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Congratulations, you just figured out what a "variation" is.

Jeremy Soule did a great job arranging this piece as a kind of theme and variations. He could have used all the original chord progressions and other features of the source material, but then again, who couldn’t? What he did to arrange this piece sounds very creative, much more so than the bland orchestrations of the Grand Finale cd. As for samples, well, can’t sit here and wish it were the New York Philharmonic playing it. No composer wants his or her work judged by the fact some people have no imagination.

The original theme sounds quite original to me, and this arrangement is actually very good in terms of the classical theme & variations style. If anything, it reminds me of a motif from Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor. Other than that, I see no reason why it can't be somewhat original as the sound is easy to imitate.

I guess now is as good a time as ever to register and address some points brought up. But first I’d like to thank everyone for their feedback as it has been very helpful and has also inspired me to take the time to revise the arrangement a bit because I agree that there are parts that could use some fine tuning. Noodle: It would be of great help to me if you could point out the spots where it sounds MIDI-ish because I’d like to fix these and be aware of them in any future projects. Ff3setzer: I’m not too sure what kind of bass would be appropriate for the arrangement so any ideas would be helpful. I often had my subwoofer turned all the way up so it was difficult to hear where some parts could have used bass drum or whatever. Except for my changing the soundcard-based piano for the bass line (my processor couldn’t handle any more realistic samples playing at a time) I’d really be interested in hearing some suggestions. Quick contrabass and cello rhythms are also out of the question because at such a low register they wouldn’t sound too nice. Ace!: My update of the Locke arrangement will have to wait until I can get some brass samples with a wide-range of capabilities. For now, my puny trumpet and trombone sections can’t handle faster passages thus what I have done already is unlistenable. UltimaAvatar: You won’t be disappointed because Part II is my favorite for several reasons. 1) it sounds a lot more like what a real orchestra would play than Part I. 2) I put a lot more originality into it thus it will certainly satisfy those who hate anything that remotely resembles a MIDI-rip. 3) it’s based around a pentatonic scale which we all know did wonders for Ralph Vaughan Williams’ violin piece The Lark Ascending. 4) it’s soft and flowing like the calm after a storm, but still epic in scope. 5) it’s based on Red XIII’s theme along with the themes for Seto and Cosmo Canyon, what more could you ask? SystemManiac: Although I had to study various MIDIs of the theme closely, it is by no means a MIDI-rip and any "additions" are in no way minor. I made the conscious decision the follow the original more closely than I ever have before because that’s the only way it could have been done. I considered other options in my several attempts to arrange this piece, but they failed miserably. I decided that this isn’t a piece that is theme driven. It is popularly denoted by it’s sound, it’s intensiveness, and its chaotic nature, so I had to take into account the piano, the strings, the trumpet/horn motifs, the basic features that constitute the original so that people would associate it with the original. This is no reason to question my arranging integrity. I’ve never relied on the quality of the samples to "make" the piece, and I agree that they should be used only to enhance arrangements. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. I’d be interested to find out how much more creativity could be applied orchestrally to this piece. Don’t get me wrong, though, I’m open to criticism, but I hate baseless assumptions about my work especially when they are derogatory. I’m actually fond of all the criticism I’ve received lately; all except for those that say this is nothing but a midi rip with high-quality instruments. Well, I’m sorry I fooled you into thinking this was going to be a true masterpiece just because the samples were of such high-quality, but they only are because I made an investment into upgrading my synthesizers for reasons other than arranging game music. This is just something I like to do once in a while because it is fun. If you want to see some real originality, you should check out my soon-to-be concert works. Russell Cox (a name I remember): You bring up several valid points and I thank you for that. Often the brass is late, but I blame that on the samples themselves. I’m no genius when it comes to editing the instruments themselves, so I only have what came on the SAM Horns CDs, or the Xsample Brass CD. One way around this is to actually place the notes a bit early so the maximum amount of sound from the note matches the pulse, but that takes a lot of time and patience to get right, so I settled for what was already satisfactory. And, as I’m sure you’re aware of, the close-sampled horns sample is no better than the far-sampled one. I did try it, but it blended with the rest of the sound in such a way where it lost its distinctiveness. And besides, I love the far-sampled horn section, as it is very reminiscent of the kind of orchestra Jerry Goldsmith uses. As for the panning, well, some samples have it naturally; others do not. I’d prefer it if none of them did because again, I like the concert hall sound and hardly ever move an instrument to the extreme right or left. I’m using two different trombone samples, and even when layered they just don’t have any power. One is panned naturally, the other is not, thus it is very difficult to use for realistic sound. Hopefully my next purchase is going straight towards SAM Trombones, and then SAM Trumpets immediately after that. XZero: I have to agree with "ffmusic dj" that it doesn’t come close to the arranged pieces on the albums. Perhaps someday it will, but for every one thing about it that the listener hears as unrealistic or obviously synthesized, I can hear ten things that are just as bad (and unfortunately unalterable for the time being). GrayLightning: Part II is definitely more personal than Part I, so be ready. The Bombing Mission, on the other hand, doesn’t leave too much room for originality, and in some respects, isn’t that how many would prefer it? Believe me, if I wanted to, I could distort a track to a point where it would be barely recognizable, but then all that would be is a distortion, not an arrangement. But that’s just my opinion. ffmusic dj: I’m currently editing it to add more interesting snare parts, if that’s what you mean. Sound effects? I don’t think so. skyliner75: Mahler’s first is one of my favorites of his. I also love Resurrection, which some say has the power to raise the dead. Hmm, I wonder if that would carry some significance in future FF7 arrangements… Joshua Morse: Well, in defense of those who have already posted some suggestions, I wouldn’t mind hearing what everyone would have to say about making the piece better. I didn’t post this at OC ReMix for my own enjoyment. Frollo: There will be as many as I have time and effort for. Whether or not the game will be fully represented does not really matter. I’m glad you found some depth and meaning in the arrangement beyond the themes, as a narrative structure is something I’m trying to achieve here. Artemisjaeger: The problems with the piano and brass are somewhat beyond my control for now, but I will keep trying to fix them. The timpani is where I really got lazy and that was the first thing I began editing a few days ago. Right now I’m layering it with something that has a more definite sound and perhaps I will even make the part more interesting. Thank you for your comments everyone. Hopefully you can see how much I appreciate them by responding like this. Also, if anyone has any questions about arranging for (MIDI) orchestra or has a suggestion for a piece that would sound awesome orchestrated, let me know.