Live performances
Djawadi has performed the piece with a live orchestra at the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience, which consisted of 24 dates in cities across the United States and Canada. [8]
| "Light of the Seven" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Ramin Djawadi | |
| from the album Game of Thrones: Season 6 | |
| Released | June 24, 2016 |
| Recorded | 2016 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 9:49 |
| Label | WaterTower Music |
| Songwriter(s) | Ramin Djawadi |
| Producer(s) | Ramin Djawadi |
"Light of the Seven" is an orchestral piano piece in the HBO's series Game of Thrones , the television series adaptation of A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin. It first played during the show's season six finale and was composed by Ramin Djawadi in 2016. "Light of the Seven" is the first time piano is used in the music for Game of Thrones. [1] It was nominated by the International Film Music Critics Association for Film Music Composition of the Year.
In an interview, Djawadi spoke about "Light of the Seven", which largely consisted of piano, something unusual for the series. [2] Djawadi stated, "The interesting thing to me was the use of the piano. When we started the season showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss, and Miguel Sapochnik, the director of the episode, reached out to me and said, 'There's something coming up in episode 10.' We talked about the 'Light of the Seven', and how it needed to be a new piece of music. Any kind of character theme could tip it, and we didn't want to tip the audience. Miguel brought it up: 'What about the piano?' We discussed it. The piano is not really in the language of the Game of Thrones score." [2] Djawadi had tried other instruments, including playing the whole tune with harp, but none of them sounded right, eventually he settled on the colder sound of the piano. [3]
Djawadi said: "It all felt like a perfect fit. What's great about the scene, too, is there's hardly any dialogue. It's nine minutes long. I knew I had to start minimal and give it space. Let notes ring, then give it space, and build up the anticipation from there, without tipping in either direction." [2] Djawadi stated that he refrained from using the typical Lannister theme, "The Rains of Castamere", in order to create more of a mystery. [2] The piece also featured vocals from two young boys singing in unison, and Djawadi instructed the boys to sing in such a way that it is "not out of tune, but you get that feeling of something’s wrong." [3] Djawadi describing how he pieced all of the separate pieces of the music together by saying "The boys I recorded completely separate. The strings I recorded all together. Even the solo instruments, I recorded them separately — the solo violins and solo cellists were recorded separately. The piano, I played. And the organ as well." [2]
In another interview, Djawadi talked about the process, saying, "That was the big guidance for me, in how I wanted to build this piece, It's a different instrument, and I put it in an upper register, but the idea is that it's building something that stays the same but changes over time. Of course, now that I say that, people might be like, 'No, it's not really that.' And it's not staying true to the form. Obviously the picture is guiding me, so I have to pull back and break away from it. I couldn't keep it as a passacaglia all the way through. But there are definitely moments where it defaults to that." [4]
"Light of the Seven" has a duration of approximately ten minutes. When Djawadi originally composed the piece, he intended at first to make it a passacaglia. [4] The instrumentation of "Light of the Seven" consists of piano, organ, strings and two boy soloists. [4] On why he decided to use two young soloists instead of a full choir, Djawadi said, "I felt that two of them were more haunting than using a full choir, because it's a smaller environment, when they're running around in the catacombs." [4]
The piece received universal praise from critics and fans, with Lili Loofbourow of The Week calling it the "real winner" of the season finale. [5] Djawadi responded to the universal praise the composition got, saying, "I never would have thought that would happen, it's so exciting because it's such a special finale." [4]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | International Film Music Critics Association | Film Music Composition of the Year | Ramin Djawadi | Nominated | [6] |
Personnel adapted from the album liner notes. [7]
|
|
Djawadi has performed the piece with a live orchestra at the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience, which consisted of 24 dates in cities across the United States and Canada. [8]
A remixed version of "Light of the Seven" was used in a season 7 trailer. [9] The final motif from this piece is used in the season 6 track "Hear Me Roar", and is also used from season 7 onwards in tracks involving Cersei Lannister and her machinations, such as "The Long Farewell" or "No One Walks Away from Me", acting as an alternate theme to "The Rains of Castamere" for her character. Part of the song also appeared in the song that played during Cersei's death, "For Cersei" (as well as a variation of "Rains of Castamere")
| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| France (SNEP) [10] | 32 |
| Hungary (Single Top 40) [11] | 9 |
Eddard "Ned" Stark is a fictional character in the 1996 fantasy novel A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, and Game of Thrones, HBO's adaptation of Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. In the storyline, Ned is the lord of Winterfell, an ancient fortress in the North of the fictional continent of Westeros. Though the character is established as the main character in the novel and the first season of the TV adaptation, a plot twist involving Ned near the end of the novel and the end of the first season shocked both readers of the book and viewers of the TV series.
Jaime Lannister is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin and its television adaptation Game of Thrones, where he is portrayed by Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Jaime becomes a prominent point of view character in the novels beginning with A Storm of Swords (2000).
Cersei Lannister is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones, where she is portrayed by actress Lena Headey. Introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones, Cersei is a member of House Lannister, one of the wealthiest and most powerful families on the continent of Westeros. She subsequently appears in A Clash of Kings (1998) and A Storm of Swords (2000), and becomes a prominent point of view character beginning with A Feast for Crows (2005). Cersei will continue to be a point-of-view character in the forthcoming volume The Winds of Winter.
Tywin Lannister is a fictional character in the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire by American novelist George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones. He is introduced in A Game of Thrones (1996) and subsequently appears in A Clash of Kings (1998) and A Storm of Swords (2000). Tywin was portrayed by English actor Charles Dance in the HBO series, to critical acclaim.
Margaery Tyrell is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones, where she is portrayed by English actress Natalie Dormer. Margaery is first mentioned in A Game of Thrones (1996) and first appears in A Clash of Kings (1998). She subsequently appeared in A Storm of Swords (2000) and A Feast for Crows (2005).
The first season of the fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones premiered on HBO on April 17, 2011, in the U.S. and concluded on June 19, 2011. It consists of ten episodes, each of approximately 55 minutes. The series is based on A Game of Thrones, the first novel in the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, adapted for television by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. HBO had ordered a television pilot in November 2008; filming began the following year. However, it was deemed unsatisfactory and later reshot with some roles recast. In March 2010, HBO ordered the first season, which began filming in July 2010, primarily in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with additional filming in Malta.
The music for the fantasy TV series Game of Thrones is composed by Ramin Djawadi. The music is primarily non-diegetic and instrumental with occasional vocal performances, and is created to support musically the characters and plots of the show. It features various themes, the most prominent being the "main title theme" that accompanies the series' title sequence. In every season, a soundtrack album was released. The music for the show has won a number of awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series in 2018 and 2019.
"Blackwater" is the ninth and penultimate episode of the second season of HBO's medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 19th overall. The episode was directed by Neil Marshall, his directorial debut for the series, and written by George R. R. Martin, the author of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels from which the series is adapted. It first aired on May 27, 2012.
Tyrion Lannister is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones, where he is portrayed by American actor Peter Dinklage.
The High Sparrow is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of high fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin and its television adaptation Game of Thrones.
"Mother's Mercy" is the tenth and final episode of the fifth season of HBO's medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 50th overall. The fifth season finale, the episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss and directed by David Nutter. It first aired on June 14, 2015.
"The Winds of Winter" is the final episode of the sixth season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the sixtieth overall. It was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Miguel Sapochnik.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire media franchise:
"The Rains of Castamere" is a song appearing in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels and in the television series adaptation Game of Thrones. The lyrics were written by George R. R. Martin in the novel A Storm of Swords, published in 2000, and the song was composed by Ramin Djawadi in 2011, upon request from the television series creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. The song appears multiple times throughout the books and show.
Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience is the concert tour by the HBO epic fantasy series Game of Thrones featuring composer Ramin Djawadi. The all-arena tour was announced on August 8, 2016 at an intimate concert in Los Angeles, California. The tour consists of 24 dates in cities across the United States and Canada. The tour's title, "Music Is Coming" is in reference to House Stark motto, "Winter Is Coming." The concert started on February 20, 2017 in Saint Paul, Minnesota and ended April 2 in Portland, Oregon.
Game of Thrones: Season 1 is the soundtrack album for the first season of HBO series Game of Thrones. Composed by Ramin Djawadi, it was released on June 14, 2011 for digital download and on CD. Djawadi accepted the task 10 weeks before the show premiered, after Stephen Warbeck left the project.
The soundtrack album of the fourth season of HBO series Game of Thrones, titled Game of Thrones: Season 4 was released digitally on June 10, 2014, and on CD on July 1, 2014. Season 4 of Game of Thrones saw the Icelandic band Sigur Rós perform their rendition of "The Rains of Castamere" in a cameo appearance at King Joffrey's wedding in the second episode, "The Lion and the Rose".
The soundtrack album of the sixth season of HBO series Game of Thrones, titled Game of Thrones: Season 6, was released digitally on June 24, 2016, and later released on CD on July 29, 2016. "Light of the Seven" is the first time piano is used in the music for Game of Thrones. The album was composed by Ramin Djawadi. The soundtrack has received favorable reviews and peaked at number 1 on the US Billboard Soundtrack Albums chart and number 27 on the US Billboard 200. The track from the season finale, "Light of the Seven", reached number 1 on Billboard's Spotify Viral 50 chart. It won an International Film Music Critics Association for Best Original Score for a Television Series.
The eighth and final season of the fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones, produced by HBO, premiered on April 14, 2019, and concluded on May 19, 2019. Unlike the first six seasons, which consisted of ten episodes each, and the seventh season, which consisted of seven episodes, the eighth season consists of only six episodes.
"Jenny of Oldstones", alternatively titled "My Jenny's Song", is a song appearing in the HBO epic fantasy television series Game of Thrones. It was included in two separate parts in the second episode of the series' eighth season, "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms". In the first instance of the song, it was performed during the episode by character Podrick Payne, portrayed by Scottish actor Daniel Portman. The song then played during the episode's end credits, performed by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. Florence and the Machine released the song as a single the day after the episode aired, on 22 April 2019. The song was released by HBO and record label Universal Music Group.
