ReMix: Final Fantasy VI 'Vision of Celes'
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- Game: Final Fantasy VI (Square, 1994, SNES)
- ReMixer(s): Gorgonian
- Composer(s): Nobuo Uematsu
- Song(s): 'Celes'
- Posted: 2009-06-17, evaluated by the judges
Fun times... if you haven't already, do check out the Sega Let's Tap Twitter contest going on today AND the 8-bit Weapon/Nokia Reset Generation Remix contest - both good opportunities to win some awesome stuffs. I would have posted this mix sooner except I've been retooling our drop-down navigation lately and have made significant progress. You should expect to see the end results some time in the next week or so; I believe it will make the site more usable. Newcomer Gorgonian, aka Phillip Watts, resubbed this ReMix of the 'Celes' theme from FF6 after the judges specifically cited numerous production/sample quality issues including some funky (in the bad way) brass patches. While some judges still had some reservations even with the revision, all agreed it was a marked improvement. Phillip writes:
"Vision of Celes is a full orchestra arrangement of The Celes Theme from the Final Fantasy series. It was arranged using Finale, sequenced using FL Studio, and tampered with using Audacity. The arrangement is meant to be a simple yet emotional treatment of the theme. The setting is intentionally straightforward in an attempt to capture the majesty and beauty of the melody. I hope you enjoy it. I am somewhat new to this idiom, but I have done a few projects as a hobby. I am a musician by profession, and I teach high school band in Oklahoma."
So, first of all, how cool is that? My sisters and I were all high school band geeks, and while our director was (and still is) both awesome & inspirational, I don't think he's ever even heard of Final Fantasy, much less arranged it himself. As the first real gamer generation grows up, I suppose we shouldn't be surprised to see VGM gaining more acceptance from those in traditional "authority" positions, but it still strikes me as being rather cool, not unlike some of the VGM marching band programs that have been done. But I digress; this is a very delicate piece that has strings swelling underneath woodwind solos in the intro, with brass entering in gradually for an almost slow-motion crescendo, culminating in the appearance of timpani towards the dramatic finale. The more I listen to this mix, the more it reminds me of a specific arrangement for concert band of Wagner's 'Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral' - a beautiful, beautiful piece of music that has similar dynamics, building slowly over time. I played the piece back in high school band, and though the euphonium part only really entered halfway through, nevertheless it's probably my favorite musical memory, ever. Okay, I may have digressed *again*, but Wagner was especially good at letting parts slowly develop and build over time, in my opinion, and that's also the strength of this arrangement. Larry writes:
"Not that I'd ever regret it, but I'm certainly glad I went NO last time, given the end result here. And that's really what some NO votes are about; not trying to be discouraging, but pushing artists to push themselves. Nice upgrade of the sounds. I don't recall the arrangement seeming nearly this grandiose or dynamic at all. Great use of the Works forum to solicit feedback and achieve some great results via the help of other forumgoers critiquing away. You really stepped it up on this one and made the call an easy one. Nice work, Phillip."
Judges commented about lack of low end, but that does sort of seem stylistic - I would again invoke 'Elsa's,' which has a similar frequency range due simply to how the parts themselves are written. What bothered me a bit more was some clipping towards the end and some truncated cymbal crashes that Vinnie mentioned in his judgment. Again, not perfection - arrangement is stronger than production, no doubt - but also nothing really jarring or obnoxious, either. All in all, it's really not the easiest source to work with - it's melodic & memorable, sure, but also very deliberate in its pacing. Instead of fighting that, I think the artist actually slowed it down further, turning it into something that really does sound processional, emotive, and at times quite beautiful.Good job and a solid mix from Gorgonian - that's Mr. Watts to any students reading!
Discussion: Latest 12 comments/reviews; view the Unfortunately, this is one of those pieces that just can't be done justice without a full orchestra, which isn't the easiest thing to get. The lack of realism in any of the instruments does take this down a notch or two, sadly. Here's to hoping that someday someone pulls this off live (and gets an awesome recording of it!).
- DragonAvenger on October 31, 2009
Nice work.
- Martin Penwald on July 3, 2009
Fabulous work! Please keep up with any other projects you are working on. If they are anything like this, I am sure they will be instant classics!
- jintoreedwine on June 28, 2009
Keep it up. I'll be looking forward to more of your remixes that i'll hope to see in the future!
- Loning on June 24, 2009
- LuigiFan on June 22, 2009
This arrangement just sent some chills down my spine, which I'll admit happens very rarely, nowadays. Very subtle, yet it has a certain sublime quality to it that I can't pin. The arrangement is incredibly rich, yet it doesn't sound cluttered at all.
Wonderful - Orchestral arrangement at it's finest, folks. Just download it.
- Gario on June 20, 2009
I really loved the ending, it was handled really well.
- OA on June 17, 2009
10/10
- A-RoN on June 17, 2009
That said, this is an exceptional piece. I feel like it really managed to avoid a lot of the cliches that most VG orchestral arrangements are prone to, which is a huge plus in my book. I think what really does it for me is that you managed to get a very full sound here - phenomenal orchestration.
In fact, if you wouldn't mind, I'd love to see a copy of the score.
Please, don't ever stop arranging/writing music. And please, submit more stuff to OCR so that we can all enjoy it!
- artemisjaeger on June 17, 2009
good work - hope to see more in the future
- audio fidelity on June 17, 2009
- avaris on June 17, 2009
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