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The music of Halo: Combat Evolved is the musical score to Halo: Combat Evolved.

Development
The composition of the soundtrack for Halo began with the Halo Theme in July of 1999. The music was composed by Martin O'Donnell and Michael Salvatori, who were co-partners in the freelance production company TotalAudio. Together they had composed commercial jingles as well as music for past Bungie games, including Myth: The Fallen Lords, Myth II, and Oni. In 1999, O'Donnell and Salvatori were asked by Director of Cinematics Joseph Staten to compose a backing track for the Halo MacWorld demo, five days prior to the presentation. Staten told O'Donnell that the theme needed to evoke the game's "ancient, epic and mysterious" atmosphere. To best convey this impression, O'Donnell drew inspiration from his studies on Middle Ages music and incorporated Gregorian chant into the theme. The theme was also influenced by the first verse of The Beatles' song "Yesterday", which inspired the four-phrase structure of the Gregorian chant. O'Donnell has stated that he laid down the core melody of the theme in about half an hour during the drive to the studio at Salvatori’s house. Recording one day prior to the MacWorld presentation, the theme was recorded with an orchestra composed of six string instruments: four violins and two cellos. The theme has since become a staple of the series.

Following the presentation at MacWorld, Microsoft purchased Bungie in May 2000, and the platform for Halo moved from the PC/Mac to the Xbox. O'Donnell and Salvatori encountered some obstacles in the project, having to take into account the music implementation system on the audio specifications of the Xbox. O'Donnell and Salvatori completed the rest of the soundtrack over the course of 2001, with the time period between Juy and September being a "hellish blur". O'Donnel described the style as "a little Samuel Barber meets Giorgio Moroder". O'Donnell, having joined Bungie before Microsoft's acquisition to work on Oni and Halo, moved to Seattle with the rest of Bungie, while Salvatori remained at Chicago to run TotalAudio. The two sent their music to each other for feedback and suggestions. Different aspects of the Halo Theme, including the Gregorian chant and string melody, were adapted into other musical pieces in the game.

During the production, O'Donnell and Salvatori had purchased new equipment after a fire burnt down their studio in 1999, with benefits like producing the music in 5.1 Surround Sound and making digital, hard disk based recordings. The composers also made use of patches and samples from their instruments, including the Proteus 2000 and the Kurzweil K2500X synthesizers. The music used MIDI recordings, featuring keyboards, synths, and samplers as well as digital recording equipment controlled by computers. Certain tracks featured live instrumental performances alongside the MIDI recordings, while other tracks only adapted the live performance. The music was cut and edited into chunks, so that the audio engine played interactive music dynamically based on the player's actions. O'Donnell and Salvatori worked closely with the level designers, learning to match the audio design to where the different points of tension and release within each level - if the designers did not think the music fit, O'Donnel made some changes according to their feedback.

Musicians

 * Martin O'Donnell
 * Michael Salvatori
 * Harry Hmura
 * Arnold Roth
 * Peter Labella
 * Everett Zlatoff-Mirsky
 * Elliott Golub
 * Nisanne Howell
 * Marylou Johnston
 * Kevin Case
 * Barbara Haffner
 * Larry Glazier
 * Judy Stone

Singers

 * Martin O'Donnell
 * Michael Salvatori
 * Robert Bowker
 * Jeffrey Morrow
 * Rob Trow

2002 Release
In an interview held after the release of the Halo E3 2000 trailer, Martin O'Donnell expressed interest in the soundtrack being sold. After the game's release, O'Donnell was approached by Nile Rodgers who founded the recording label Sumthing Else Music Works for distributing video game soundtracks.

2003 Special Edition
After the Halo 2 E3 demo, a special edition of the soundtrack was released with bonus features on the Halo 2 demo, including previews of two Halo 2 soundtracks, The Last Spartan and Ghosts of Reach.

Halo Trilogy: The Complete Original Soundtracks
In 2008, after the release of Halo 3, a box set was released, featuring the Halo: Original Soundtrack, the Halo 2: Original Soundtrack, Volume 2, and the Halo 3: Original Soundtrack.