Even without the new ending — and Tin’s splendid musical additions, which draw sensibly from Puccini’s score while applying an entirely new emotional finish — Zambello’s “Turandot” crackles with fresh energy and some truly extraordinary singing.

Its sound and attitude, while contemporary, grow organically from Puccini’s original, like a savvy modern addition on a historic building… Mr. Tin launches their confrontation with a fiercely dramatic duet; the sound is edgier than Puccini but still tonal, and Turandot’s initial insistence on power through violence is Wagnerian in scope and accompanied by blaring brass.

When I first heard about an unusual classical album - devoted to a droplet of water moving from snow to a mountain stream to the ocean and back to the clouds - performed in 10 languages, I thought it might be a bit much. Then I heard the music. I was hooked.

Tin knows his craft. He certainly knows all the tropes that make those blockbuster soundtracks succeed... This was my first contact with what I would later discover was the prodigious breadth of Tin’s interests in different forms of music, not only on a global scale but also on a commercial one, since he was just as capable of writing music for video games as turning out this delightfully intimate little song...

Tin’s music is muscular and modern without losing satisfying, even gorgeous melodic lines.

Melodic, yet often haunting and melancholic, ‘The Lost Birds’ utilised its emotive poetry and soundscape in a cinematic style.

The concluding movements of the work made clear why Tin is a multi-award winning composer. Upper voice writing was haunting and hazy; in a sea of sweeping cinematic sounds, evocations of darkly sinister storms, rolling waves and foreboding clouds were shot through with sparkling lights in the high strings. The final song, We Overcome The Wind, was an outpouring of joy; a unanimous standing ovation evinced the sense of togetherness at the heart of this concert.

Baba Yetu, for Civilization IV, combined orchestral elements with strong African vocals, joyfully suggesting the cradle of life itself, instead of the more militaristic sounds one might associate with a strategy game about conquering...  The sound is of a burgeoning, evolving civilisation itself, peaking in imperial crescendo before, appropriately enough, dying out.

Composer Christopher Tin's "Baba Yetu," originally written for the video game Civilization IV, has been nominated for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s). It's the first time music written for a game has been nominated for anything at the Grammys. And a well-deserved first it is.

What good is global domination without a great soundtrack? The 2005 hit Civilization IV got "Baba Yetu," as its rousing, anthemic theme song, courtesy of composer Christopher Tin.

Commissioning and performing one of the pieces in the project gave me a fresh perspective on how a gifted composer like Tin finds his voice as an artist and hones his vision for a project even in the face of challenging circumstances and multiple revisions... the experience of being inside Tin's compelling and unpretentious creative process was exhilarating.

Tin’s score is exceptional... Tin is a master of musical embroidery and subtle Puccini references abound, connecting the final scene convincingly to what goes before... Christopher Tin should be reflecting on this success. He has established his opera street cred and it’s time for him to commit to a full work. It is talent like his that will lead the next generation into opera houses around the world.