Gario Posted August 31, 2017 Share Posted August 31, 2017 Gaius Christianus Canorus https://gaiuschristianuscanorus.com/ Front Mission: Gun Hazard Festal Procession Approach to a Shrine Masashi Hamauzu, SNES http://vgmdb.net/album/2681 Track on Yotube I don't usually like writing notes about works, but for the sake of interest in arrangement: The original piece is characterized by an ostinato figure built on fourths, over which there are some choral sections and bells. In my opinion, the part of greatest importance to the track is the ostinato itself; the rest is more or less added on as texture. Keeping this in mind, the arrangement is more focused on the ostinato, developing it through variation, hocketing, canon, inversion, and harmonization so that no part of the arrangement sounds like the original aside from the base notes. I used bells and bowls exclusively, if only because they're the only instruments I have of any worth; much more sonorous than plucked strings and keyboards. The choral section does appear, to tie it closer to the original, though I use a cluster of struck bowls to simulate a large bell's slightly off intonation and harmonics. As for the cymbals, the intent was using patterns similar to Coptic chant, though the samples I required don't exist and I had to settle for Chinese cymbals. A triangle was also intended, but lack of well recorded playing in the Coptic style reduced it to cymbals alone. The resemblance to gamelan was not intended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted September 8, 2017 Author Share Posted September 8, 2017 Crisp recording, interesting interpretation, great relatively unknown source. It definitely went in a completely different direction than the source, and it's something very different from our normal fare here (almost sounds like a religious Japanese ceremony), but I like it all the same. It reminds me of the classic Zelda Heineken arrangement on here that was done with all blown bottles. It's pretty darn good, and the limitations you set for yourself worked well, this time. Nice work, and good luck with the rest of the vote. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted October 20, 2017 Share Posted October 20, 2017 Woah, this is clean. Atmospheric yet very melodic stuff. It's minimalistic in its approach to instruments but not in arrangement, as the mix evolves with several layers of melodies. It all feels very natural. I specially liked that the bell resonances were left with space to breathe and expand while keeping the mix clean, and I also liked the underlying low droning tones. A lot is done with the interpretation as well, which is quite impressive considering the style this is going for, but there is indeed a lot of re-arrangement going on. This is a very zen, original arrangement that I'm sure will not be for everyone, but IMO it has all the right ingredients to make it to the front page. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted January 12, 2018 Share Posted January 12, 2018 After reading your notes and taking a listen to the source I was pretty excited to hear this. I was not disappointed. Loving the use of all percussion and bells here, and the tone it sets for the track is really unique and almost religious (as Gario mentioned). The arrangement has a lot of small details here, and the repetition on the main ostinato really helps cement things together. I imagine this one won't be a super fan favorite, but I found it to be a solid mix that has its own character. Nice work. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted February 10, 2018 Share Posted February 10, 2018 This is incredibly creative considering the limits of the sonic palette you've chosen. As Deia said this one won't be a fan favorite, but it is one of the most unique mixes I have ever heard. And I adore bells. The mix is well crafted and mixed. Very nice! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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