ReMix: Final Fantasy VII 'Valse Aeris'

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Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the LifestreamFinal Fantasy VII

What Final Fantasy VII project would be complete without some orchestral action? Jeremy Robson covers Aerith in his usual excellent style; it may not be shocking to fans of his work, but when you've got a track record of consistently excellent orchestral arrangements, deviation loses some of its appeal. Jeremy writes:

"For anyone familiar with my past arrangements, it should come as no surprise that I set out to turn Aeris's theme into a waltz using the works of Maurice Ravel as a model. To me, putting the up-tempo nature of a waltz against the sentimental makes for an interesting contrast, and what piece from Final Fantasy 7 is more sentimental than this? While keeping up with the ever-changing, impressionistic harmonies and the colorful orchestrations was a challenge unto itself, the biggest obstacle was finding new ways to not just reference Aeris's theme, but to make it the primary source of all counterpoint and variation... in a triple meter, no less."

For such a well-known theme, it's cool to have an orchestral arrangement that doesn't take a more orthodox approach; the contrast Jeremy refers to works well. In particular, the ReMixer works deftly with tempo and rhythm to adapt the original into a framework far from its ballad roots. There are moments that remind me of Thomas Newman's brilliant score to Angels in America, darker points that channel a little Elfman, and definitely the intended similarities to Ravel. In a lengthy 7'21", there's probably other guys in there as well, but in the end it's all Robson. My absolute favorite thing about this mix, though, comes from a bit of bias on my part as a former Euphonium/low brass guy - there's a tuba solo at 3'36"! And it sounds good! This makes me happy! Granted, in the grand scheme of things, it's only a short passage in a much larger piece that's one of Robson's best, but it's still something that stands out for me. I like the attention to form that Jeremy's paid; things feel refined specifically from an arrangement perspective. Everything feels thought out, and the end result is something that sounds like it could easily have originated in the 19th century, which I take to have been part of the point. In any century, though, this is great music.

― djpretzel

Discussion: Latest 15 comments/reviews; view the complete thread or post your own.
Nice work! Some of the harmonic variations are brilliant. Nice variety, kept me interested for the whole 7+ minutes. I agree the reverb is a bit overdone (may I say the file also has a touch of an overcompressed sound to my ears), but the overall arrangement is quite well done.

- docnano on July 11, 2010
Love it. And the fact that it is a waltz makes it that much better.
Especially how the theme jumps between instruments/instrument groups.
can we say... TUBA SOLO!!! WOOO!

Great piece, nice work.

- sefirosu on May 2, 2009
One of the most creative Aeris renditions i've heard (and man, have I heard a lot). Fantastic usage of samples, you have a great gasp on phrasing and the ability to make everything sound natural. Even the brass sounds good.
I will be honest and say that i'd like this a lot more if it wasn't the Aeris theme, as I like the melody, but have just been bludgeoned with it for so long, but the parts that were more interpretive, such as the piano solo near the end, and the smaller motifs throughout were beautiful. You've made it sound fresh enough to be listen able repeatedly.
I love your work and am incredibly impressed that you could make me like this song again; thanks. :-)

- OA on January 16, 2008
Maybe it's my musically psychotic upbringing, but anything that somehow manages to weave both Elfman and Ravel together (among others) already has me salivating. 'Course, I've always loved waltzes too, so that's a definite plus.
Overall, I'd say this piece manages to breathe some vitality into an otherwise stolid and steadfast work. I can see some parallels to FF8's Dance with the Balamb Fish; although, to be honest, I think Valse Aeris is superior by a landfall (I love mah stereo). The increased tempo provides a jauntiness that beautifully undercuts the more somber moments.
Kudos to Robson on this one:-D.
-J

- CoyoteQuixotic on September 28, 2007
The FF8 influence is obvious. Its magnificent. :D

- Hyperion5182 on September 18, 2007
I feel I will never create an orchestral piece that even comes close to this. Your pieces always seem so live.

- musicaloblivion on September 18, 2007
big giant circles;319003 wrote: the only gripe i have is that jeremy used a metric crapload of reverb on this one...

What vivid picture :)....
Beautiful orchestration. I'm quite jealous!

- tweex on September 16, 2007
the only gripe i have is that jeremy used a metric crapload of reverb on this one, which gave it more of an amphitheater type sound vs. a studio or stage sound, but it's nothing that's going to keep me from enjoying this otherwise well-arranged piece.
fine work, dude.

- big giant circles on September 15, 2007
Sigh. Regardless of its technical merits, I can't understand how turning Aeris' theme into an upbeat waltz is a good use of the excellent source material. Granted, the waltz part of the song ends, at which point you're dragged through an orchestral [i]tour de force[/i] of various combinations of instruments with nothing really holding it together, except perhaps Jeremy's desire to show off his artistic prowess. But to me, the abundance of meaningless transitions was a clear sign that this track had no real heart or soul. Without hesitation, I'd take MENBAH's Aeris Remix over this one.
But that's just me!

- hhallahh on September 15, 2007
What can I say Jeremy my friend other than well done!! well done!:razz:

- derako on September 15, 2007
I enjoyed this one a lot, it's definitely one of my favorites. I liked the way that the notes in Aeris' theme were rushed at various speeds since it gave the song more originality when the original had already been replayed a million times over the past 10 years.

- ForumChibi on September 15, 2007
Best track in the album, in my opinion.

- Prasa_U. on September 14, 2007
This is the finest piece of orchestration I've heard in months, by anyone. If I didn't know what I was listening to, I probably would have just assumed this was a real orchestra. Easily one of my favourites from the project. This source is so easy to destroy, but you just made it a whole lot better.

- Fishy on September 14, 2007
i loved the music and i think im gonna check out more by the artist since you said his style is orchastrated but only one problem, it seemed like the music just cut short, maybe there was a problem during the upload or something, or does it just die short like that cus it's Aerith's theme:p. lol sorry couldnt resist the corny joke but yeah, it seems like it was cut short or something.
heh nevermind, was listening to one of the other songs and it happened again, all i had to do was refresh my screen and problem solved >.< gonna listen again since i can hear the whole thing now

- duelace on September 14, 2007
What did you think? Post your opinion of this ReMix.

- djpretzel on September 14, 2007