Civilization Song First Game Music To Receive Grammy Nomination
Sid Meier’s Civilization Makes History: “Baba Yetu” First Piece of Music Written for Videogame to be Nominated for Grammy Award
In a gaming first according to 2K Games, the song 'Baba Yetu' for Sid Meyer's Civilization IV has been nominated for the Grammy Award “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists”. It was composed by Christopher Tin and also released on his full album titled 'Calling All Dawns'. The album received a Grammy nomination for “Best Classical Crossover Album.”
Tin was commissioned to write it specifically for Civilization IV, his first gaming commission. He had an African choir sing a Swahili translation of The Lord's Prayer. Baba Yetu is Swahili for 'Our Father', the opening statement from the prayer. The song won a number of gaming awards and has been played during sports games and the opening ceremony of the 2009 World Games among other prominent events.
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Fans of the song can find other similar tracks on Tin's full debut album "Calling All Dawns". The album has other pieces sung in various languages including Farsi, Hebrew, Irish, Japanese, Latin and Maori. Tin's website www.christophertin.com has samples of all the albums songs for those curious.
Press Release
New York, NY - December 6, 2010 – 2K Games and Firaxis Games are proud to congratulate composer Christopher Tin for writing the first piece of music for a video game to ever receive a Grammy nomination. Tin’s beloved “Baba Yetu,” commissioned specifically for the award-winning Sid Meier’s Civilization® IV, has been nominated in the category of “Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalists,” while the album in which the track appears, Calling All Dawns, has received a nomination in the category of “Best Classical Crossover Album.”
"Working on Sid Meier’s Civilization IV was a thrill for me - not only because it was a game that I grew up playing obsessively, but because it was my first-ever video game job,” said Christopher Tin, composer for Sid Meier’s Civilization IV. “Firaxis gave me the time, space, and means to create something unique and special - you can't ask for better creative conditions as a composer. I look forward to working with them again and again, from now until the end of... well, civilization.”
Making headlines and forging new ground over the past 20 years, the Sid Meier’s Civilization franchise is one of the most beloved gaming franchises of all-time, and this historical achievement adds to the wealth of accomplishments earned by the series. Sid Meier’s Civilization IV is one of the most cherished games of the past decade due to its trademark “just one more turn” gameplay that has entertained millions of gamers worldwide. Tin’s universally praised “Baba Yetu” is a beautiful aural experience that perfectly articulates the excitement and wonder of setting forth on a path to discovering a beautiful and emerging world.
Originally composed for Sid Meier’s Civilization IV, “Baba Yetu” achieved great success after the game’s release, first winning two Game Audio Network Guild awards for video game music, and then becoming one of the most popular and frequently performed pieces of video game music ever written. It became a fixture of the Video Games Live touring concert series, and was played during performances at the Hollywood Bowl, Kennedy Center, Royal Festival Hall, and many other renowned venues. It was also used in the opening ceremonies of the World Games of 2009 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and as a featured segment in the choreographed Dubai Fountain, the world's largest interactive water feature.
In composing “Baba Yetu,” Christopher Tin tapped into the rich history of African choral music. Missionaries of the 19th-century used Swahili as the lingua franca for spreading Christianity across East Africa. As a result, a rich tradition of vocal music arose that blended European harmonies with traditional African call-and-response. “Baba Yetu” literally means “Our Father,” and is a Swahili translation of The Lord's Prayer. Tin re-recorded the song in 2009 as an overture to Calling All Dawns, and supplemented it with 11 companion pieces in 11 other languages, including Japanese, Farsi, Hebrew, Maori and more.
Sid Meier’s Civilization IV is currently available for PC and Mac and is rated E10+ by the ESRB. For more information on Sid Meier’s Civilization IV, as well as the recently released Sid Meier’s Civilization V, please visit www.civilization.com.
For more information on Christopher Tin and the Grammy Nominated Album Calling All Dawns please visit www.christophertin.com.
2K Games is a division of 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO).
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