We are very proud of the soundtrack that we have put together for Old World, most of which is available on this Spotify playlist, and we wanted to take some time to highlight one of our primary sources of music in the game, the wonderful vocal ensemble Cappella Romana. They first came to our attention from their beautiful Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia album, which was recorded in partnership with Stanford’s CCRMA program. The songs each use digital simulation to recreate how Byzantine chants would have sounded in the Hagia Sophia (with its reverberation time of 11 seconds) when it was still an Orthodox cathedral. Obviously, given our interest in the time period, the music, and the Hagia Sophia itself (one of the Wonders of Old World), we soon wondered if we could license their music for our game.

Cappella Romana is based in Portland, Oregon, and has been recording Byzantine and Eastern Orthodox choral music for over three decades. The group provided us access to their full recording output, from which we chose over an hour and a half of beautiful vocal music that can now be heard while you play Old World. One standout track we would like to highlight is O Great Pascha, a warm, rich piece from the 16th century that is one of the featured tracks that plays in the main menu.

For more information on Cappella Romana, please visit them at https://cappellaromana.org/.