The sound design, audio production, and music composition for the game was contracted to composer Paul Ruskay and Studio X Labs, which he founded in February 1999 after starting on "Homeworld" in October 1998. In addition to his original music compositions, Ruskay used a recording of the 1936 piece for string orchestra by Samuel Barber, "Adagio for Strings", in an early scene in the game when the player finds the destruction of Kharak. The piece, in turn, became a central theme on the soundtrack. "Adagio for Strings" was proposed by Garden, who heard it on the radio and felt it fit the mood of the game "perfectly"; Ruskay had a new recording of the piece made by a University of California choir, as the license fees for the recording Garden heard were too high for the studio. The closing song of the game, "Homeworld (The Ladder)", was composed for the game by English rock band Yes. Yes were in Vancouver at the time recording "The Ladder", and learned of the in-development "Homeworld". Lead singer Jon Anderson was interested in writing something based on a videogame, and wrote the lyrics to fit with the game. The soundtrack was released in a 13-track album that was bundled with the Game of the Year Edition of "Homeworld" in May 2000, and again in a 37-track "Homeworld Remastered Original Soundtrack" digital album alongside the "Homeworld Remastered Collection" in March 2015.