The story of Golem:  children who’ve lost their mother; a grieving father trying his hardest to keep his family safe; a mysterious city filled with monsters and adventure. I wanted the music to evoke emotions of excitement, sadness, mystery, and the wonder of childhood.

Jaime Griesemer, Highwire Games Creative Director, asked me to compose not just the score for the game but an entire musical prequel. This means that the music needs to stand alone and take the listener on an emotional journey, without the support of the visuals or memories of gameplay.

My first thought was of a mother humming a lullaby to her child, and I remembered a lullaby for piano I wrote many years ago after the birth of my first daughter. That piece and melody, developed for the first announcement trailer for Golem, became the impetus for this suite of music. Erik Satie’s amazing piano pieces were another inspiration. They evoke great emotion while remaining deceptively simple.

I decided to work with a somewhat lighter ensemble than I have in the past: a piano, chamber orchestra, and harp. I wanted to tell a tale of dreams, adventure, and

exploration as simply as possible, through the eyes and understanding of a child. As I developed the pieces at the piano and then orchestrated them, I became interested in the different emotions a piano solo evokes compared to the orchestral performance of essentially the same piece, and decided I would share both. I hope you enjoy listening.

Marty O’Donnell