Music

Midnight Never Come is the book that began my habit of both building story-specific playlists to listen to while I worked, and creating a “soundtrack” after the novel was complete. The following are the songs from my playlists:

(My apologies for the ugly formatting; those are .txt files exported directly from iTunes, cleaned up somewhat for legibility.)

I also commissioned musician, writer, and poet Yoon Ha Lee to compose a theme song for the Onyx Court. The song is free to share; just make sure to credit Yoon Ha Lee as the composer and artist, and my series as the inspiration.

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I have a long-standing habit of making soundtracks for my novels. The titles below are designed to minimize spoilers, but still, proceed at your own risk. A playlist of most of these tracks can be found on Spotify.

Midnight Never Come

    Vol. 1

  • Midnight Never Come — “Elizabeth – Overture,” David Hirschfelder, Elizabeth
  • 1554: A Prisoner in the Tower — “The Sheriff and His Witch,” Michael Kamen, Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves [selection]
  • Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen — “Coronation Banquet,” David Hirschfelder, Elizabeth [selection]
  • Michael Deven — “Opening Title: O! For a Muse of Fire,” Patrick Doyle, Henry V
  • Lady Lune — “Ophelia (Version 1),” Ennio Morricone, Hamlet
  • Invidiana, Queen of the Onyx Hall — “Corso and the Girl,” Wojciech Kilar, The Ninth Gate
  • A Courtier’s Life — “Eliza is the fairest Queen,” Sirinu, Court Jesters
  • The Goodemeade Sisters — “Concerning Hobbits,” Howard Shore, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
  • Tiresias — “Poison Milk,” Joe LoDuca, Brotherhood of the Wolf
  • Lord Ifarren Vidar — “Opening Titles,” Wojciech Kilar, The Ninth Gate
  • The Paradise Chamber — “An Unpleasant Incident Involving a Train,” Thomas Newman, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
  • Anne Montrose — “Lady of Winter,” Joe LoDuca, Brotherhood of the Wolf
  • Sir Francis Walsingham — “The Search,” Philip Glass, The Illusionist
  • A Strange Game of Chess — “Walsingham,” David Hirschfelder, Elizabeth
  • The Mortal Court — “Coronation Banquet,” David Hirschfelder, Elizabeth [selection]
  • Now, or Ever — “Out Out Thou Strumpet Fortune,” Patrick Doyle, Hamlet
  • Sir Philip Sidney’s Tomb — “Kyrie,” James Horner, The Name of the Rose
    Vol. 2

  • Prison and Punishment — “Alex is another . . . ‘other’,” David Torn, The Order
  • The Faerie Court — “All Hallow’s Eve Ball,” Alan Silvestri, Van Helsing[selection]
  • Doctor John Dee — “La Bas – Song of the Drowned,” Lisa Gerrard, The Mirror Pool [selection]
  • Six Points of Blood — “The Phasmid,” Christopher Gordon, Master and Commander
  • Francis Merriman — “If Once a Widow,” Patrick Doyle, Hamlet
  • Forgotten Kings — “Returns a King,” Tyler Bates, 300
  • Suspiria — “Haunted Palace in 3 Acts: Reine la Belle,” Faith and the Muse, Evidence of Heaven [selection]
  • Faerie Love — “Dark Sonnet,” Lorraine a’ Malena, Mirror Mirror
  • 1547: A Penumbral Reflection — “Adagio from ‘Alien 3’,” Elliot Goldenthal, Alien Trilogy
  • Riding with the Queen — “Upon the King,” Patrick Doyle, Henry V
  • Father Thames — “Hammersmith: Prelude,” Gustav Holst [selection]
  • Long and Long Ago — “Long, Long Time Ago,” Javier Navarrete, Pan’s Labyrinth
  • Don’t Follow the Light — “Pan and the Full Moon,” Javier Navarrete, Pan’s Labyrinth
  • A Kiss — “With This Love [Choir],” Peter Gabriel, Passion
  • The Wild Hunt — “One Speed,” Graeme Revell, The Chronicles of Riddick
  • Be Now Unbound — “Goodbye My Love,” Tyler Bates, 300
  • The Bells of London — “Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten,” Arvo Pärt, Tabula Rasa
  • Beneath the Oak — “‘The day is yours’,” Patrick Doyle, Henry V
  • 1603: A Good Queen — “Remember Us,” Tyler Bates, 300

 

In the places where I did not use the full song, the selections are as follows.

From “Coronation Banquet,” which has several distinct parts in it, I used the last segment (beginning with the drumbeats) for Elizabeth, and the longest segment, the stately part, for the mortal court.

From “La Bas – Song of the Drowned,” I used the latter part, with Lisa Gerrard’s vocals.

From “Reine la Belle,” I cut the end of the song, where it becomes distinctly louder. The same goes for “All Hallow’s Eve Ball.”

From “Hammersmith,” I used the opening four minutes or so — which Holst apparently wrote to represent the Thames. The recording in question is from my high school band in concert, which is why I don’t list an album for it.

From “The Sheriff and His Witch,” I used the dark part, not the bright part at the beginning.