Summary
'THE HOLY' is a seemingly very important motif, heard in only a few minor (but very important) songs, namely THE HOLY and flashback_excerpt.ogg .
The motif itself is split into two distinct halves:
('THE HOLY A', as heard in THE HOLY )
('THE HOLY B', as heard in THE HOLY )
Together:
('THE HOLY', as heard in THE HOLY )
Additionally, the motif has a backing melody:
('THE HOLY (BACKING)', as heard in THE HOLY )
Worth noting is that 'THE HOLY' may originate from a song Unrelated to Undertale and Deltarune - Penumbra Phantasm , as covered on the page 'On the Origins of Undertale and Deltarune's Leitmotifs' .
Appearances
THE HOLY
'THE HOLY (BACKING)': 0:00-0:06
'THE HOLY (+ BACKING)': 0:06-0:47
Before the Story
'THE HOLY (BACKING)': 0:59-1:24
(In the flute fading in and out, panned right)
Whether or not this quote is intentional is debatable, but I'm inclined to think it is, given the similar modulation and repeated crescendo of the motif.
(See also: 'Once Upon a Time' )
Faint Glow
In Faint Glow , 'Don't Forget A' appears alongside a particular melody.
This melody is similar to both 'THE HOLY A' (in terms of rhythm) and 'THE HOLY B' (in terms of the descending structure), and even has a backing with a similar crescendo and the exact same sleigh bells from THE HOLY .
The only problem?
It's not 'THE HOLY'.
Melodically, at least.
The descent is similar to 'THE HOLY B' and there's no doubt the song is meant to be reminiscent of THE HOLY , but the melody itself is fairly different:
(A snippet of Faint Glow , 0:00-0:51)
('THE HOLY B', as heard in THE HOLY )
Regardless, whether or not they're melodically the same is actually somewhat irrelevant; this index focuses on melodic leitmotifs, but motifs can also be intruments and other patterns.
In that way, although Faint Glow does not truly contain 'THE HOLY', it certainly does reference THE HOLY , if that makes sense.
flashback_excerpt.ogg
'THE HOLY A': 0:16-0:31
(In the radio-telephone-esque trumpet-ey synth in the back)
Reunited
Since this article already covers a few edge cases, let's go all out with Undertale 's Reunited :
'THE HOLY A': 2:42-3:56
(In the strings in the back)
A transcription reveals intervals of:
[-2 +5 -5 +2] for Reunited ,
[-5 +2 -5 +10] for THE HOLY , and
[-2 +2 -5 +10] for flashback_excerpt.ogg .
Although it may seem like an interesting connection at first glance, I think this quote isn't all too likely to be intentional.
Some of the intervals are there, but the key [-5 to +10] ending isn't, and there's little else in support of the argument.
Given that, this quote simply isn't strong enough to carry the weight of " 'THE HOLY A' originates from Undertale " on its shoulders.