# The Truth and the Light: Music from the X-Files

The Truth and the Light: Music from the X-Files is a 1996 album by Mark Snow. The album is composed of excerpts of instrumental music scores from the first three seasons of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, on which Snow was the resident composer. These tracks are linked together with portions of dialogue from the series.
Released on October 8, 1996, the album received mixed reviews from critics. It reached a peak position of number forty-two in the UK albums chart, and spent four weeks in France's album charts, peaking at number nine.

## Track listing

All tracks are written by Chris Carter and Mark Snow

## Personnel

* Composer – Mark Snow
* Concept; sound designer – Jeff Charbonneau
* Design, photography and illustration – Megan Snow, Sarah Snow
* Sound engineer and mixer – Larold Rebhun
* Assistant sound engineers – Richard Veltrap and Brian Virtue
* Liner notes – Chris Carter
* Sound mastering – Ramon Breton, Joe Gastwirt
* Producers – Chris Carter, Jeff Charbonneau, Mark Snow
* Cello – Erika Duke-Kirkpatrick
* Vocals – Gillian Anderson, Chris Carter, William B. Davis, Teri DeSario, Peter Donat, David Duchovny, Jerry Hardin, Alf Humphreys, Joel Palmer, Mitch Pileggi, Paul Rabwin, Steve Railsback, Larold Rebhun, Frank Spotnitz, Floyd Red Crow Westerman, Steven Williams,
* Words – Chris Carter

## Release

The Truth and the Light: Music from The X-Files was released by Warner Bros. Records on October 8, 1996, on both compact disc and compact cassette formats. It spent two weeks in the UK Albums Chart, reaching a peak position of number forty-two on September 12, 1996. The album spent four weeks in France's Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique album chart between September 14 and October 26, 1996. It entered the chart at number forty-two, before peaking at number nine, and finally dropping to number forty-three before leaving the chart entirely. A more comprehensive four-disc collection of Snow's compositions for The X-Files was released by record company La-La Land Records in May 2011, containing several of the cues found on The Truth and the Light.

## Reception

The Truth and the Light has received mixed reviews from critics. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine rated the album four stars out of five, calling it "evocative and eerie", noting that "it holds up surprisingly well when isolated from the visuals" of the series. Filmtracks.com's Christian Clemmensen rated it two stars out of five, calling it a "basically adequate souvenir of sorts". Clemmensen lamented that the inclusion of dialogue from the series hindered the album as a whole, explaining that "inconsistent incorporation of dialogue hinders the album's continuity". He also felt that the cues included on the album did not reflect Snow's best work on the series, which in his view would come from the later seasons, but that the album instead reflected "Snow's darker, ambient, and atonal music", though admitting that there was still an audience for "those creepy sounds".

## Extended track listing with additional details

| Track | Title | Title Translation | Length | Music | Quote(s) |
| 1 | Introitus: Praeceps Transito Spatium | The Beginning: Quickly Across the Void | 1:51 | 2x19 Død Kalm | Fox Mulder in 3x13 Syzygy) |
| 2 | Materia Primoris: The X-Files Theme (Main Title) | Main Title | 3:22 | | |
| 3 | Raptus | Abduction | 3:16 | 1x79 Pilot | 2x05 Duane Barry |
| 4 | Adflatus | Breathing upon | 3:36 | 2x08 One Breath (23") | 3x01 The Blessing Way, 3x16 Apocrypha (Cigarette Smoking Man: "You can trust all of us.") |
| 5 | Deverbero | Thrashing | 1:28 | 2x22 F. Emasculata (15") | 2x10 Red Museum (35") |
| 6 | Cantus Excio | Rousing Song | 4:42 | 2x21 The Calusari (15",21",23") | |
| 7 | Mercutura | Merchandise | 3:23 | 1x13 Gender Bender (38"), 2x22 F. Emasculata (27") | 2x25 Anasazi (21", Bill Mulder) |
| 8 | Lamenta | Lamentation | 1:48 | 1x22 Roland | 2x06 Ascension, 2x22 F. Emasculata (26", Fox Mulder - "Why weren't we told the truth?", Cigarette Smoking Man - "The truth would have caused panic. Panic would have cost lives.", Cigarette Smoking Man - "What's the truth, Agent Mulder?") |
| 9 | Insequi | Pursuit | 1:37 | 3x08 Oubliette |
| 10 | Otium | Peace | 1:43 | 1x03 Conduit | |
| 11 | Dubitatio | Uncertainty | 2:49 | 2x22 F. Emasculata (14",35"), 1x07 Ghost in the Machine | 1x01 Deep Throat (Deep Throat, Fox Mulder) |
| 12 | Iter | Journey | 1:20 | 3x09 Nisei | |
| 13 | Progigno De Axis | Bring Forth from the sky/ the Axis | 1:35 | 3x09 Nisei | 2x25 Anasazi (40", Dana Scully - "Mulder, in these files I found references to experiments that were conducted here in the US by Axis-power scientists who were given amnesty after the war.") |
| 14 | Carmen Amatorium Ex Arcanum | Love Song from secrets | 2:38 | 2x07 3 | 2x22 F. Emasculata (42", Walter Skinner - "I'm saying this as a friend. Watch your back. This is just the beginning.") |
| 15 | Facetus Malum | Graceful Evil | 2:42 | 2x20 Humbug (12",20") | |
| 16 | Memoria | Remembering | 2:02 | 1x18 Shapes | 3x01 The Blessing Way |
| 17 | Mitis Lumen | Soft Light | 2:41 | 2x23 Soft Light (0",9",27",34") | 2x06 Ascension (Dana Scully - "Mulder!), 2x25 Anasazi (42", Cigarette Smoking Man - "Burn it!") |
| 18 | Fides Fragilis | Fragile Faith | 1:35 | 1x23 The Erlenmeyer Flask | 2x16 Colony (0", Fox Mulder) |
| 19 | Exoptare Ex Veritas | Desire for the Truth | 1:30 | 3x08 Oubliette | 3x02 Paper Clip |
| 20 | Kyrie | O Lord | 2:57 | 3x14 Grotesque (1:42 - 2:57) | "Apology is policy" derived from episode 3x10 731 |
| 21 | The X-Files Theme (Flexifinger Terrestrial mix) (UK release only) | | 4:23 | | |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Sprague, David (August 24, 1996). "Nothin' Like the Reel Thing". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 34. p. 105. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
* 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Truth & Light: Music from 'The X-Files' - Mark Snow". AllRovi. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
* ↑ "MARK SNOW | Artist | Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
* ↑ "lescharts.com - Mark Snow - The Truth And The Light". Retrieved January 3, 2012.
* ↑ "LA LA LAND RECORDS, X FILES, Vol-1". La-La Land Records. Archived from the original on December 31, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
* ↑ "'The X-Files' Soundtrack Set released". Film Music Reporter. May 11, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
* ↑ Clemmensen, Christian (June 15, 2011). "Filmtracks: The X-Files (Mark Snow)". Filmtracks.com. Retrieved January 3, 2012.