Undeniably, music is an inseparable element that complements audiovisual works of art. Cult games such as Heroes III, Stronghold and The Witcher trilogy became famous, among others with phenomenal music. It’s the same with all three parts of Gothic. One of the best elements of the series is its unique, fully original soundtrack composed by Kai Rosenkranz. For years, musicians have been creating their own interpretations of Gothic pieces that still evoke childish nostalgia in the hearts of many fans of the title around the world.
Heroes Orchestra
The association of the band’s name with a series of cult strategy games is apt, because it presents itself as a group of musicians who are fans of Heroes of Might and Magic. The orchestra is quite famous for its live instrumental covers of soundtracks from HoMM and other cult games, including Gothic. Additionally, they regularly organize concerts in larger Polish cities, which they inform about by using their profile on Facebook and Discord.
Sukuba Ensemble
In short, it’s Group of beautiful people playing fantasy games and music. The song is a thank you to the Piranha Bytes studio and Kai Rozenkranz for the wonderful Gothic games and amazing memories in the style of this Czech band.
The Chronicles of Myrtana
The modification has been enriched with a brilliant soundtrack, which includes songs that sound completely new and clearly inspired by the work of Kai Rosenkranz. The music for the modification was composed by Kamil Jędrzejewski and recorded using real instruments by an independent orchestra from Warsaw, anDante’s Inferno.
Thanks to the orchestra and creators of The Myrtana Chronicles, we can also learn about the behind-the-scenes of the creation of the music for the modification.
It is worth mentioning that Kai Rosenkranz himself was delighted with the music from the game. When asked by one of the users about the kai-q-and-a modification on the official Gothic Community Discord server1 , he stated:
I played it and I loved it.. Happy to say we have one key team member of Chronicles of Myrtana on board.2
Kai is a truly fantastic and lovely person who values the Gothic fandom, which he has expressed many times. In 2014, he published his own review of fan covers. He also said that this type of activity is a dream come true for him and a career honor. To this day, he writes nice comments on YouTube to creators who record their own interpretations of his music.
Johan Ingeborg
Mainly associated with gothic animations in Blender, he has also published some amazing ambient works. One of them is “Gothic ambient – Tawerna”, in which, using the adaptation of music from Khorinis “Gothic 2 – Khorinis music cover (Mára RockDemon)” by ReGen, and its own rendering, it allows us to feel the atmosphere of the tavern in Khorinis.
He also created a render for the song “Gothic – Old Camp Soundtrack (REMIX)” by BEZIX, known as “Gothic 1 – Stary Bubuz” and a lo-fi mix created from various songs from all parts of the saga.
Denis Kolesnikov
A very common trend in music is “refreshing” old songs. When it comes to this type of arrangements, we can recommend the works of Denis Kolesnikov. The composer is able to recreate the beauty of classic Gothic melodies.
Craft of Ambience
Present on YouTube since 2017, he is one of the most recognizable creators of gaming ambients. Each of them is professionally processed before being published. It is definitely impossible to deny that his songs perfectly balance the mixture of music and ambient sounds. Additionally, it creates animated backgrounds that we can admire while listening.
The creator is constantly developing and has announced a series of radio plays and established a second channel, typically to discuss issues that are important to him from the world of RPG games.
Dryante Zan
Russian artist who creates folk covers of music from fantasy games. In his songs, he tries to best reflect the atmosphere of the original, which is why he also ensures that the location and costume are appropriately matched to the song he is performing.
Victoria Wind
Educated musician and composer. She runs channel where publishes professional analyzes of game music in terms of the instruments used, their application and the emotions evoked. Victoria claims that a good soundtrack is one that is distinctive and it’s sound corresponds to the genre of the game. On her channels you can find an analysis of selected Gothica soundtracks with corresponding covers. It is also worth paying attention to comparative analyzes of Swamp Camp and Monastery Chapel songs with their counterparts in other games.
Succulents
Now inactive musical group Succulents created a memorable arrangement of the Gothic Theme using instruments such as bagpipes, violin, piano and a tin whistle.
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Amazing individual arrangements of Kai Rosenkranz’s music, which not to mention would be a serious oversight.
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Currently, the composer of the original soundtrack for the Gothic series is taking part in creating the audio track for the remake of the first installment of the adventures of the Nameless One and his companions. We will receive iconic melodies in a refreshed version, as well as completely new ones. Here are samples of Kai’s published work so far:
I think we don’t have to worry about the quality of the soundtrack in Gothic 1 Remake, because it is created by the same outstanding artist as in the original. Perhaps thanks to these refreshed songs, the new generation playing the remake will become interested in its original and will also want to add it to their library of titles.
