Game of Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi on writing “Light of the Seven”

While most Game of Thrones fans probably knew that “The Winds of Winter” would be a big finale for Season 6, few of us were quite prepared for how it all went down, starting with that hauntingly minimal score from longtime Thrones composer Ramin Djawadi. For those who don’t know, the song that played over the episode’s opening sequence, the one that’s been haunting your dreams these past couple of weeks, is called “Light of the Seven.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFK0yG8xG5I

The tragic tone of the piece may have given us a clue that something ominous was on the way, but Djawadi told Tech Insider that “Light of the Seven” was carefully crafted so as not to reveal Cersei’s diabolical plan. “The Rains of Castamere,” a song used throughout the series as the House Lannister theme song, was avoided. Recounted Djawadi:

"They said ‘Look we would love this to be a completely new piece of music […] we don’t want to tip it in any direction.’ Then we came up with the idea of using organ for her because we used it for the [Walk of Atonement], so organ was already in the score’s language."

And what about that wondrous use of the piano? Using the piano appears to have been the idea of episode director Michael Sapochnik, specifically because the piano was an instrument that had yet to be used in any past Thrones themes.

"We discussed this very early on, because it’s such a significant scene. There’s not a lot of dialogue and it’s a very long scene. [Sapochnik brought the piano up] and we all discussed it. We went back and forth and experimented quite a bit and then we ended up just going for it. I’m so happy we did."

I think most fans are happy as well, as the piano added a unique sound for this scene scene. And to complete Cersei’s full on super villain turn, Djawadi used a blend of “Light of the Seven” along with the aforementioned “Rains of Castamere” to create Cersei’s new theme: “Hear Me Roar.”

"Now that [the audience] all knew what she had done, it was great to reprise that new music and implement the Lannister theme on top. That was really fun to do."

“Light of the Seven” illustrates how integral Djawdi’s music is to the show, and we’re eager to see what he comes up with for Season 7.