A Plague Tale: Innocence
Olivier Deriviere's score for Plague Tale is a masterclass in minimalism and tension, reflecting the game's grim 14th-century setting.
Track: Fragile
Scale — E
The Why
Olivier Deriviere uses extreme minimalism — often just two chords alternating (Em–C) for entire sections. The i–bVI–bIII–bVII progression is Aeolian with a Phrygian flavor (the F natural in the melody). The stepwise descending bass (E–D–C–B–A–G–F#–E) mirrors the protagonist's inescapable descent into darkness. Silence is used as a compositional element — the rests between phrases are as important as the notes.
About the Score
Deriviere's approach is extreme minimalism — often reducing harmony to just two alternating chords for minutes at a time. The sparseness reflects the desolation of plague-ravaged France. He uses silence as counterpoint — the rests between phrases are as important as the notes. The harmony (Aeolian with Phrygian inflections) never fully resolves, mirroring the game's relentless tension. The fragility of the instrumentation (solo cello, sparse piano) reflects the vulnerability of the child protagonists.