Music List

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Please, all writers and Dungeon Masters, make use of my not-exhaustive-but-pretty-good-list below!

I listen to music whilst I’m writing, I find it really helps me stay in the atmosphere of the genre or moment that I’m writing for, whether it’s for D&D or my novels.

Also note that just because I name a soundtrack that doesn’t mean I like all tracks on that soundtrack. If I have written mystery in a soundtrack that is full of noise, for example, The Dark Tower by Junkie XL, that is because I have selected the mystery tracks from this album and ignored the noise.

I also recommend doing extensive searches for different versions of the same track, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra have a fine catalogue of film albums for example, Harry Potter, Conan etc which makes the same leitmotifs and themes sound a bit different.

I am always adding to this list, so it will have changed drastically in 6 months.

Genres of Fantasy

These are the intended genre of D&D or fantasy, not the genre of the music itself.

  1. Arabian Nights - The desert adventures, Middle-Eastern and Mediterranean influenced games, usually Swords & Sorcery.

  2. Epic Fantasy - generic fantasy in Fantasy Europe.

  3. Sci-fi - generic sci-fi music.

  4. Mystery - exploration of a tomb, intrigue in a city, artefact lore.

  5. Fairytale, Jungle, Funeral, War, Lost World, Religious, Gothic, Chill D&D, Undead, Romance, are all self-explanatory.

  6. Medieval - usually means tavern or feast music, sometimes the Hollywood sound of that era

  7. Swords & Sorcery - usually Arabian Nights is Swords & Sorcery, but not always. It means a pulp fantasy such as Conan, not high fantasy like Lord of the Rings.

 

Music by Genre

Arabian Nights

  • Alan Silvestri The Mummy Returns

  • Alfred Newman David And Bathsheba, The Robe

  • Bernard Herrmann & Alfred Newman The Egyptian

  • Bernard Herrmann The 7th Voyage of Sinbad

  • David Arnold Stargate

  • Graeme Revell 13th Warrior rejected score

  • Harry Gregson Williams Prince of Persia, Kingdom of Heaven

  • Ingo Ludwig Frenzel The Physician

  • Jerry Goldsmith The Mummy, 13th Warrior

  • John Williams Indiana Jones Saga 4 films

  • Lawrence Rosenthal Clash of the Titans

  • Marco Beltrami Gods of Egypt

  • Maurice Jarre Lawrence of Arabia, The Message

  • Miklos Rózsa El Cid

  • Trevor Jones Cleopatra

  • Alan Menken Aladdin

Mystery

  • Alexandre Desplat Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows, Godzilla

  • Benjamin Walfisch IT

  • Bernard Herrmann Fahrenheit 451

  • Caroline Shaw Partita For 8 Voices

  • Ennio Morricone The Hateful Eight, Hamlet

  • Ernest Gold Exodus

  • Hans Zimmer Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code

  • Henryk Gorecki Copernican

  • Howard Shore Eastern Promises

  • James Horner The Name of the Rose

  • Jasper Kyd Assassins Creed Series

  • John Ekstrand Life

  • John Ottman X-Men: Apocalypse

  • John Williams Indiana Jones Saga 4 films

  • Junkie XL The Dark Tower

  • Justin Bell Pillars of Eternity

  • Kevin Macleod Various Open Licence Tracks

  • Lawrence Rosenthal Clash of the Titans

  • Mark Streitenfeld Prometheus

  • Miklos Rózsa Knights of the Round Table

  • Popul Vuh Nosferatu

  • Ramin Djawadi Game of Thrones Saga

  • Richard Wagner Forest Murmurs, Lohengrin Prelude

  • Tangerine Dream Legend

  • The Tolkien Ensemble Verse of the Rings

  • Thomas Newman 1917

  • Trevor Jones Cleopatra, Excalibur, Merlin

Medieval

  • Alex North Dragonslayer

  • Basil Poledouris Flesh and Blood

  • Corona Borealis Various

  • Ennio Morricone Hamlet

  • Jed Kurzel Macbeth

  • Jerry Goldsmith First Knight

  • John Barry The Lion In Winter

  • Justin Bell Pillars of Eternity

  • Patrick Doyle Henry V

  • Ramin Djawadi Game of Thrones Saga

  • Trevor Jones Excalibur, The Last of the Mohicans

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Requiem

Lost World

  • Bernard Herrmann Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Mysterious Island

  • Hans Zimmer Pirates of the Caribbean Saga

  • Henry Jackman Kong Skull Island

  • James Horner Avatar, Apocalypto

  • John Williams Jurassic Park: The Lost World, Indiana Jones Saga 4 films

  • Michael Giacchino Planet of the Apes Trilogy

  • Philip Glass Symphony No. 7

  • Sergei Rachmaninoff The Isle of the Dead

Jungle

  • Alan Silvestri Predator

  • Henry Jackman Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

  • James Horner Jumanji, Avatar

  • Jerry Goldsmith Congo

Religious

  • Carl Orff Carmina Burana

  • Ernest Gold Exodus

  • Gabriel Fauré Requiem, Op. 48

  • Hans Zimmer Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code

  • Howard Shore Searching For Richard

  • Midwinter The Waters of Sweet Sorrow

  • Miklos Rózsa Knights of the Round Table

Epic Fantasy

  • Alex North Dragonslayer

  • Andrew Powell & Alan Parsons Ladyhawke

  • Antonin Dvorak Requiem, Op 89

  • Brian Eno & Toto Dune

  • Claude Debussy La Mer, L109

  • Daniel Pemberton The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

  • Edvard Grieg Funeral March For Rikard Nordraak

  • Eivor The Last Kingdom

  • Elmer Bernstein The Black Cauldron

  • Frederik Wiedmann The Dragon Prince

  • Gustav Holst The Planets

  • Harry Gregson Williams The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Kingdom of Heaven

  • Henryk Gorecki Copernican

  • Howard Shore Searching For Richard, The Hobbit Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

  • James Horner Krull, Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: Searching for Spock, Willow

  • James Newton Howard The Huntsman: Winters War

  • Jeremy Soule Elder Scrolls Saga, Guild Wars 1 & 2, Icewind Dale, Neverwinter Nights

  • Jerry Goldsmith 13th Warrior, First Knight

  • Joel Goldsmith Kull The Conqueror

  • John Barry Dances With Wolves

  • John Lunn The Last Kingdom

  • John Williams Indiana Jones Saga 4 films, Memoirs of a Geisha, Star Wars Saga 9 films

  • Justin Bell Pillars of Eternity

  • Led Zeppelin All

  • Lorne Balfe His Dark Materials

  • Marcin Przybyłowicz & Percival The Witcher 3

  • Maurice Ravel Daphnis et Chloe Michael Giacchino Rogue One

  • Miklos Rózsa Knights of the Round Table

  • Nobuo Uematsu & Various Artists Final Fantasy Series

  • Ramin Djawadi Warcraft, Game of Thrones Saga

  • Richard Wagner Parsifal

  • Rush The Necromancer, The Fountain of Lamneth

  • Sonja Belousova & Various Artists The Witcher TV Series

  • Trevor Jones Merlin

  • Vangelis Conquest of Paradise

  • Witchcraft The Alchemist Song not album

  • Wojciech Kilar Königin der Letzten Tage

War

  • Basil Poledouris Starship Troopers

  • Carl Orff Carmina Burana

  • Carmine Coppola Apocalypse Now

  • Ernest Gold Exodus

  • Hans Zimmer King Arthur, The Last Samurai, Gladiator

  • Harry Gregson Williams Kingdom of Heaven

  • Henryk Gorecki Beatus Vir

  • James Horner Braveheart, Troy

  • Jerry Goldsmith First Knight

  • Joel Goldsmith Kull The Conqueror

  • Junkie XL Mad Max: Fury Road

  • Kevin Macleod Various Open Licence Tracks

  • Ramin Djawadi Clash of the Titans, Dracula Untold, Game of Thrones Saga, The Great Wall, Warcraft

  • Richard Wagner Ride of the Valkyries

  • Sergei Prokofiev Alexander Nevksy

  • Thomas Newman 1917

  • Toru Takemitsu RAN

  • Trevor Jones The Last of the Mohicans, Merlin, Excalibur

Funeral

  • Antonin Dvorak Requiem, Op 89

  • Edvard Grieg Funeral March For Rikard Nordraak, Death of Ase

  • Gabriel Fauré Requiem, Op. 48

  • Henryk Gorecki Symphony of Sorrowful Songs (Tragedy, character death)

  • Richard Wagner Siegfried’s Funeral March

Horror

  • Benjamin Walfisch IT

  • Ennio Morricone The Thing

  • Jerry Goldsmith Alien, The Omen Trilogy, Poltergeist 1 & 2

Undead

  • Henryk Gorecki Beatus Vir

Romance

  • James Horner Braveheart

  • John Barry Dances With Wolves

  • Richard Wagner Parsifal

Sci-Fi

  • Brian Eno & Toto Dune

  • David Arnold Stargate

  • Hans Zimmer Interstellar

  • James Horner Aliens, Krull, Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan, Star Trek III: Searching for Spock

  • Jean-Michel Jarre Oxygéne Trilogy

  • Jerry Goldsmith Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Total Recall, Alien

  • John Barry The Black Hole, Starcrash

  • John Ekstrand Life

  • Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein Stranger Things

  • Mark Streitenfeld Prometheus

  • Philip Glass Akhnaten, Koyaanisqatsi

  • Rush 2112

  • Tangerine Dream Dream Sequence, Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Island of the Fay”, Rubycon, Sorcerer

  • Vangelis Blade Runner

Fairytale

  • Alexandre Desplat The Shape of Water, Tale of Tales, Valerian, Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows

  • Claude Debussy La Mer, L109, Nocturnes, Prelude To Afternoon Of A Faun

  • Daniel Pemberton The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance

  • Danny Elfman Alice In Wonderland, Edward Scissorhands

  • Depressive Silence Depressive Silence 2

  • Elmer Bernstein The Black Cauldron

  • Harry Gregson Williams The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

  • James Horner The Pagemaster, Spiderwick Chronicles, Willow

  • James Newton Howard The Lady in the Water, Maleficent, Snow White and the Huntsman, The Huntsman: Winters War

  • Javier Navarette Pan’s Labyrinth

  • Jerry Goldsmith Legend

  • John Williams BFG, Harry Potter Trilogy first 3 films

  • Maurice Ravel Ma Mere L’oye, Pavane For A Dead Princess, Daphnis et Chloe

  • Patrick Doyle Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire

  • Thomas Newman 1917

  • Trevor Jones The Dark Crystal

Swords & Sorcery

  • Basil Poledouris Conan The Destroyer, Conan The Barbarian

  • Ennio Morricone Red Sonja

  • Hans Zimmer Gladiator

  • James Horner Troy

  • Jasper Kyd Assassins Creed Series

  • John Barry The Lion In Winter, The Last Valley

  • Lawrence Rosenthal Clash of the Titans

  • Maurice Jarre The Message

  • Miklos Rózsa Quo Vadis, Ben-Hur, El Cid, King of Kings

  • Peter Gabriel The Last Temptation of Christ

  • Philip Glass Kepler, Akhnaten

  • Ramin Djawadi Clash of the Titans

Gothic

  • Danny Elfman The Wolfman, Sleepy Hollow

  • Daniel Pemberton The Awakening

  • Hans Zimmer Angels and Demons, The Da Vinci Code

  • James Horner Something Wicked This Way Comes

  • Jerry Goldsmith The Haunting, The Omen Trilogy, Poltergeist 1 & 2

  • John Williams Dracula

  • Marco Beltrami The Woman In Black

  • Mark Korven The Witch

  • Popul Vuh Nosferatu

  • Ramin Djawadi Dracula Untold

  • Wojciech Kilar Bram Stoker’s Dracula, The Ninth Gate

Chill D&D

  • Led Zeppelin All

  • Rush All

  • Witchcraft The Alchemist Song not album, Witchcraft

Miscellaneous

  • The Doors The End (Apocalypse)

  • Midwinter The Waters of Sweet Sorrow (Religion, Hippy Druids)

  • Howard Shore Searching For Richard (Religious, Epic Fantasy)

  • John Barry Dances With Wolves (Romance, Epic Fantasy)

  • Richard Wagner Parsifal (Romance, Epic Fantasy)

  • Depressive Silence Depressive Silence 2 (Synth, Fairytale)

  • Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein Stranger Things (Synth D&D, Spelljammer)

  • Tangerine Dream Sorcerer (Synth D&D, Spelljammer)

  • Andrew Powell & Alan Parsons Ladyhawke (Synth-Cheese, Epic Fantasy, Planar)

  • Maurice Ravel Bolero (Trippy)

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