Awakening (music)

This article is about the soundtrack. For the Halo 4 trailer, see Awakening. For the art book, see Awakening: The Art of Halo 4.

Awakening is the first track in Halo 4: Original Soundtrack.

Overview
The track opens with high strings fading in, with cymbals clashing. Low strings and synth bass cut in with short notes, creating a sense of urgency as high strings fade in the background. Piano begins the main driving melody, echoing the short notes, accompanied by percussion. The melody repeats, joined by low strings as well as high strings. High strings carry on with the urgent melody, echoed by the low strings. Together, they build up to a climax, where female choirs sing in accompaniment. At the climax, synth bass and low strings take over as the main melody, with high strings playing in accompaniment. The melody takes on a more uncertainty feeling with a slower tempo. They build up to another climax before returning to the original melody, which then ends with high strings playing the same progression from the introduction. Together the instruments fade out to an end.

Appearances
The track can be heard:
 * Briefly in the ending cutscene of the campaign level Shutdown; it begins as the cutscene start, and ends when John-117 lodged his combat knife into a Type-56 Lich.
 * In Episode 5, Chapter 3 of Spartan Ops, during the opening cinematic, when Marines from Warbird Company are attacked by the Silent Blade.
 * In Episode 6, Chapter 1 of Spartan Ops, after Fireteam Crimson rescued Icebreaker squad and must protect TJ Murphy while he unlocks a parked Phantom.
 * In Episode 10, Chapter 3 of Spartan Ops, when Fireteam Crimson has boarded a Lich and must steal its power core.

Production notes

 * Awakening was written by Neil Davidge as a sketch idea, which he presented to 343 Industries at their first meeting in December, 2010. The track was released publicly prior to the release of Halo 4, in August 2012.
 * Awakening, along with Nemesis and To Galaxy, was one of the three tracks that had their stems released by 343 Industries for the Halo 4 Remix Contest, which was held in October 2012, prior to the release of Halo 4 and its soundtrack.