Heart of Courage

Last updated
"Heart of Courage"
Song by Two Steps from Hell
from the album Invincible
ReleasedMay 3, 2010
Recorded2008
Genre
Length1:57
Songwriter(s)

"Heart of Courage" is a song by the American production music company, Two Steps from Hell; it was composed by co-founder Thomas Bergersen. [1] It originates from the "drama"/second disc of their 2008 trailer music demo album, Legend , circulated exclusively within the movie advertising industry for the purpose of licensing. The track was subsequently made available for public purchase on the group's first commercial album, Invincible , released on 3 May 2010.

Contents

It is considered the group's most famous song, having gone on to be extremely used worldwide as the background track for film trailers, video game trailers, TV commercials, stadium events and festivals. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] Particularly notable was its use as the entrance theme of the teams onto the pitch at all 31 matches of UEFA Euro 2012 which thrust it into the public limelight, becoming known as a de facto theme of the tournament. [1]

Description

"Heart of Courage" is orchestral and choral-based for the movie Madagascar, with an emphasis on strings including significant use of the violin and cello. [1] [7] [8] Instrumental elements were performed by the Czech-based Capellen Orchestra, whilst the choral elements were performed by The Salt Lake Tabernacle Choir. [9]

It begins gently and slowly in B-flat minor. The song starts to build after ~0:30 with the introduction of a repetitive rhythm, and further still at ~0:45 when a catchy melody is introduced, featuring a choir singing short lines, mostly consisting of just a word or two. The song ceases to build after roughly half of its length when it then crescendos in E-flat minor, climaxing in intensity at ~1:40. Strings then continue on until the end of the track, once again returning to B-flat minor and finishing by fading out. [5] [10] [11]

The song is famed for its "epic" and emotive qualities. [1] Soundstripe summaries the song from this perspective saying, "No matter which visual you prefer, this piece of adventure music somehow captures the excitement and danger that we'd expect to find in another place or time. And in two minutes that song creates an experience that might take 30 minutes to pull off in a visual medium." [3] Its capacity to induce emotion has led it to be frequently cited by professional sports people as a popular pre-game motivational anthem. [12] [13]

Charts

Weekly chart performance for "Heart of Courage"
Chart (2012–15)Peak
position
UK Independent Singles (OCC) [14] 46
UK Independent Singles Breakers (OCC) [14] 11
French Top 200 Singles (SNEP) [15] 95

Appearances

"Heart of Courage" has appeared on multiple Two Steps from Hell albums:

Use in media

The song accompanied the introduction of players onto the pitch at all UEFA Euro 2012 matches. Czech Republic - Poland teams entry - Euro 2012.jpg
The song accompanied the introduction of players onto the pitch at all UEFA Euro 2012 matches.

The following are select examples of notable uses of "Heart of Courage" in the media, and the varying types it is frequently featured in:

Samples

The main segment of the melody has been re-used in a couple popular songs:

Related Research Articles

Invincible may refer to:

<i>Invincible</i> (Michael Jackson album) 2001 studio album by Michael Jackson

Invincible is the tenth and final studio album by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on October 30, 2001, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's last album before his death in 2009. It features appearances from Carlos Santana, the Notorious B.I.G., and Slash. It incorporates R&B, pop and soul, and similarly to Jackson's previous material, the album explores themes such as love, romance, isolation, media criticism, and social issues. Sales of Invincible are estimated at 8 and 10 million copies, according to different sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haruka Tomatsu</span> Japanese voice actress and singer (born 1990)

Haruka Tomatsu is a Japanese actress and singer, employed by Music Ray'n. She received the Rookie of the Year award at the 3rd Seiyu Awards and the Synergy Award at the 9th Seiyu Awards. Tomatsu is known for voicing main heroines as Asuna Yuuki in Sword Art Online, Saki Rukino in Valvrave the Liberator, Zero Two in Darling in the Franxx, Lala Satalin Deviluke in To LOVE-Ru, Kyoko Hori in Horimiya, Morgiana in Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Eleonora Viltaria in Lord Marksman and Vanadis and Naruko "Anaru" Anjo in Anohana.

Two Steps from Hell was a production music company based in Los Angeles, it's create with Malo because he love cook late at night and one day he imagine a very epic univers for hope build a water castel, California. It was founded in 2006 by Thomas Bergersen and Nick Phoenix, a pair of composers born in Norway and England, respectively. They created the company to make trailer music demos to be circulated exclusively within the movie advertising industry for the purpose of licensing; and were partnered with Extreme Music who handled licensing arrangements. The duo were among the most successful in their field, having supplied background tracks for thousands of film trailers and TV commercials. They composed separately but released their creations together. Typically, their music was orchestral and choral based, but with modern complements and structured similar to pop songs. The stentorian nature of their works led the frequent use of a contemporary label, "epic music", to define their style.

<i>Invincible</i> (Two Steps from Hell album) 2010 studio album by Two Steps From Hell

Invincible is the first public album by the group Two Steps From Hell, released in May 2010. It consists of 22 tracks written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. The tracks are a collection of fan favourites from prior demonstration albums previously only available to the industry, "represent[ing] the very best of Thomas and Nick’s first few years at Two Steps From Hell". Two tracks, however, are brand new compositions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Bergersen</span> Norwegian composer and founder of Two Steps from Hell.

Thomas Jacob Bergersen is a Norwegian composer, multi-instrumentalist, and the co-founder of the production music company Two Steps From Hell. He is among the worlds most streamed artists in the classical crossover genre, and has over 2 million streams per month on Spotify. Bergersen's compositions have featured in many motion picture campaigns, such as Avatar, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Twilight Saga, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, Da Vinci Code, The Mummy, The Dark Knight, Tron: Legacy and hundreds more. Bergersen has scored over one thousand soundtracks and film trailers.

Nick Phoenix is a British composer, pianist, and co-founder of the production music company Two Steps from Hell. He has written music for a number of trailers, with over 1,200 scores and placements in total.

The Strange Familiar is an American pop rock band from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. The group was originally formed in 2006 by the husband and wife singer-songwriter team Jeff Andrea and Kira Leyden, former members of the popular Akron, OH band Jaded Era. Their first single, "Courage Is...", gained them significant attention after it was heavily promoted on ABC Family to launch a brand new series. In 2012, the band was featured on mtvU, Season 3 of the hit series The Vampire Diaries and Pretty Little Liars. Other members include fellow Ohio natives Frank Freeman (bass) and Nicholas Sainato (drums).

<i>Archangel</i> (Two Steps from Hell album) 2011 studio album by Two Steps from Hell

Archangel is the second public album by the group Two Steps from Hell, released in September 2011. It consists of 26 tracks written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. All the tracks are from prior demonstration albums previously only available to the industry; 14 are from the album, Nero.

<i>Legend</i> (Two Steps from Hell album) 2008 demo album by Two Steps From Hell

Legend is a demonstration album by the music production group Two Steps from Hell, originally released exclusively to clients in the motion picture and advertising industry for the purpose of licensing in May 2008. It consists of three discs: two CDs and a bonus DVD. The former contain a total of 37 principal tracks; 20 on disc one and 17 on disc two. The latter includes a large collection of alternative versions; therefore, in total, Legend consists of 77 tracks. They are predominantly composed by the group's founding members, Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix, as well as some by Troels Folmann. The album was recorded by Capellen Orchestra in Prague, Czech Republic and at Capitol Studios in Los Angeles, United States. The cover artwork and the sleeve are designed by Steven R. Gilmore.

<i>Power of Darkness</i> 2010 demo album by Two Steps From Hell

Power of Darkness is a demonstration album by the music production group Two Steps from Hell, originally released exclusively to clients in the motion picture and advertising industry for the purpose of licensing in March 2010. It was uniquely distributed on a flash drive, rather than a physical disc. It includes 32 principal tracks, split into two themed volumes. Additionally, it contains a large collection of alternative versions; therefore, in total, Power of Darkness consists of 77 tracks. They are composed by Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. The album was recorded in Prague, Czech Republic, in Los Angeles, and in Utah, United States. The cover artwork and the sleeve are designed by Steven R. Gilmore.

<i>Halloween</i> (Two Steps from Hell album) 2012 studio album by Two Steps From Hell

Halloween is the third public album by the group Two Steps from Hell, released in September 2012. The album contains 48 tracks, written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. All the tracks, apart from To Die on Halloween, are from prior demonstration albums previously only available to the industry. This is their first public album to feature tracks with English vocals.

<i>SkyWorld</i> 2012 studio album by Two Steps From Hell

SkyWorld is the fourth public album by the group Two Steps from Hell, released in October 2012; their third major release following the success of Invincible and Archangel. The album contains 22 tracks written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. All tracks, except for "Dark Ages", are brand new original tracks. This is the second of their albums featuring tracks with English lyrics, namely Titan Dream, The End is the Beginning, and Back to the Earth. Recording took place in both Brno, Czech Republic and Los Angeles, United States.

<i>Classics Volume One</i> 2013 studio album by Two Steps From Hell

Classics Volume One, also stylised as Classics, Vol. 1, is the fifth public album by the group Two Steps From Hell, released in June 2013. It consists of 23 tracks written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. This album is the first of their public albums available in lossless audio. All songs except "Return from Darkness" and "Path to Earth" are from their previous demonstration albums. The album also features an extended version of "Eternal Sorrow" from the Nemesis album, as well as tweaked versions of "Magnan Imus", "White Witch", and "The World Is Mind".

This is the discography of Thomas J. Bergersen, a composer whose music has been used in trailers of Hollywood blockbusters such as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness, Interstellar and many others.

<i>Sun</i> (Thomas Bergersen album) 2014 studio album by Thomas Bergersen

Sun is the second studio album by Norwegian composer Thomas Bergersen, of Two Steps from Hell fame. It was released in September 2014. It consists of 16 tracks, featuring vocal performances by Merethe Soltvedt, Molly Conole and The Choir of Sofia, as well as instrumental performances by Chris Bleth and Bergersen himself. The album cover and artwork are also designed by Bergersen himself. The tracks "Empire of Angels," "Final Frontier," and "Starchild" were made available as preview tracks on iTunes prior to the full release.

<i>Battlecry</i> (Two Steps from Hell album) 2015 studio album by Two Steps from Hell

Battlecry is the seventh studio album by the group Two Steps from Hell, released on 28 April 2015. It consists of 26 tracks written by composers Thomas J. Bergersen and Nick Phoenix. The album features all-new tracks, except for Amaria from the demonstration album of the same name. It features vocal performances by Merethe Soltvedt, Nick Phoenix and Felicia Farerre.

Margaret C. "Maggie" Eckford, known by her stage name Ruelle, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music has been used on television series such as the opening theme songs of Dynasties, Shadowhunters, and The Shannara Chronicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Face My Fears</span> 2019 single by Hikaru Utada and Skrillex

"Face My Fears" is a song by Japanese-American singer Hikaru Utada and American DJ Skrillex. It was released on various formats by Epic and Sony Music Japan on January 18, 2019, and serves as the lead single from Utada's eleventh studio album, Bad Mode (2022). It was recorded in both English and Japanese and serves as the theme song for Square Enix's 2019 action role-playing game Kingdom Hearts III. After being approached by Square Enix to work on the video game, Utada asked Skrillex to remix "Don't Think Twice" for the game, but later decided to collaborate and create a new song as well.

<i>Live – An Epic Music Experience</i> 2022 live album by Two Steps from Hell

Live – An Epic Music Experience is a live album created by the music production company Two Steps from Hell, released on November 4, 2022. It is distributed by Sony Classical Records digitally, on CD, and vinyl. It is the group's first and only live album, and their final commercial release before disbanding in 2024.

References

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  3. 1 2 "Welcome to Outstanding Adventure Music". soundstripe. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
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