The Ivors took place on Thursday 19th May 2011 at the Grosvenor House, London and celebrate British music writing. Richard was also nominated in 2010, for the Empire: Total War soundtrack.

Ian Livingstone (Composer), Richard Birdsall (Composer), Richard Beddow (Lead Composer), Gary Dunn (Managing Director – European Development, Sega Europe)

The 2011 winners included:

BEST ORIGINAL VIDEO GAME SCORE
Game: Napoleon: Total War
Composers: Richard Beddow / Richard Birdsall / Ian Livingstone
Developer: The Creative Assembly
UK Publisher: SEGA

BEST SONG MUSICALLY AND LYRICALLY
Song: Becoming a Jackal
Writer: Conor O’Brien
Performed By: Villagers
UK Publisher: Domino Publishing Company

BEST CONTEMPORARY SONG
Song: Pass Out
Writers: Timothy McKenzie / Patrick Okogwu / Marc Williams
Performed By: Tinie Tempah
UK Publishers: EMI Music Publishing / Stellar Songs Ltd

ALBUM AWARD
Album: The Defamation of Strickland Banks
Writer: Benjamin Drew
Performed By: Plan B
UK Publisher: Universal Music Publishing

PRS FOR MUSIC MOST PERFORMED WORK
Song: She Said
Writers: Eric Appapoulay / Richard Cassell / Benjamin Drew / Tom Wright-Goss
Performed By: Plan B
UK Publishers: Sony/ATV Music Publishing / Universal Music Publishing

BEST TELEVISION SOUNDTRACK
Broadcast: Any Human Heart
Composer: Dan Jones
UK Publishers: Faber Music Ltd / Universal Music Publishing

BEST ORIGINAL FILM SCORE
Film: How To Train Your Dragon
Composer: John Powell
UK Publisher: BMG Chrysalis

INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT
MUSE

OUTSTANDING SONG COLLECTION
Steve Winwood

PRS FOR MUSIC OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO BRITISH MUSIC
Paul Rodgers

PRS FOR MUSIC SPECIAL INTERNATIONAL AWARD
Stephen Sondheim

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Benjamin Drew

THE IVORS CLASSICAL MUSIC AWARD
Michael Nyman

THE IVORS INSPIRATION AWARD
Dizzee Rascal

“NAPOLEON: TOTAL WAR is perhaps the strongest score in the series, and unquestioningly deserves the Ivor Novello for Best Video Game Score that it recently won. Soaring melodies, sensitive underscoring, and a solid live performance come together to produce one of the best game scores we’ve heard yet this year.”
Read the full review at Tracksounds.com »

Scorenotes – 9/10

“What struck me about this soundtrack is that it has a manner about it that simply envelops the listener. In way, it lures you in, and the deeper the dive, the more enthralling it becomes.”
Read the full review at Scorenotes.com »

Best Original Video Game Score Nominees

Game: Napoleon: Total War
Composers: Richard Beddow / Richard Birdsall / Ian Livingstone
Developer: The Creative Assembly
UK Publisher: SEGA

Game: Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
Composer: Nitin Sawhney
Developer: Ninja Theory
UK Publisher: Namco Bandai Games SAS

Game: James Bond 007: Blood Stone
Composer: Richard Jacques
Developer: Bizarre Creations
UK Publisher: Activision

About the Ivor Novello Awards

The Ivors are internationally respected for honouring excellence in British music writing. They are judged and presented by the writing community and for over 50 years have been given annually to outstanding songwriters and composers.

The Music

Check out the Napoleon: Total War Soundtrack on iTunes.

About the Ivor Novello Awards

The Ivors celebrate the outstanding writing achievements of songwriters, composers and their music publishers. The awards either celebrate artistic excellence in a specific work, exceptional performance figures in the award year or recognise the outstanding achievements of a particular songwriter or composer throughout their career.

“With regard to the sound here all good news. The soundtrack is once again one of the strong fortresses of the game, the dubbing is good and audio effects as majestic as ever during the fighting”.

NZ Gamer – Sound 9.5 / 10

Games Nation (IT) – Sound 9.2 / 10

“Even the sound sector plays a superb job. The soundtrack is quite in line with the epic story during the events recounted, but the real value added are sound effects. The lapping of water against the hull breaks, the artillery shells that stifle the screams of soldiers and musket blasts have the ability to make the player feel truly present on the battlefield! “.

Gamers.at – Sound 9/10

Game Informer

“A fantastic operatic score chronicles Napoleon’s rise and fall”.

“Final Score: As seems to be the case lately, here is another game score that can outplay most film soundtracks! In Empire: Total War, there are moments of large scale excitement to engage in as well as a consistent style of relevant music throughout that you’ll enjoy. This one earns a solid “B” rating of 8 out of 10 notes.”

Screensounds

“This is another fine orchestral game score, which holds its own admirably when compared to music being written for a larger screen. The album is available both on CD and for digital download through www.sumthingdigital.com.”

“Every snippet of audio in the game is excellent from the strong and stirring music, to the realistic sound effects which change depending on where your camera is in location to them and the voice acting is excellent. The tutorial voice acting and even the campaign acting is all done very well and keeps the game lively and entertaining.”

“Amazing graphics and audio ”

IGN

“The sounds of combat really bring the action to life, and a great score adds a lot to the mood. 9/10″
“Quality musical score, booming cannons, snapping muskets, clanging steel and roaring battle cries.”

3D Juegos

“Music/FX 10/10″

NZ Gamer

“Sound 9.5/10″

Cheat Code Central

“From the rousing, thematic music to the sounds of battle, the audio is quite impressive. 4.5/5″

ME Gamers

“Amazing sound effects with some really good background music. 9.2/10″

Boomtown

“Fantastic sound and music. 9/10″

PC Gamezone

“Empire: Total War sports an outstanding musical score. Overlooking map views with haunting themes lend a sense of omnipotence to the thoughtful strategy without getting monotonous, and battle marches sound like something out of a major motion picture. Sound effects are also excellent, solid without being obnoxious. Battles are particularly pleasant to the ear, with thunderous cannons, clanging blades, and the roar of men in battle all contributing to a sublime symphony of epic battlefield bliss. Visceral sounds of warfare over a luscious musical score. Outstanding. 10/10″

Game Trailers

“The soundtrack has always been a high point of the Total War series, and once again, in Empire, it doesn’t disappoint. Much like the earlier titles in the series, during the long, ponderous strategic part of the game, the music is subtle, yet appropriate given the historical time period. During battle, things ramp up with culturally
stylish music for warfare.”

You Gamers

“Solid music, as is the norm for Total War games. Tons of high quality voiceovers explaining the gameplay and solid effects round things out. 90%”

For further information about the Develop awards, view the awards supplement here.

“It’s been far too long since I’ve been swept away by a score that’s truly original. While listening to “VIKING: Battle for Asgard,” that’s the realization that swept over me. The music from this score bursts to life with choral accompaniment that is as grand and moving as anything I have heard in all of 2008. It’s safe to say that this soundtrack rekindled my energy….

For me, this is one of the better scores of 2008.”

G4TV

“The two questions I always ask of game soundtracks is “who is it for?” and “how does it play away from the game?” If you liked the game, you should probably should be/already are spinning this soundtrack. Never played the game? Yes, it does hold up well when listened to on its own. There are 29 tracks on the disc, with varying lengths and moods, from epic in scope to moody background movements, so its good for those who enjoy orchestral battle themes. And at the very minimum, table top fantasy RPG players have another set of music to propel their pen and paper battles.”

Sound: 8/10

GamePro

“A quirky but awesome soundtrack gives the game its own vibe”.

Gameshark

“Sound matches the action well and draws the player in nicely. The boat has a great rumble to it as it catches the water starting off.”