Liontamer Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 (edited) Artist: Zanezooked I’ve been a regular visitor to OCRemix since 2002. A significant portion of my music library comes from here. So it’s with some trepidation that I send my first submission. And not only am I daring to submit to OCRemix, but I also have the hubris to remix the great Michael Salvatori and Mr. Halo himself, Marty O’Donnell! “The Siege of Madrigal” is a piano piece by Michael Salvatori. It’s one of two simple but gorgeous melodies Salvatori composed “in the style of Marty” which Marty O’Donnell loved so much he integrated in multiple ways into the soundtracks of their respective games (the other is “Unforgotten” from Halo 2, which saw a return as “Never Forget” in Halo 3). Marty loved “The Siege of Madrigal” so much he even hid it inside Halo, so for many people it’s known as “the Halo Easter Egg Song.” I heard it in Myth, though, years before Halo, so I know it as the song that plays as the war-weary, anonymous narrator describes a last-chance plan to strike the armies of the Dark and their leader, the Fallen Lord Shiver, and break the siege that is strangling the city of Madrigal. Myth is a game about small, desperate battles fought by a single battalion on the fringes of a greater, losing war, so we don’t directly see what happens at Madrigal; the player spends the mission running a diversionary raid to try to draw some of the enemy away from the city. But in the following mission briefing we are told what happened: Quote “The battle for Madrigal lasted four days without pause. Shiver fell on the first night in a spectacular dream duel with Rabican, one of the Nine. No one expected this. We have never before challenged one of The Fallen and won. . . . They say that The Head had an old score to settle with Shiver, and told Rabican that her one weakness was vanity, and showed him how to exploit it.” This sudden, unexpected victory in the face of certain defeat is what Tolkien would term a eucatastrophe. It captured my imagination. I tried to tell that story in this remix. We start with the Siege of Madrigal theme in piano in its original C major, but with the rising quartet of notes between phrases removed to make it more hesitant. The addition of harmonic high strings underlines the uncertainty. At 0:30 a solo cello picks up the theme. Marty O’Donnell made the low cello the featured instrument in Myth, so this seemed appropriate. (Also, I love the cello.) The rising quartet of notes is restored, making the theme a little more hopeful. At 0:59 we get a sweeping string statement of the Madrigal theme, but the peak of the melody is lowered from A to F, making it more somber and unresolved. At 1:28 the piano comes back along with high string tremolos, but instead of finishing the melodic phrase with a D, it modulates into an unresolved and uneasy D#, taking us into the key Db, while we also switch from 3/4 to 7/8 time. The next part represents the “dream duel” between Rabican and Shiver. What’s a dream duel? It’s never specified. I imagined each duelist attempting to invade the other’s mind and plant thoughts that undermine their strength and open them to attack. Shiver’s weakness was vanity, which seems strange for a 1000-year-old undead crone who looks the part. But she wasn’t always an undead crone. So perhaps Rabican’s strategy is to remind her of what she has lost. She may be immortal, but is it worth it if this is how she spends eternity? Rabican’s persistent attacks on Shiver’s psyche are represented by a male choir and a creepy, guttural chant in Irish, with Shiver’s thoughts are represented by a female choir also singing Irish. Irish names and words are often used in Myth, though not very accurately—more for flavor—so this seemed appropriate. I used Google Translate and then found an audio pronunciation for each word, and I’m sure I mangled it, and it’s not like it’s understandable anyway, but hey, it gave me something to work with, and I thought it was cool. At 1:31 the male chant begins: Quote D’aghaidh, a cloigeann (Your face, a skull) Do chuid gruaige, baile do lucha (Your hair, a home for mice) D’aghaidh, a cloigeann (Your face, a skull) At 1:45 the low cello starts an aggressive, grinding ostinato. This is the "Great Library” theme from Myth II: Soulblighter, by Marty O’Donnell. At 2:01 the female choir sings a fast, 7/8 version of "Fallen Lords" theme from Myth: The Fallen Lords, by Marty O’Donnell: Quote Cad é an aghaidh seo? (What face is this?) Cén craiceann, cén gruaig é seo? (What skin, what hair is this?) Cá bhfuil na leannáin a ghlac chugam? (Where are the lovers who embraced me?) 2:22: the men’s choir rises ominously, doubled in horns to give their line punch as Rabican pushes the blade as deep as he can: Quote Níor bhain tú bás (You have not defeated death) 2:30 the women sing, Quote Is fear céile éad é bás (Death is a jealous husband) Is fear céile éad é bás (Death is a jealous husband) 2:37 men and women sing together: Quote Tá a bharróg síoraí (His embrace is forever) The section builds to a frantic crescendo and then the clouds part at 2:56 as the Madrigal theme returns with its high A restored. The low cello is still prominent but now rhythmically supports the triumphant tone of the strings. At 3:23 we get a final, driving reprise of the theme in full glory, with horns and trombones taking the melody, a soaring counterpoint in the trumpets, and a bodhrán (Irish drum) pulling us forward. At 3:51 we end with a final statement of the Madrigal theme on cello and piano, made hopeful by borrowing a high sequence from the earlier trumpet counterpoint. There’s an image from Myth I was thinking of here, a soldier standing on a battlefield, arms spread, face to the opened heavens. The battle is won. Weariness and joy mingle like the rain. (Madrigal would be utterly destroyed months later. But don’t tell our soldier that.) I hope this is an enjoyable remix! Myth: The Fallen Lords The Siege of Madrigal, by Michael Salvatori The Fallen Lords, by Marty O'Donnell Myth II: Soulblighter The Great Library, by Marty O'Donnell Edited April 19 by Chimpazilla closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prophetik music Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 opening piano is appropriately muted. the harmonic strings are a nice idea. this section appears to be cribbed directly from TSoM. there's some cello that comes in at 0:30. it's not a great sample quality, but it's being used well here. some more articulations here (and the space that comes from articulations) would be nice. there's orchestral strings at 0:59, and again the sample quality isn't great. there's a bit of sustain-itis going on in the upper strings - it's hard to hear the melody underneath the huge sustains, so both some volumization and maybe some more creative part-writing there would be helpful. 1:32 we get a significant vibe change (this maybe could have been set up better). the ostinado mentioned above at 1:45 comes in, followed by female choir. most of the instruments in here have a swelling quality to them that's common in lower-tier samples, so it's hard to hear where some of the notes start and end as a result. there's a very frenetic build to 2:57 where the madrigal theme comes back. the solo cello being so much louder in the middle range than the entire orchestra is a little confusing from an auditory perspective. there's some better partwriting this time around, which is great. 3:50 is a recap of the madrigal theme one last time, and it's done. this is a really interesting arrangement that's unfortunately let down by sample quality throughout. you've got some really stellar concepts here - the combination of themes, the partwriting at 3:23 is great, and the underlying story of the game influencing the arrangement is super fun. from a quality perspective though this just isn't there, which is sad because clearly a lot of work went into making what you had go this far. i would love to hear you work with someone who can realize this more fully, because it'd be a highlight of the catalog if that was done. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted March 21 Share Posted March 21 This is pretty quiet overall. I see it peaks at exactly 0 dB, but it doesn't seem to have any compression. I had to turn up my volume by about 25% over normal. The flutes are almost inaudible. I thought the cello was quite nice in the beginning, but the ensemble violin sample is very much not; it sounds extremely fake and mechanical. Then when the cello returns at 2:56, it conflicts with the violins and loses all its nice timbre, not even sounding like a cello anymore. The brass has a better tone, but no brass ensemble is ever going to end a note all on the exact same millisecond. So I have to agree with proph: The arrangement is quite good, with a lot of nuance and creativity, but the sample quality and production fall well short of our needs. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted April 19 Share Posted April 19 I have to agree with my fellow Js, the overall mix is overly quiet and needs proper mastering to increase the overall volume while preserving appropriate dynamics. But the bigger issue is the sample quality. The strings (solo cello and string ensemble in particular) are dealbreakingly bad, and they play for so much of the track that they are totally distracting. The brass starting at 3:23 suffers from the same fake uncanny-valley problem. I think there are flutes in there, but as MW said they are almost inaudible. I agree with proph and MW that this is an excellent blending of these themes into a cohesive and emotional story. Clearly a lot of time and heart went into writing this, and it is really a very beautiful composition. I can imagine this with vastly better instrument samples, or better yet live played instruments, and it would be outstanding. But as it stands currently, it sounds like an orchestral mock-up or wip instead of a finished product. I would certainly love to hear it again with better instruments! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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