Fellowship Theme
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The Fellowship Theme is a hymn-like song composed by Dana Glover. It is the de facto main theme for Ultima VII: The Black Gate (DOS) as it is not only the first song the Avatar hears upon entering Britannia, but it is the theme of the main antagonist in the game, The Fellowship, the religious cult-like agency that is taking over Britannia with Batlin playing puppet to The Guardian. You will hear the song whenever you enter a Fellowship branch building as well as other buildings associated with The Fellowship, like the the shelter in Paws.
This song is track 35 in the game's data files.
Title
The game doesn't name its music files, and while the credits display some of the song's titles, this song is left out. Instead, the title comes from the Origin Soundtrack Series, Vol. 2 album where it is titled, "Fellowship Theme." Since the album was recorded and arranged by Origin's sound engineer Randy Buck, Dana Glover probably didn't name his song, although the title is quite fitting.
Composition
Dana Glover begins the warm Fellowship Theme with a traditional hymnal style by using a pipe organ which sustains throughout the background. The song has three sections. The first has a melody performed on a French horn with a flute responding. A bass interlude begins 27 seconds into the song and is played on warm bells which fits with the hymnal motif, but also includes timpanis with brass accompaniment, which sounds wonderful, but is uncommon in hymns. At 41 seconds, the song returns to a call and response with the melody played on bassoon with brass responding, and an increase in the timpanis.
MIDI Structure
| Instrument Name | Track | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Pipe Organ | 1 | 3 |
| Pipe Organ | 2 | 3 |
| Timpani | 3 | 4 |
| Synth Brass | 4 | 5 |
| Bassoon | 5 | 6 |
| French Horn | 6 | 7 |
| Warm Bells | 7 | 9 |
| Synth Brass | 8 | 5 |
| Flute | 9 | 8 |
| Cymbal Crash | 10 | 10 |
| Timpani | 11 | 4 |
Album Appearances
The song was officially released on the Origin Soundtrack Series, Vol. 2 album. It is track 3 and paired with the Monk's Theme from Ultima VII, Part II: Serpent Isle (DOS). Rather than loop, the album version takes the bass line and repeats it once more. This modified ending was probably added by the album's arranger Randy Buck.
Sheet Music
Links
- youtube.com/watch?v=CQ7VVeIGoKE - Soundtrack version with Monk's Theme.
- youtube.com/watch?v=mtanodJsk0o - Played on acoustic guitar by Samuel J. Lawson.
