivion a decade later.

Consider the challenge for a composer writing for the fantasy genre. It’s all been done before, in hundreds of scores for film, game and television. If you want to successfully evoke the fantasy soundscape that we are expecting to hear, you are somewhat restricted to a narrow set of tropes originating in rural folk music, passing through some 20th century English composers (Holst, Vaughan Williams) and nowadays making a late stop in on Howard Shore.

So for Soule to produce music so memorable, and to make it sound so natural, is worthy of real admiration. His original themes sound like they’ve been lying around in the countryside for centuries waiting to be rediscovered. To write one strong tune could be considered a triumph, and you could base half a score around it. To come up with a double handful is miraculous.

Combine this bounty of melodic invention with tasteful and varied orchestration, an impressionistic modal palette, well-controlled structure and an overall warmth and humanity imbuing every track, and you get a classic which has been educational to transcribe and arrange, and nostalgic to perform.

How wonderful to be able to sit at the piano and recreate this music, taking my audience with me as we remember a few uncomplicated, happy hours spent in the valleys of Cyrodiil.

For enquiries, please email me at: [email protected]

I'm starting to look into doing custom arrangements for people, so if that interests you then get in touch!