With the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience having wrapped up, composer Ramin Djawadi’s music is enjoying some well-deserved time in the limelight. In a recent poll, we asked our readers to vote for their favorite piece of Game of Thrones music, and it was no surprise when “Light of the Seven,” the haunting tune that played during the destruction of the Sept of Baelor, took the top spot.
Indeed, the wider Thrones fandom has eagerly embraced the song. We’ve gathered together some covers that have popped up on the internet in recent months, ranging from the simple to the incredibly elaborate. Let’s start with something simple: “Light of the Seven” as played on the acoustic guitar:
I’m not sure how I feel about this one. One of the big draws of “Light of the Seven” is the use of piano, a first for the show. Still, it’s a lovely effort, and it’s great to see that fans are getting creative with Djawadi’s music.
This version by the Grissini Project, and is a lot closer to the original piece. In fact, it’s basically an exact copy, but with a female vocalist. Djawadi chose two boy soloists for the original, and said they gave the piece an eerier quality that a choir could not achieve.
"I felt that two of them were more haunting than using a full choir, because it’s a smaller environment, when they’re running around in the catacombs. So creepy."
Props to these guys for giving their video a theatrical twist, although the open-air setting reverses some of the claustrophobic feel of the song.
Here’s another orchestral version from the Anime Orchestra Ensemble, a non-profit, fan-based student organisation who urge their followers to support the creators. With an orchestra comprised predominantly of stringed instruments, these guys really strove to stay true to the source material.
This last iteration by Silva Screen Records — who have recorded several Thrones pieces, is interesting. While the instrumentation of the original consists of piano, organ and strings, this piece crams in a lot more, including percussion and brass. The result is a bit of a mixed bag. Parts of it veered towards an electro-pop feel, a little like an unofficial ringtone.
What are your opinions of these covers? Could anything come close to topping the original? Let us know!
h/t Vulture