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Those who actively play Civilizaton4 are probably very familiar with the catchy opening title music.   It is an original piece by Christopher Tin called “Baba Yetu“.     What many don’t know is that this piece is a setting of “The Lord’s Prayer” sung in Swahili.

Soren Johnson, one of Civ4′s designers, recently posted on his blog about this piece of music.   It has taken on quite a life of its own as a concert piece.     His entry links to several videos of performances of “Baba Yetu” by various choirs from around the world, as a well as a version done during a half time show (!), and as a piano piece.

Civilization fanatics, and music lovers, might enjoy seeing this piece performed outside of the game.   How often do you see a setting of “The Lord’s Prayer” in a video game, in any language?   How often do you hear video game music performed by a choir?

“Music geeks” like me will notice and chuckle at something in the performances.   Obviously the various performers were familiar with the original version, at least most of the male soloists were.   There is a certain note in the original that’s interpreted in a very specific fashion.   Most of the soloists make the exact same choice, obviously imitating the original soloist’s performance with varying degrees of exuberance and success.

I was first introduced to Civilization in the early 90s, back in its first incarnation as a PC game, by a former boss of mine when I was working in Buffalo, NY.   I’ve been hooked since.

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