Ghosts and Glass

Ghosts and Glass is the nineteenth track (Disc 2 Track 12) included in Halo: Reach Original Soundtrack.

Overview
The track opens with strings playing a short suspenseful melody, followed immediately by low strings taking the lead in a sad melody that is the first theme, ending with harp accompaniments. A solo flute then take over for the opening of the second theme, playing a mournful but hopeful melody, which is continued by strings. The track ends with a reprise of the first theme.

The ending of the second theme was adapted into the ending of the earlier track Ashes.

Appearances
The full piece is a bonus track found exclusively in the soundtrack, and thus cannot be heard in any part of Halo: Reach.

However, a shortened version of the first theme, featuring a more prominent low strings section, titled Return (from the earlier track The Package), plays in the opening cinematic of the campaign level The Package.

A shorter, piano-only version of the first theme, titled Spartans Never Die (from the earlier track Epilogue), plays in the opening cinematic of the campaign level Lone Wolf.

A full piano-only version, not found in-game or in the soundtrack, can be downloaded from Bungie.net here.

Production notes

 * The title is most likely a reference to the dead Spartans (ghosts) and the glassing (glass) of Reach.
 * The first theme of Ghosts and Glass began composition as “Ideas3”, one of the many musical concepts being developed by O’Donnell during production. The piece represented NOBLE Team’s sacrifice, featuring a sad and poignant, but hopeful, melody. When the melody was being developed in an attempt titled “first”, which was the first attempt to develop “Ideas3” into “Idea4”, O’Donnell concluded that the piece needed a second theme for a B section. During the inception of the second theme, the climax featured a major seventh chord, which O’Donnell considered “too sweet”. The second theme’s main melody was finalized in a subsequent attempt titled “second” (named so because it is the second attempt to develop “Ideas3” in “Idea4”), in which O’Donnell changed the major seventh chord. He also explored a different ending to the piece, which was omitted in the final track.