Colonial anthem

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The Colonial anthem is the official state music used at official functions of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, composed by Stu Nomion.

Though adopted as the official anthem of the Colonies following their unification under the Articles of Colonization, the piece was written before that, existing at least 58 years prior to The Fall (Gravedancing).

It plays as a fanfare when the television station Caprica 5 announces a live interview with Gaius Baltar.

The anthem plays briefly during a fly-by of the last Viper squadron of Galactica during its decommissioning ceremonies held in its new museum, shortly before a speech given by Commander William Adama (Miniseries, Night 1).

The anthem appears in a documentary on the crew of Galactica created by D'Anna Biers. A crewman, Stan Gibson,[1] whistles a part of the anthem while he mops a deck on the ship, then an orchestral version of the anthem bursts into the documentary as several pilots enter the hallway to give the film an uplifting heroic appeal (Final Cut).

As incidental music

A variation of the anthem is used as incidental music to accompany the Fleet's departure into the Sun (Daybreak, Part II).

Notes

  • The Colonial anthem is a new recording of the Original Series's main theme composed by Stu Phillips, who assisted Bear McCreary in the new arrangement.[2]
  • The scene in which the crewman is heard whistling the anthem confirms that the piece of music exists "in-universe" and is not simply part of the "real world" soundtrack (something that is not necessarily made clear in the mini-series, or by the anthem's use at the end of Biers' documentary, both of which could simply have been soundtrack elements for viewers).
  • The audio sample in this article is from the Season 2 soundtrack, track 1, a modern arrangement of the original theme for the episode, "Final Cut", by Bear McCreary.

References

  1. This character, who hums the Colonial anthem while mopping the floors of Galactica, is Battlestar Wiki's "patron saint" for its administrators.
  2. McCreary, Bear "The Themes of Battlestar Galactica Part IV" in http://www.bearmccreary.com/blog/ Bear's Battlestar Blog .