Raya Yarbrough

Raya Yarbrough
Role:	Vocalist, Musician
BSG Universe:	Re-imagined Series and Caprica
Date of Birth:
Date of Death:	Missing required parameter 1=month! ,
Official Site
IMDb profile

Raya Yarbrough is a vocalist and musician who is best known for her vocals for the Re-imagined Series' opening theme. She is married to Bear McCreary.

Contributions to Battlestar Galactica

Beyond her work on the opening theme, Yarbrough has made several notable vocal contributions throughout the series:

• She sang Baltar's chant in "He That Believeth in Me," providing vocals for the Baltar Religious Theme.
• Her voice appears in "A Distant Sadness," the opening montage of "Occupation."

Role in "Daybreak"

Raya Yarbrough plays a crucial role in the series finale "Daybreak, Part II," making her first return as a soloist since "He That Believeth in Me." During the climactic battle sequences, she sings the Roslin Religious Theme with Latin lyrics as young Hera Agathon runs through the battle-stricken hallways of Galactica.

The Latin lyrics she sings are:

Omnia illa et ante fiebant

(All of this has happened before)

Omnia illa et rursus fient

(And all of this will happen again)

Ita dicimus omnes

(So Say We All)

These are the same lyrics previously featured in "A Distant Sadness" from "Occupation."

The "Raya Choir"

For the finale, composer Bear McCreary created what he called a "Raya Choir" by overdubbing Yarbrough's voice fifteen times. According to McCreary, her voice is so unique that even when multiplied, the result was incredibly powerful, with one singer creating a massive impact. This multi-layered vocal arrangement marks Cavil and his forces as "horsemen of the apocalypse," lending the moment epic, biblical significance without being overtly scary.

The sequence builds to Cavil's entrance with centurions, where Yarbrough's voice returns to a solo as she completes the Latin lyrics, accompanied by swelling string phrases that endow the moment with calm and mystery.