In 2005, players of *Civilization IV* were greeted not by the usual electronic flourishes of the era, but by a soaring, Swahili rendition of the Lord’s Prayer. "Baba Yetu," composed by Christopher Tin, was an anomaly: a piece of liturgical music commissioned for a grand strategy game. It felt both ancient and immediate, a choral work that matched the game's sweeping historical scope and its obsession with the long arc of human progress.
The composition’s origin was remarkably humble. Tin, the son of Hong Kong immigrants and a rising composer in California, had been college roommates with one of the game's designers. When the developer needed a theme that captured the human spirit across millennia, they turned to their old friend. The resulting collaboration bypassed the typical boundaries of "game music," eventually earning Tin a Grammy Award—the first ever awarded to a video game theme—and securing a permanent place in the global choral repertoire.
Beyond its technical merit, "Baba Yetu" serves as a reminder of the cultural permeability of digital media. While *Civilization IV* is remembered for its chronophagic nature and the gravitas of Leonard Nimoy’s narration, its most lasting contribution may be this piece of music. It proved that the digital landscape could incubate high art, turning a favor between former roommates into a universal anthem that continues to be performed in concert halls worldwide.
With reporting from Crooked Timber.
Source · Crooked Timber
